Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-31
TIE VsBAND or ONE WEE.

The inhibition Of the possession of more
than n wife By a man, or of more than
one husband by a woman, is something
which has grown from the policy, or
morals, if one pleases, of western civiliza-
ton. Polygamy exists today in the
orient, and has existed from the earliest
known periods. It is practiced among the
Hindoos either as %poiygamy or polyandry;
it is in extensive practice among the
Africans in many localities; and, as is we'll
known, a plurality of wives is Of common
occurrence among the Mohammedans, and
among the Jews of the far eass. It was
allowed in the Old Testament; it is not for
hidden in the Talmud; in fact, it is toler-
ated by all tie various religions of the
east.
In the civilization of the west it is found
only among the Mormons of the United
| States. These people claim it is a part of
thsir religion, and do not hesitate to de-
fend it upon scriptural grounds. They
affirm that the only assertion bearing on
the marriage relation is that in which st.
Paul says a "bishop should be the husband
of n wife," meaning that he shall have
at least one wife, and that there is nothing
which prevents his having as many more
as he wishes. There is another in~terpre-
tatioa to the effect that the Injunction ap-
plies only to the bishop, having no
reference whatever to the mum
Der of wives Which may be possessed
by others. In truth, there seems to be
no direct authority from what are termed
inspired sources among Christians, which
forbids the extension of the marital rela-
ton beyond q single man and woman.
From a religious point of view this
makes theMornon problem one extremely
difficult Of solution. Polygamy is claimed
by this body to be a part of their religion;
they point to the bible and assert that it
permits a plurality of wives in the earlier
days, and that it nowhere positively for.
bids the practice. They affirm that all
the great religions of the east
favor polygsmy, and that these
religions, apart from the point il
dispute, present a system of morality
which, in no respect, is inferior to that OF
the occident. Thus far, it must be admit
ted that the Mormons made a strong show
ing, one that it is impossible to be over
come by mere negatioH.
The only ground on which the poly.
gamous practices can be alta cked is tka'
they are contrary to the spirit of the age
and the civilization among which they
exist. They cannot be attacked as beins
contrary to tho teachings of the bible. L
cannot be denied that they are a part o
the religion of the people who employ then
We can only assert that they are antagon
istic to our century's civilization, and OF
that ground we have the right to take
measures for their extinction.
What should be done to secur
this extinction is the question
now engaging the attention of some @
the best thinkers of the age. No mean
have yet been devised which nave met viii
the slightest success; in fact, all that ha
been has had the effect to more closet.
unite the Mormons as q political body
and to force them to REGARD the hostil
measures as aimed at one Of their mos
cherished religious beliefs. All that ha
been done has made the knot more com
piex, or the problem less solvabls.