Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-02
nelegnte Cannon and PoIygamy.


mons were excluded from voting, but
M0rmons were, nevertheless. chosen to MI
the offices. The Territorial Legislature IS
under the control Of the MOrmons and
viii obey implicitly the directions
OF the Mormon leaders. The central idea
OF the Edmunds law is that the pOlygamus
MormOns. rather than be excluded from
| the offices and deprived Of the ballot,
would abandon polygamy. The leaders
thanked the idea 10y making the polyga-
mists believe that they are martyrs and
/ that il Is their religious duty to endure
whatever deprivatiOns the government
NAV impose on them. AZ the same time
the Morm0ns who do not practice pOlyg-
amy were impressed with the importance
OF sustaining their pOlygamOus brethren.
/ The result Is that pOlygamy is as strongly
/ fortified as ever it was. In fact, it Is more
| strongly fortified, because MOrmOHs who
We're Indifferent 10 pOlygamy, and even
/ lukewarm with respect to the church it.
| self. have become aggressive defenders Of
/ both. Delegate Cannon gives instances
where M0rmons. hostile TO pOlygamy,
l voted in its interest simply because they
/ thought they were being prosecuted. 1t
| seems also that the Interpretation given
the law, making it apply to persons who
/ have not been viOlators of the law against
/ p0lygamy since the Edmunds law went
/ into effect. but who were pOiygamists
/ prior To that time, has had a bad
| effect. It serves TO sustain the assertions
/ Of the leaders that the government is per-
! scouting them, and is trying to
I drive them into the commission of acts
! Of violence that will justify the employ
ment Of troops against them. The tact
/ that the Utah Commissioners ask for adj
( ditIOnal legislation is an admission that
/ the Edmunds law is a failure. 1t is not
/ improbable that the United States SUI
/ preme Court, the first opportunity that
presents itself. will declare the law un-
| constitutional. The late Judge Jere
/ Black, who was counsel for the Nor
mons. certainly entertained the opinion
| that tue court would so decide. This Nor
mon question has bothered Congress for
/ years. All efforts to settle it have failed.
/ The disposition has been to deal gently
with pOlygamy. 1t was hoped that it
| would gradually die out. The country is
| pretty we'll satisfied now that it is an evil
| that mild remedies Will not reach.
The reports that have appeared in the
/ newspapers since Congress adjourned
| show that a number Of Senators and Rep
| resentatives have employed a part of their
vacation at least in trying to improve
/ their fortunes. Some of them haven't
much of "a fortune 70 improve. That may
/ be an evidence that they are honest Con-
gressmen. It seems that Senator Butler.
/ of South Carolina, is interested in an cleo
| trical invention which promises to create
a revolution Of some kind or other. SEN
| ator Morgan. Of Alabama, is experiment
| ing with a patent which will wholly
| change the present method Of making
| iron. The process will so cheapOn iron
! that there will be no need of protective
/ tariff, provided the Senator doesn't sell
/ his patent abroad. OF course he will not
I do that. lie Will prefer to cOnfine the
benefits Of his invention to his own cOun-
/ try. Senator Beck, of kentucky, and
| Senator Call. of Florida, have taken
shares IN a new-fangled sewing ma
chine which Is to run all other
sewing machines out of the market. Rep
| resentative Phil Thompson, Of kentucky.
| has an electric lamp which can be con-
| trOlled in the same way that gas is-that
| is, the light can be decreased or increased.
| He thinks there's millions in it." Rep
| resentatiye Ellis, OF Louisiana, has jute
| machine which, it is alleged, will make
the South rich. The allegation is encour-
aging, but it Will take time to demonstrate
its truth. There are others, perhaps, VINO
are seeking fortunes in patents, but their
names are not recalled at present.
There are several Presidential possible
| ties in Washington at present. Two
/ Of them, Thurman and Mcdonald,
We're in the Supreme Court room
| one day this week where they at
tracted great deal Of attention. \
/ Washington correspondent speaking Of
them, says: The manner OF these two
/ distinguished Democrats differs. Judge
Thurman seems not to be fearful of his
/ tongue, while Of late Senator Mcdonald
/ appears 10 regard il as an unruly men,
| Der. Thurman laughs and jokes pleas
/ antly when the possibilities OF the future
are suggested by his brother lawyers.
Mcdonald bows and congresses his lips.
Humans face shows no new lines of
/ thought. Mcdonald has changed so
/ greatly that his friends talk about it. Nc
/ Donald used to be as jolly as a tar. He
seems now to be labOring painfully to APP
| pear to be grave and sedate." 1t is to be
regretted if the bare possibility of being
! the standard bearer of the Democratic
/ party has changed ex-senator Mcdonald
from 4 light-hearted, jovial gentleman
| into grave and thoughtful old man.
Thurman is wiser. He does not propose
that the buzzing of the Presidential bee
shall rob his life of all pleasure.
n. W. Fitzgerald, the king bee of the
pension agents, has closed his pension
Office in Washington. He called his little
army Of clerks about him, made them a
speech and discharged them. He de-
clared that the Gould and Vanderbilt
mOnOpolistic press had beaten him for the
time He would come to the front again,
he said, and would continue to prosecute
claims as long as one soldier lived who
shed a drop of blood in the Union cause.
What patriot Fitzgerald makes himself
out TO be. OF course, if he is permitted,
he viii continue to prosecute claims as
long as there is a chance to euchre
Union soldier out Of dollar.
An Atlanta correspondent of the Con-
rler-,T0urHdi thinks the people of Georgia
pine for a new state Constitution more
than anything else. Some politicians
NAV he Of that mind, but the people want
As little Of conventions and legislatures as
possible. \ half dozen amendments
would make our present constitution a
good one, and they ought to be adopted
by the General Assembly and people.
and not submit the State to the excite
ment and expense necessary to revise the
whole instrument.
The negroes Of New York held mass
meeting the other night TO declare their
LOYALTY to the great Republican party.
one reverend man and brother. speaking
Of HAYES. said: s'We are not here 10 saw
how he was elected, We don't know how
he was elected, but he got there some
how" This is very similar to the answer
Of an old darkey in Southwest Georgia
,,-to v,-a- asked what he was in iaiI for