River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-11-08
Report of the Utah Commission.

WASHINGTON, Oct 30.-The board OF Utah
commissioners has submitted its second an-
nual report 10 the secretary Of the interior.
After making a statement of former legislation
Of congress, in relation to bigamy or polygamy,
they say:
The duties OF the commission appertain only to
matters Of registration and election and eligibility
to Office, while the punishment Of the crime OF
poygamy is left as under the former law 10 courts
Of justice. Under the anti-poygamy act Of the
commi sion II had good success az the general cleo
ton Of August, 1883, in excluding poiygamisis
from the polls, and as ar rs advised very few, II
any Illegal votes have been cast in Utah since the
commission took charge of registrations and cleo :
tions u August, 1882 The enforcement Ct the
beer excluded from The polls, shows the act has
been fully and successfully executed. 1t is thought
that discrimination between those MoTmons who
practice poygamy and those who do not, while not
likely to have much effect upon elderly men, who
already have plurality Of wives, and several fam
lilies, must have great weight With young men OF the
Territory, many OF whom are am bilious and aspiring
and would not like voluntarily TO embrace political
os;racism The very existence of law. disfranch-
Using polygamiss. must tend to destroy their ilfiu
ence, whenever il is understood il is TO be perman
ent discrimination. The fact also that it Will be
necessary to the preservation of the political lnu
ence of the Peoples party-as the Mormons style
themselves-to have a large body Of their MEM
bers who are not polygamsts, must Tend in time
TO weaken the practice of pOlygauy, for every
married Mormon who takes but one plural wife
loses three votes for his party-his own and those
OF his two wives, woman suffrage being established
by law in Utah. Concerning plurality of wives.
the report says: That doctrine and practice so
odous throughout chrstendom should have been
upheld so many years, against the laws OF congress
aud sentiments of the civilized world Is one Of the
marveis or tho nineteenth century, ana can De
scarcely appreciated even by those familiar with
the worlds history. In relation to tue difficulties
of government control, OF
SUPPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS FANATICIsM.
certainly no government can permit violation Of
its laws against polygamy under cover of constitu
tional guarantees of religious freedom and while
congress may not legslate as to mere matters OF
opinion, yet IL may denounce and punish as crimes
those actions which are in violation of social
duties or subyersive to good order. The right of
congress to suppress this great evil is Qndoub ted
II is equally plain that the dignity aud good name
Of this great government among the nations Of the
earth demand such congressional actlonas shall
etfectuay eliminate this national disgrace. The
commission renew the accommodations contained
In the report Of Nov IL, 1892, notably the one
regarding the enactment of a marriage law by
congress declaring all future marriages in the Ter
ritory NIL and void, unless contracted and evi-
deDced in the manner provided by the act. If the
next legislature shall fail to adopt measures in con-
formity with the provisions of the act of 1882, for
the suppression OF polygamy, the commission Will
be prepared to recommend, and congress certainly
will not delay the adoption of most stringent
measures compatible with the limitations of
the constitution, that may be considered
necessary for the suppression of this great
evil The report refers to various mqnlclpal
elections, and says the most import mt election was
that of AuE. 6, 1888. The total number Of votes
cast in this contest was p 800 against 1898 the
last November election Tie principal falling of
was on the part of the GentIIes. liberal party
In November the total vote Of the peoples. or Nor
mon party. was 23039; liberal. 4,SS4. In 2 u
gust, 1883, the vote of the peoples party was 10
sos, and the liberal ,453, from which it appears
large numbers of liberals refrained from voting,
fact
MUCH TO BE REGRETTED.
for the reason it is believed, that by proper effort
and by good management, Que or more non-Nor-
mons might have been elected TO the legislative
l,arn of
ting the majority on record In conclusion, the
commission says: Recently some ten suits were IN
sttuted In the Third district court OF Utah by Nor
mons, against members of this commission. COM
planning that they had been unjustly deprived of
the right 10 register and vote. Thee are under
stood TO DO test cases. designed to contest the con-
sttutionaity of the Edmunds act as well as the
construction which put upon its provisions
These suits still undecided, and are likely to be
appealed to the supreme court of the United States.
1t has been asserted that polygamous marriages
have increased since the passage of the Edmunds
act. On the contrary, have the opinion OF
many Mormons that they have comparative de-
creased since the passage of tue said act After
diliPeu inquiry. believe the latter conclusion is
correct: but the Utah legislature will have the OPP
portunty of satisfying the country on his partlcu-
lar subject by the passage of such public marriage
act, as that have suggested to congress. BY
this and such other legislation we have indicated
they will give the government the assurance OF
their loyalty and patriotism, and avert a contest
that cannot but result in their discomh ure. We
consider ii proper to commend the zeal of the gov
ALEX RAMsFv, A. i. PADDOCK ID. l.. GODFREY.
A. r. CARLTON j. X. PETTIGREW.
To the HON. II. NJ. Teller, Secretary of the
Interior.