Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-01-11

Every law thus far proposed has been
fatally defective, in that it has depended
for the success of its results upon the ac-
quiescence of the very people against
whose practices it was directed. Congress
could not understand that it had before it
one of those difficult cases in which the
public sentiment of the community con-
dennis the doctrine it is sought to enforce.
Yet Congress had had plenty OF experience
of precisely the same kind of difficulty
during the period of Southern reconstruc-
tion, and ought to have learned lesson
from it's failures there. In fact every man
who pretends to craftsmanship should be
aware that it is impracticable to make q
community obey laws in the justice OF
which it does not believe, and that SO long
as the operation of such laws depends
upon public opinion, they must remain
dead letters. The principle here involved
is an elementary one, yet every Act of Con-
gress directed against the practice of po.
lygamy has been drafted in disregard of it.
The last measure of the kind has just
been introduced to the House by Payson.
II provides that thereafter no person shall
be entitled to vote in a Territory, or be
"eligi5le to hold office or position of
"honor, trust or profit, who at the time of
offering to vote or being chosen to such
=" office or position, is bigamist or polyga-
"mist, or who is living with and claims
"to be the husband of more than one
woman" Now this bill has all the de.
fects of It's predecessors, and we may safely
predict that ii it is enacted it will produce
no results. For it ought to be clear to the
dullest comprehension that in community
which holds polygamy to be right, and in.
reference with it persecution, it must be
impossible to procure the proofs necessary
to substantiate charges against anyone.
Payson's bill does not avoid the rock upon
which all similar efforts have been
wrecked. The real difficulty consists in
the fact that it is impossible to convict
Mormons save upon Mormon evidence
and that evidence never has been and
never will be obtainable When Mormons
take plural wives, as they call it, they do
not file certificates of their marriage with
the County Clerk, nor do they send notices
to the papers. Everything is done in
secret at the Endowment House, and Con.
gress has so far failed to suggest any way
of getting at the archives of that irstitu-
ton, if indeed any archives are kept there.
Payson's bill is not capable of solving
the problem. Nobody would suffer any
penalties under it. 1t would be dead
letter. Another proposition has recently
been made, namely, to divide the Terri
tory of Utah among the surrounding Ter
ritories, so as to subject the Mormons to
the influence and supervision of non- Nor
mons. Bat the success of this scheme
would be dependent upon the passivity
of the Mormons. 1t is taken for granted
that they would accept the new situation
aud stay where the new alignment of
political boundaries placed them. This
evidently is an unwarrantable assump,
ton. It is most probable that they would
all migrate together somewhere if such a
plan was adopted, and then the work
would all have to be done over again. But
SO long as Congress persists in the error of
trying to make them their own execution
ers, it will fail as it has failed every time
hitherto, and every such failure will
strengthen polygamy. 1t is indeed pos
sible that the institution may die out of
itself if nothing is done, though there does
not seem to be much basis for this expecta-
ton. 1t is true that there is faction in
the Mormon Church which does not believe
in polygamy, but it is not the ruling fac
ton. Gentle contact and example, the
increasing expense of maintenance, and
the Glow growth of education, are all
working against polygamy more or less,
but still it has vitality enough to last an
other century if it is not attacked, and
therefore something will have to be done.
No Act of Congress which depends on
Mormon testimony is of any use. No
measure predicated upon the fallacy that
the Mormons want to get rid of poly gamy,
is of any use. As a preliminary to any
useful legislation it must be realized clearly
that the Mormons are as community in
open antagonism against the laws of the
United States on this subject, and that
they will defeat those laws if they can
To treat with them therefore power
must be applied which rests upon outside
sentiment. They must be governed from
without, in fact. This can only be done
by taking away their political liberties and
placing them under military rule for a
time. If that is done there will no longer
be any difficulty in furnishing polygamistE,
and in DISTINGUISHING them. There is no
other method of treatment which holds out
any hope of success. The Mormons cannot
be got to extirpate an abuse in which they
believe as an article of religion. If the
United States really think it necessary to
abolish polygamy, they will have to treat
the polygamists and all who uphold them
as rebels. If this course is adopted
single twelvemonth will see the end Of
polygamy, but if Congress goes on in the
old style the Mormons will have nothing
to apprehend, no matter how many bills
of pains and penalties may be passed at
Washington.
TELLER'S SILVER BILL.