Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-08-11
A DEAD FAILURE.
What the Mormon Commission Win Do
in Utah-rhe Whole Thing
Regarded as an
Absolute Faree-whsrsin the Edmunds
Anti-polygam, Bill is De-
feetiye. q

The Salt Lake Correspond md th;nes =.
York Pos, discussing msne. ndsr date If hi.
the Mormon headquariefs, ming the TTisb
18th, writes as follows Of The RI
Commission and the wo,AiN"
The nevt avc;tament will arise hon Inc
arrival of the long-delayed eom iSs 10
wbicb in it, sIo,v nroeress has reached ChI-
cago. The secretary OF toe lelrlory tells
me that he has Just received a nS'I 10 ie.ler
from one of the members ~ sihnt -.
that they will be here by-AnuJ' .IIu
they are to do when they &c. n connndsnr
doesn't know" That ~ A, rau.
generally asked by all Pa.u; :, ,,ot ;ns;s.aS
nnon hers snv more thsait is elsewhere in
the oath Of voter. He SIMPLY Is oolged
10 swear that he or she isof the requisite age,
and is either native or nsturailIzeu Anneri-
can citizen. In accordance WIN we pro-
visions of the new bill there must oe tnis
sdd;tionaI-tkst he sdoes not cohsolt with
noore 81, one woman The most ludi-
crous ASPECT of this clause Is .he forget,
fulnsss Of such a geuefA.iS ,Ii' s
man as Judge Edmunds ID uss ..m
woman instead OF wife, anu 'nu GU
tionally allowing every mS 1T. N oI1
mistress, and binding down TT
a
Ibing conld he more .Iaughable IT Is Its appli-
cation m female voters In short, the
commission is an absolute iarce-a pitter
disappointment 10 the Gsnilies, pecsuse ihe
offices and emoluments are given 10 OUTSIDERS
and a godsend to the Mornons'wno PrLsaae'n
confess that sit ia not worth MIL OF Deans,
while it enables them to howl before the
people about the persecution oil the Lord'-
elect. b. this as it may be, there is no o9iy
that this expensive and needless com nission
is called upon to perform lnas ,rt Souio no'
have been executed bySecretafy a. enoua s ~
the routine OF his regular ONCE WORK
AIresSv INV their DELAY nothing can be ac-
complished by them in any direc.ion until
the ensuing wear. 1t is anticipated by some,
or rather The anticipation Is pretended,
that perjury will then be TIte. But THIS Is
scarcely possible. When cases OF poiygamy
lave been on trial, il may be readily
conceived that a man might taKe iaise
oath 70 avoid the consequences eli ms crime,
but be would hardly render himself amena-
bic TO punishment in the State prison iof
he trifing satisfaction Of castipg vote when
his vote will be merely supernncuS. Inc
Federal and Mormon statistics OF the popu-
l,tiou and its relative constituents 40 mol
differ essentially. 1t is g morally ADMITTED
hat there are about 145OOO lnhsoilants IN
theTerritorv, and that $1,000 or 10000 OF
these are Gentiles, in which term the Jew
are for once included, the remainder being
Mormons. OF The voting population II is
estimated that the Geniles can call out 0OUd
and the Mormons $4,000, OF whom, by the
most liberal allow ance, no; more than IOOO,
including the women, are polygamlsts
There ia then surely no OCCASION Tor Inc re-
naming $4,000 10 perjure themselves, Wnen
without their aid their party Will outnumoer
heir opponents in the ratio OF four or i've to
one.
There il a peIyerse inclination in the out
side world 10 assume that Mormon is
necessarily polvgamist. This is only true
so far that ali Mormons, at least all not oil
the Josephite sect, who are IN small mi
nority, believe in the Divine authority Tor
the practice. But four-6flhs OF the Mormon
voters in Utah cannot afford to indulge In
this expensive luxury, even II they may b.
so disposed. The actual iru Is that the
leaders of The Church care little or nothing
about it, retaining it in their creed mainly
for the purpose OF counting that "persecu-
ton" which binds their Church together, and
without which it might tumble TO pieces
for lack of the energetic kicking thai
keeps it alive. This commission is one OF
the pleasantest kicks it has had for long
time. The lifting up OF the congressional
foot has all the appearance OF an insult,
while il does not reach far enough to do
the Mormon body any harm. The reasons
fer Gentle opposition are not generally APP
pretended The ladies are most sincere in
heir hostility 10 polygamy, and pursue their
Efforts in that direction with zeal that
sometimes outruns their discretion, but the
leading sgitators WELD ii for beating the air
and keeping up their circulation. 1t is mol
loo much to say with honest conviction that
L hov nj Il
rine eliminated from the creed OF the Church
As they would love the point dappui from
which they gain sympathy abroad. There
being an almost universal sentiment in favor
IF the right of all sects TO submit themselves
% the guidance of their religious teachers 50
ong as the laws of the country are not
7iolated, no public indignation against Nor
nonism PER Sc could be stimulated. The OBJ
ect OF these agitators, as Governor Murray
md others among them have acknowledged
rankly, is not so much the destruction Of
1olygamy, which they say is matter OF
minor Importance, as the subyersion
VI theocraey, which for some
unexplained reason they assume TO be
he power of other forms OF Church govern
nent is considered to be elsewhere, where
people do not seem TO be at all alarmed. In
7ery plain English, the object of these gen.
Iemen is to get possession Of the lucrative
,fices of the Territory. apprehend that
he people at large do care, and care only to
ee the one vile excrescence OF Mormonism
and that they are supremely in
Different to the ambitious desires OF these
sho attack Mormonism from any other mo-
i've, as we'll as to the machinery of the Nor
non Church, which is the sole business of its
wn mem bers, who appear 10 be abundantly
aiisfed with their faith in their religion
nd the management of those TO whom they
submit themselves.