The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-01-30
THE WHOLE CASE.

seSAAOA 0OOaC 4OALAOAAOAAA W viz
newspapers outside Of the Territory,
and by some Of those within a great
deal Of passionate invective which
seems no more wise. II distance
from the place where the struggle
is In progress disqualifies one fol
rendering correct opinion, prOX-
unity equally disquslifies another
by 30 filing the mind with pre-
JUDGE that impartiality is imposs
sible. In Utah the Gentiles regard
it as a hand>to hand struggle be-
tween themselves and the MormOns,
and they accordingly look upon the
manifestation of desire for scrupu.
lous fairness as something like weak
ness. Their feeling resembles that
of prominent southern Republican
who was interviewed during the
carpet-bag period by the correspond.
ent of a Northern newspaper. The
Republican expressed q hope that
the correspondent would make re-
port upon the state of things In the
south, which would help the party
in the north. The correspondent
said he should try to be impartial.
s'Impartiall" eXcla med the Re.
publican, with great contempt,
"whan you are in q battle, you
don't want to be impartial. You
want to kill off the enemy as
fast as you can" Long ago
the spirit Of antagonism drove
the Utah Gentiles into this
same state Of feeling, and in cOnse-
auence they are even more untrust-
worthy authority than are many
who discuss the question without
having visited the Territory. A
short time ago the New York Post
offered the following sensible re-.
marks:
The Normons have done nothing
which entities US under the Constitution
to punish them collectively. There is
only one ofense known to the United
States Constitution which enables Don.
gress or the Executive to inflict disabili-
ties on the community en- bloc, and that
is armed rebellion. In time Of peace We
have no right to take away any mans
vote because another man has too many
wives, or punish him in any way because
he has too much respect for any priests,
or because we do not like his Bible. The
great principle Of this government is that
esch man shall suffer for his own crimes
only, and shall not suffer at ell in time
of peace without due process Of law.
There is nothing in this extract
except what Is good sense and good
law. It states facts which need to
be called to the public attention,
and which must not be lost sight of
if Congress is to legislate intel
l'gentlv for the suppression of polyg-
amy Yet the ably edited Salt Lake
Tribune is 30 far blinded by the
stress Of partisanship that when it
replies it does so in this random
fashion:
II the foregoing means anything, it
means that 10 q Territory Congress is as
mpotent to act as in State; it means
further, that while an open crime may be
asd, the siiers and sbettors Of crime
must be held to be innocent; that when
Congress grants q privilege to Its direct
wards, and that privilege is shsmefully
aud reasonably used, to Withdraw it is
illegal; that plesding guilty to an offence
does not constitute conviction, and that,
inally, there is no strength what
aver in the government of this
Republic, and no possible way for
i to proceed when its cliizsns are abused
and its laws defed and derided, except
20 appeal to the moral forceswhich attach
20 tthe Christian Church." Some Of US
IAN remem Der when, in every town and
,i,y of the north, there were some petty
,rgsns and many individuals, who could
prove directly from the Constitution
hat, though States were In armed rebel
ion, killing their neighbors and friends
,y tens and hundreds of thousands, and
triking al the life OF the nation itself,
tin there was no inherent power of self
preservation which could be interposed
between the nation and destruction. But
Yhila these wretches were preaching, the
lew code with the sword, and no one
,ver thinks of appealing from that su
Just law.
This would be very forcible ex.
,ept that it has no application. No
amount of defamation can confuse
he fact that punishment for
,olygamy must strike the in.
lividuals Immediately guilty
md cannot be visited vica.
.iously upon their neighbors,
wen if the latter sympathize with |
he law.breakers. Polygamy is all |
here is of Mormonism that violates |
he law, but the fierce antagonism
# the Gentlles has led many OF them
% confesa that to them polygamy
8 the least part Of the Mormon
,hurch, and only one Of the reasons
or fighting MOrmonism. They
want to punish the Lstter-day |
Saints for their sentiments as we'll
IS for their acts. They would pun |
SD them for shaving poor opinion |
II the Constitution and laws OF the
United States. But it can't be |
lone.
It is a mystery why the Utah
societies do not do |
omething besides carelessly calling |
N Congress for more and stronger
egislation. Why do they moi give |
heir energies to ferreting out poly |
,amists, collecting evidence of Their |
,uilt and prosecuting them in the |
courts? It ia useless to say that !
cannot he convicted,
because they have been convicted.
Then svhy abandon the proaecu>
and i'm