The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-28
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS-.
SENATE.

in improved health.
Slater, from the committee OF
public lands, reported fsvorably the
bill to forfeit the grant along the
unfinished porto. or the Northern
| Pacific railroad.
Hill submitted report by the
committee on post offices and lost
roads On the subject of postal tele.
graph,
Lapham submitted report from
the comm ties on privileges and ele !;
tions on the Dsrville Investigation
Vance i. preparing minO ity re
port.
Salisbury submitted the minority
report on the Copiah county inves
tigstion.
ingalls, introduced bill to provide
for the sale of lands belonging to
the Prairie band Of Pottawatamie
Indians.
rne Senate took up the bill to
grant the Cinnabar & Clark's Fork
Railroad company the right of way
through portion Of Yellowstone
Park.
Conger submitted an amendment
to limit the company's control to
loo feet in width, and prohibiting
the company from erecting build
ings, excepting for station purposes,
Logan opposed the bill. "Chere
is he said, "a disposition to gobble
up everything in connection with
the park by railroad and hotel com.
panies."
Vest gave the details of the mau-
agement of the park, and said every
word stated by Logan was true.
Although Congress had abso-
lutely forbidden the monopoly thad
been permltted and the park was
under the cont,ol of a private cor
poration. The matter then went
over and the Utah bill was taken up.
Brown said the Edmunds bill
was q shameful violation of the
constitution. He contrasted what
he termed the polygamy Of New
England, and the picture he drew,
he said, was drawn "more in sorrow
than ia anger" There had been
over $4,000 divorces granted in New
England within the last twenty
years destroying 1000 families and
turning loose $4,000 persons to
marry again, all illegal except those
who were divorced for adultery or
fornication in either party. Assum-
ing that one-third Of them had been
divorced for adultery it would leave
sc, 600 divorced and married again
who were practicing polygamy in
New England, while the commits
sion acting under the Edmunds bill
after having searched Utah with q
test oath could find but 1900.
men and women who would not
swear they had never in their lives
been guilty Of polygamy. Prosti-
tuition was practiced in New
England to an alarming extent, and
fGticide to an extent, that if con.
tinued would in less than a century
depopulate New England of its
Puritan stock. A nation Of Nor
mons were impossible, not so a
nation of lIbertines. In Msssachu-
sets within the last twenty-five
years the population had increased
forty-fuur per cent. and 10 'rfiages
sixtY.two per cent. while divorces
increased 127 per cent. 1t beloved
the Christian and patriot TO ponder
the consequences That must follow
such a state of society. Churches
denounced polygamy and demanded
its suppression and churches Were
right, but how then could they
wink at illegal divorce. How with
out censure see their ministers Off
ciatipg for q petty fee, at sdulterous
marriages.. If ministers and
churches did their whole duty
public sentiment would soon
sweep from our statute books
the wicked and immoral divorce
laws, Brown claimed no right to
lecture either Christian churches or
their ministers. but as a citizen and
Senator, he felt it his duty to e3-
press his convictions with regard to
this great evil, which was nndermin-
ing society, the family, and the ex
is ence of the stste. Many perfo ns
advocated putting the Mormons to
the sword, 1t would be an outrage
upon morality and decency to at
tempt to slaughter helpless persons
because they entertained views on
moral questions to which the world
could not Subscribe. 1t was absurd
to assert he Mormops were in re-
bellion. No people could be in re
bellion who did not resist the laws
by force. Mormons held themselves
at all times ready to respond to
legal process. A psople 80 conduct,
ing themselves could not he in r0-
bellion in any legal sense. Brown
turned some sarcastic periods on
what he termed iptermeddling
Of New England in other peoples
business, as it did in the affairs OF
Southern States. People did not
object so much to the practices in
Utah as to the names by which
,hey were called. The Utah Com
mission, i'll prescribing a test oath
fer voters, were careful to exclude
only tn sc who cohabited with more
than on womsQ sin the marriage
relation; the Gentils With one wife
and one or more mistresses could
take the oath without difficulty.
There was an immense amount of
cant and hypocrisy in the whole
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