National Republican., 1884-03-31

3w VAS dry the clquc wcrc declaring that
iva. ,,.,,ulc. a at II did net 10 far enough,
'Io wee demanding UItLyr legislation. Ana
81 .Iotr some muHl revolution should
interrupt their schemes they viii grow oid
and de with this uuspcmly, dishonest re.
tUc,t upon their lips. I.ut ii their demand
shcud hc accrd,d to, and such tyrannous
WCgs UiC should he rasSud as would place
iDCttU industrious. thritty, moral, aud tenn
IriHtr Itollc. with thrir homes ana savings
1T the mercy Of band OF unscrunulous
idycnturCre, ns sure as men shall live to
write. future history will class our case with
ilu,c uf ihr early Christinns-the HugucnOts
and the PILGRIMS. ! have no doubt tbat tho
creatures who seek the seizure Of the tcrri-
tory would bo willing to pay us in the coin
OF next ccutury's sympathy. But there arc
lev men in congress, / think, who would care
to have their names linked in history with
the inamy of our spoliation."
what plan would you suggest for the So
luton Of this question:
"in the first place. comprehension of our
circumstances and life, and then honest. fair
treatment. As 1t is we are almost invariably
misreprCsentod by tho distorted accounts
given Of our acts and words, to suit the
wicked or sensational desire of tho people
who circulate reports. This is particu-
larly the case at Salt Lake, where
tho agency of the Associated Press is
held by one of the clique, OF which | have
spoken. But it is noticeable here in WASH
ington. When | made my argument against
the Cassidy bill before the house committee
on territories the Associated Press reported
me rs saying that | recognized tho right of
congress to punish pOlygamy If they so de-
sired. | made no such statement, nor any
thing akin to IL, because | think that such
power belongs to the people locally, and was
never given to the national legislature. And
when the false statement appeared, l called
the reporters attention to the error and
asked a correction No heed was paid to my
request. This may seem only slight matter
but it serves to illustrate the facility with
which falschood is circulated concerning us,
and the difficulty or impOssbility of our cor
recting the errors. Not only would l ask a
fair understanding Of our case by the press
and public generally, but especially by con-
gress. A full investigation Of Utah affairs by
statesmen is ell we ask aud we should not
appeal in vain for.this right. We are citi-
Zons, not serfs. We are loyal. not traitorous
II any people in this land are worthy of con-
sideraton, we are entitled to honest dealing
both for what We have done for the country
and what we have suffered Mt the
hands of its appointed servants. The
cique who ask for strangling
legislation are MS q rule men who have not q
single religious or moral objection against
plural marriage. They use "polygamy" as
battle cry and in their hearts they do not
have a single wish for its annihilation. If
morality were their aCtuhting motive why
did they not enforce without discrimination
the disenfranchising provisions of the I'd
munds act. That law expressly disqualiiies
from voting and holding office not alone men
and women who have entered into plural mar
riage with the most sacred and scli-sacrifcing
motives which can govern humanity, but also
practicers of the social evil, monogamists
guilty Of marital inhdelity, and makes
altogether very sweeping application. But
test oath for voters and oilicehOlders was
framed by the federal officials. With possi-
bly, party protective views, they provided
that illegal cohabitation should not bc any
disability when INDUCED in, however in
Discriminatory, outside the marriage relation.
Without any authorization Of law, they
interpolated in the registration oath the
words lin the marriage relation" whereby
only Latter-Day Saints are excluded from
the rights of citizenship, while females of
the most degraded type, with the still worse
male creatures whom they maintain, are
accorded every consideration at the ballot
box. The sexual crimes of these wretches
excites no animosity SO long us their political
affiliations are with the carpet bag rule OF the
territory. Another charge l make is that
men speak falsely when they designate
the Edmunds law as failure.
Was the deprivation Of 1900 people of
their rights OF citizenship failure!
\ social revolution cannot be Consummatcd
and all trace Of it oblitorated in one year or
lNo years. Aud | consider that before piling
up cumulative statutes against q long suffer
my peO,lc congress should learn by direct
investigation whether the allegations made
against us do not more largely arise from an
Inscriptions and selfish enmity than from
any actual evil which we commit