The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-05-31
Ia. CASSIDY, OF NrHApA.

favor of suppress'ng polygamisls when
ever and wherever one dares to raise his
head. Esps cially am in favor of plac-
ing a auietus upon the chief of all the
poiygamists in Utah. George O Cannon.
Every argument that has ever been
urged by anybody anywhere against
po7ygamv in Utah, will apply with eousl
force TO tbs case now Under considera-
ton by this House. The seating or nom
seating q George @. Cannon has direct
and important bearing on the True solu-
ton # the question Of polygamy as il
exists today in the territory of Utah.
Cannon is the representative mau Of the
lecherous, lAw-detying element in that
Territory; he is the representative head
of sl that is bad and deGasing in the
damnsble system of polygsn4y. His
mission here Is we'll understood. First,
he has been returned as the delegate
from Utah Congress after Congress for
ten vssrs, to m Ike pelygamy respects BILE
in the eyes of the civilized world.
Brigham Young declared thpt polyg-
amy was God-given revelation through
him to the Mormon church, and WI en-
his own psople and the great body of the
American people all over the land began
ID murmur about it, be publicly pro-
claimed that be would cram the vile doc
trine down the throsts Of the American
people and the American Congress.
That is why Cannon is here to-day; that
is why he was sent here in the first place.
Brigham Young knew of the literally of
theConstitution and laws with reference 10
the subject ofreliglOus liberty aud tolers-
| ton, aud he also knew that if he could
succeed in installing q leading polyga-
mist in one of the highest official stations
in the government, that act ia and of it.
| self would go further towards pupulariz-
| ing poly gamy with the Mormon people
than any Number of sermons from the
most gifted OF his apostles and pulpit
orators. Subsequent events demonstrate
clearly that be reasoned well. Cannon
was awarded a seat in this body, and
| polygsmy at Cnce doomed all along the
| line.
church saw that the government of the
United States recognized and respected,
or at least tolerated, the new doctrine;
that it was no bar to the attainment oil
the most com handing positions of official
trust and honor and emolument under the
government; and hence they embraced it
| with great zeal and enthusiasm. The his
tory and statistics of the Mormon church
show a marvellous increase in polygamous
! marriages in Utah Immediately follow
| ing the admission Of Cannon to q seat in
this body for the first time. The ratio of
increase was unparalleled The number
of such marriages sprsng from lees than
| fifty for the year preceding his first ad-
mission, to more than 400 for the succeed
ing year, and the unlawful system has
continue! to grow vigorously and stead
| lily year by year since that time; and all
because, as believe, this House gave
countenance ard dignity to polygsmy
and popularized it with the Mormon peo-
pie by according George Q. Cannon a
seat upcn this floor almost without word
of protest from any source whst-ver.
Every victory won by Cannon here is a
victory for Dolygsmy in Utah. Each
succeeding triumph in Congress adds to
the strength and vitality Of the monster
in the west. The best end 10 kill of a
snake is the head.
There has not been lawful election in
Utah for twenty-five years. The ballot
is tainted, yea polluted, with illegality
from one end Of the territory 10 the
other. Under Mormon law, girls under
sge and alien women of all ages are per-
mittsd to vote at all elections. An cleo
ton in Utah is simply the recorded will
of the Mormon church as direc. ed by the
leaders Of that organization.
But have . stronger objection to the
admission Of Cannon. He is not q citi-
zen. He is an alien. True, he holds an
/ alleged certificate of naturalization, bat
there is no record Of court Of competent
| Jurisdiction behind it. He was not quail.
| fled to become q citizen of the United
States at the time thiG certificate purports
to have been issued. Contemporaneouc
facts and circumstances are conclusive to
my mind that he had not resided il this
country over two years prior 10 It's issu-
ance. Governor Murray was eOgnizanI
Of these facts. He went into an exhaus-
tive examination of Rll the circumstance
arriving at the conclusion that Cannon
was not citizen. believe that that
decision was correct.
Bat gentlemen on this side soy the
governor Csurped powers that did not be.
long to him. They talk of the sacrednesc
and the binding effects Of presidents
The nearest parallel that have been
able to find 10 the course of Governor
Murray was that raised in the celebrated
CroniR case IN Oregon in the Presiden-
tisl year of 1876. Governor Grover, OF
Oregon, held that Watt was ineligible tv
the office of Presidential elector because
ne held federal post-office. Governor
Growers position was sustained by some
of the ablest democratic lawyers in the
United States, and there was
hardly q democratic politician any
where who was lot willing and
anxious to accept the Presidential
election by the aid of Cronin's vete.
Governor Murray has said that Cannon
was not elected because ineligible. The
parallel In the Oregon ease il complete to
this extent, and the democratic portion Of
the electoral commission also concured
in the opinion of Governor Murray,
holding, every one Of them, that Wart
was not eligible, and therefore not
elected But it 10 true that they did not
clalm that Cronin was elected. They
simply held that there was 30 election st
all, which our committee now ssys, by
the report OF its majority, was the case
In Utah. The pending resolution goes
no further.
Then we have the Mountain Meadow
massacre and the terrible work of ven
geance OF the destroying angels in Utah,
all directly treceable as | hold, to the
Mormon system Cannon was always
high IN the cOuLciis of the Mormon
Church. de was second in command to
Brigham Young; The leaders condOned