The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-07-30
an ANXIOUS INQUIRER.

In another part Of the HERALD
this morning, a young man asks the
old question, what shall we do
with our girls?" They are not the
girls to which the query usually APP
plies, nor does the interrogation want
to know what to do with them in
the same sense that others have
dene when propounding the ever
important conundruna. He tells the
story of himself and some, perhaps
many, others in the community,
though it is hoped the number is
small; and asks how the Edmunds
law, which is soon to be put in Oper-
alton here, viii apply to him and
his associates. We can inform him
how the law will affect him and
those sin the same boat" if it shall
be applied literally according to it's
plain letter. In the first place he
will be treated, unmarried as he is
and as he is likely to continue, pre-
cisely as if he were a polygamist,
with this difference, that the fine
provided for the polygamist is
$500, and the Imprisonment not
more than five years, and the
fine for our fast young cOrrespon-
dent is $500, and the Imprisonment
not more than six months POliti-
cally "Anxious" is disfranchised by
the Iaw-deprived Of his rights as a
citizen to vote and hold ofice-the
same as his neighbor who may be
the husband Of three, four or six
wives. The law is remarkably
plain on this point. and why any
'liberal" or other person should have
formed the opinion 1t did not apply
to him is difficult to understand. II
any one guilty Of the practice re-
ferred to by our correspondent had
any idea that he was not meant, he
had better re-read the following
section of the act, and if he does not
then understand it, apply to any
lawyer for an Interpretation:
Section S-That no polygamist, bigam-
ist, or any person cohabitiDg with more
than one woman, and no woman cohab.
sting with any Of the persons described
sc Aforesaid in this section, In any terri
tory or other place over which the
United States have exclusive jurisdic-
sion, shall be entitled 10 vote at any cleo
sion held in any such territory or other
place, or be eligible for election or sp-
poiHtment 10 or be entitled 10 hold any
Office or place Of public trust, honor OF
emOlument IN, under, or for any such
territory or place, or under the United
States.
If this section means anything,
and it clearly does, it means that nc
person cohabiting with more thar
one woman shall be entitled to vote
or held Office. It does not NEAR
simply any Mormon, any Meth
Odist, or any non-religionist
but any man whether he belongs t.
church, is a rank infdel OF wilC
Arab. IS is this section of the Law
that makes the act so distasteful t.
so many who were NEST anxious t.
secure the passage Of the bill. 1t il
a twO-edged sword cutting on boil
sides, ard may prove weapon o.
defense as well as attack. We hay,
known times in Utah when judges
jurors and prosecuting attorney
would all be lOath to attack a maj
because Of his violation of this law
lest the justice they melted out b,
measured to them again.
How the law will be interpreted
and applied in the matter Of disfran
ehisement are things to be learned
hereafter, when the commissioner
shall have arrived and gone to work
TO be honest, fair and consistent
to be lawful, IN fact, they must