The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-01-12
SENATOR EDMUNDs ON THE
MORMON PROBLEM.

Senator Edmunds contributes TO the
January numbr of Harper's Magazine.
q timely paper on the political aspects
of Mormonism. He points out that We
have still on our hands, after all these
years, 1.-THE unsolved problem in political
government of the eradication Of pOlyg-
amous institutions, consolidated into
one community, consistent with Re
publican theories of government and
with Anglo-SaxOn nations concerning
the trial OF persons accused of crime"
This pOlygamOus community is no lon-
ger isolated in an almost inaccessible
valley, separated from US by trackless
deserts. 1t lies across our greatest con-
tinental Ihoroughfare. midway between
the states of the Mississippi Valley and
those of the Pacific coast, a coherent
growing force, that must be dealt with
definitely and speedily.
The aim and policy of the Mormon
leaders from the first has been TO get in.
to the Union. Utah once admitted as q
state, their domestic concerns, polygamy
included, would be absolutely beyond
the legal reach OF the people of the
other states" The senator briefly e
cites the efforts Of the Utah politicians
tn effect this purpose, ami the break
down nr the successive cnngressIOna
attempts 10 suppress poly gamy, in con
sequence of The difficulty of obtaining
juries in the territory that will conVic
and Of securing legal evidence of tn
commission Of the crime lie think
. the recent decision ofthe supreme court
that proof of the admissions, etc, of III
accused can he given in evidence ma
{ make convictions possible. At present
! however, he believes that polygamY
growing rather than waning; that th
proportion of plural marriages is great
: er today than it was fifteen years ago
that not less than one-ihird of tn
: whole number of married men in til
territory are living in defiance of til
: law; that polygamy has become almol
a cardinal test of Mormon faith" Tt
expectation that The decision of the 81
preme court in the Reynolds case, aft
5 the constitutionality Of the compression
al legislation against pOlygamy, woul
convince the MOrmons ofthc necessity
abandoning the Unlawful practice hi
been disappointed. Senator Edmund
a cannot see that the decision has had an
q effect of that sort. On the contrar
Il they seem to him more pertinacIous ar
a defiant, If anything, than before.
N After the experience Of the past doze
;. years of discussion, experiment, and fa
o ure he is not hopeful that anything {
= fective will be done this session. +
n believes that with adequate legislatiO
d followed by a vigorous enforcement
q the law, such as we have seen in Il
n case of the Illicit distillers, polygam
could be entirely broken up in &c
years. Even as the law stands,
/. thinks a sincere and steady administI
q. growth of the institution. Other rem
"a dial measures which suggest themselv
.r to him are the encouragement of NO
a. Mormon immigration into Utah, Z
lie encouragement of the appropriation
IL the best land by the Mormon churC
ma and the annexation of large slices
I'd Utah TO the contiguous states and t
ia ritories. The time has come, he thinl
IN for making choice between the t.
Ir policies open to US and sticking to
We should either leave the MOrmOns
their own devices, or at least CONF
h them to obey the law. "If we rea
in mean to exterminate polygamy,
o. Utah." he says, ait can easily be dc
of by lawful and just means, and witho
ed doing an injury even (but rather goo
as TO all morally innocent persons involv
us in the practice, and their children"