The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-01-12
TELEGRAP.HIC|
THE UTAH QUESTION.
Arthur PIRATE. Governor Mur-
raY and Congressman Reed
Talk, eff the Problem,

-
New York, 1.-THE Graphic's Wash-
ington correspondent says: A son Of the
late Orson Pratt, one of the original
Mormon apostles, Is In the city. He is
An ardent anai-Mormoz. To-day he i
said: 1--WE have been waiting twenty
wears, thinking that each succeeding
Congress would do something for Utah,
but il has never been doe When the
Poland bill was passed we hoped some
thing from it, but the vital parts were
taken from its so that it really amountt Z
to nothing. You ask me how it happens
that l am not Mormon. III tell you.
am the son of my fathers first wife,
and had mother who taught me the
evil of the system. There ara many
such persons in Utah, and the tendency
of their education is opposed to Mormon
lam. They grow up hostile to the insti-
tuition snd more than half appear to be
disguised with all forms OF religion.
Some Of the older and more fanatical
Mormons have an idea that the govern
ment cannot deal with them. They
think they are more powerful than this
United States.i OF course, this is not true
of the more intelligent cla,s; such
men as Cannon, for example they
know better. What we want
is q blow struck at polygamy.
We want it wiped out. I don't care q
straw for the simple unseating of Cannon
on technically. If nothing is to be
done to put down polygamy, I would as
soon have Cannon in Congress as Camp
bell, and perhaps rather. It is not Can
non we are fighting, but polygamy.
Pratt was asked what would be the
result in Utah of the unseating of Can
non, provided the committee on elections
| reported against him. He replied: The
case, in that event would, I suppose be
referred back to the people, and the Nor
mons would elect another man. The
vote in this case shows about the pro-
portion Of Mormons and Gentiles. It is
over ten to one, in favor Of the Mormon
population, and Of course they can always
carry ga election as long as they have
| the right TO vote.
Gov. Murray, of Utah, said, to-day:
I am not in favor of dividing the Terri
tory Of Utah, as they have proposed,
and attaching portion of it to Colorado
and Nevada. This would accomplish no
good. It would simply insure Nevada
TO the democratic, aud also most likely
turn Colorado into 3 democratic state.
The Mormons are. democrats. 1 am in
favor of sbolishing the present form of
| territorial government and administer the
affairs Of the territory by q council ap-
pointed by the President. What we are
striving for on the agitation Of the sub
ject is to arouse Congress to action. We
want Cannon dethroned fo- the moral ef.
feet it will have on polygamists.
| Congressman Reed, of Maine, re-
marked, to-day, that the great difficulty
in the way of effective legislation against
pelyRamy, in bis opinion, was that under
the system Of the enforcement of the
laws depanded upon the local sentiment
OF the community to which it applied.
Congress might enact statutes, but II the
weik ht Of public sentiment was against it,
it would be imperative. This was the
case in the SOUTH and it had became so
apparent that it was useless to attempt to
force law upon q community whose
weight Of public opinion was hostile to
is. That position bad to be practically
abandoned. This was the trouble in
Utah.
New York, 1.-THE Evening Posts
Washington special says Representa-
tive Burrows, of Michigan, intends, to-
day, to take the democrats at their word
in their adherence of polyEsmy, and
will introduce bill providing that big
amy or polygamy shall be disqualified
ton for any delegate from any territory.
He will ask to have this passed by unan-
imous consent. The opponents of Nor
monism will undoubtedly adopt some
such scheme IS this, and have their bill
become law, before the Utah case is re-
ferred back to the people, in the hope of
striking q successful blow At MOrmonisn
in this way.