The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-23
NELLIE WHITE.

the "Pen.' Perhaps she Is alrea0
aware of this; if not she will 10
long remain in ignorance Of th
fact. Nellie White is the youni
woman who was escorted to tn
Penitentiary on Thursday afternoon
by the Marshal in pursuance Of al
order by the Judge Of th9 Dlstric
Court committing her as for con
tempt in refusing to answer certain
questions propounded to her by ths
grand jury, These questions Were
intended to ascertain ifshe had "gone
through, as the queriSt expressed it
any religious marriage rite or cere-
mony with Girsrd Roundy, bishop
of Wanship; and if so, was the
marriage "plural or celestial for
time or eternity, or both ?" To learn
if she had ever been in the Endows
ment House, and If she knew who
Stare the officiating priests there.
Nellie White was brought in from
Wanship for the express purpose of
having these questions prop2unded,
and after they were propounded she
was silent, and the prison has been
prescribed, both as q puni<hment
and a tongue-loosener. For her
silence she will be abused
as Belle Harris was abused
last summer, and blackguarded
as Belle was blsckguarde d
And yet will any fsir-minded, honest
person say that Nellie should ans
sWer the question? or would any
such person respect her more for
answering? would he not rather
think less of the woman for reply
ingf The presumption of the law
is that she is not married to Bishep
Roundy, the law always presuming
the negative to be. true in matters of
this nature until the Affirmative is
proven. The grand juryI presumes
that she was married to Roundy,
and some newspaper readers also
presume shat she is the bishops
plural or celestial wife, for the case
has been the subject of newspaper
publication and comment. And
suppose these last two assumptions
are absolutely correct, can anyone
ask the woman to reply to the con-
undrums propounded by the inqui-
sitorial body2 If she has married |
Roundy, she knows that to answer
the questions affirmatiyely means
simply long term in the peniten>
tiary and heavy fine for her hus-
band, and it ought not to be expec>
ted that she would voluntarily do
tending to injure
him; also, if she is his
plural wife, I'd answer IN
the negative means perjury, with
it's attendants of conviction, fine
and imprisonment for herself. Does
anybody desire that she will commit |
this crime?
People who can look at this mat
ter dispassionately, and without
prejudice or bias, cannot help feel.
ing that Miss White or Hrs Roundy, |
as the case may be, is pursuing
the course that every true and brave
woman would pursue under similar
1t is the only course
left open TO woman in her situa.
ton wh3 is sctuated by the natural
instincts and social sentiments of
Womankind. We are saying nothing
of the action OF the court; it may be
in the line Of good law, or it may
not; but there can be
only one opinion as to the course of
Nellie White, and that is that she
is proving herself a true woman inl
bravely accepting punishment
rather than be guilty Of doing some
thing against which her conscience
revolts and which her womanly
instinct abhors.
II juries, courts and prosecutors
think they will make any Roadway
against polygamy by the tactics
hat has been pursued in the Belle
Harris and Nellie White csses, they .
viii live to learn of their mistake. b,
They can I'LL the peniteniary with s
.ontumscious witnesses, and put +.
government 90 the expense OF
Guarding and boarding half the
,lural wives in the Territory. and
ct they will be no nearer conVic.
ion than when they began the raid. s
he policy Is bad one to pursue.