The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-01-14
THE UTAH PROBLEM.
The Cnllom Bill fer the Reorganixatiol
of the Legislative Power of Utan.F

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12.-Mr. Cullom ad-
dressed the Senate with regard to his bill to
reorganize the legislative power Of Utah. II
provides that the government of Utah shall
consist Of a Governor and Council OF nine
members, to be appointed by the President
and confirmed by the Senate, and they shall
be citizens and qualified voters of the Terri
tory. Mr.. Cullom reviewed the history OF the
Mormon establishment. The Mormonss he
said, are building up system which is hostile
to the United States and which, instead Of
having a republican government, either In
form or spirit, is essentially at war with every
principle of republicanism. 1t is government
of arrogant priests who teach that the Gen.
tiles are the foes Of the Mormon people, and
consider proper every device for their over
throw. The great mass of the Mormon people
believe that the words of their priests are
the very words of God, and that 1t is their
duty to destroy the government OF the United
States. They have occupied substantially all
the valuable land of Utah, aud have secured
control of all the water courses of Utah. The
Mormons have the balance of political power
in Arizona, Idaho, and perhaps wyoming, In
addition to their strength in Utah. Ii not
checked they will soon conGrol five or six OF
Nu6 0iabcb Auu 16ELlIUIl6S W6Bb Oh tuo Ii 5n-
sippi river. They have trampled under foot
all laws of the United States It would be a
mercy to these misguided people to adopt
such measures as may be necessary to release
them from the domination of their priesthood.
We do not desire war, but If the Mormon
question ia not settled soon it will end in war.
His BILL he said, was only temporary meas
ure The people of the Territory should,
when this evil had been eradicated, have the
control of their affairs. Meanwhile let the
United States government take the manage
ment of Utah into its hands, discharge the
incompetent and reasonable agents of the
Mormons, who are officers of the Territory,
and purge out of its civil code every vestige of
ecclesiastical polity. Mr.. Cullom main ained
the perfect constitutional right of Congress to
do this under that clause of the constitution
giving it the right to make rules and regula-
tons for the government of the Territory.
Mr.. Brown opposed the bill and violently
attacked recent legislation upon the subject,
declaring it to be unconstitutional The
eighth section of the Edmunds act, he assert
cd was palpable violation of the cons titu-
ton and was therefore null and void, and the
Utah Commission acting under it and apply
ing test oaths to voters are acting without au-
thority of law. Referring to the question of
the right OF Congress to destroy the Territorial
government, he said If Congress could
90 it in one Territory it could in all Terrific
ries, and if the new condition thus created
could last one. year, it could last 100 years, and
there was, therefore, nothing TO prevent Con-
gress making Of these Territories satrapies to
be plundered at will by the men in power. He
could never Subscribe to the doctrine that citi-
zens of the several States who go to Utah and
abandon their citizenship in other States
should lose their rights as citizens under an
arbitrary aud tyrannical tystem, such as thai
recommended by the bi i or that of the Utah
Commission The Christian church was the
true medium to deal with the Mormon qaes-
tion. Millions OF dollars are spent yearly to
convert the polyeamist of India and China to
Christianity Some of this money spentsaf
home might produce great change In the
Mormon problem. The real trouble with that
problem is that Mormons are not as good Re-
pubicsns as the leaders of the Republican
party would wish them to be.
Mr. Garland had always thought the Ed
munds bill for the Utah trouble very much
like prescribing corn plaster for consump-
lion, but he hoped the right remedy would be
found. The Supreme Court had laid down
the doctrine that people could not shelter
themselves from the consequences of crime by
pleading the requirements OF religion.