The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1884-01-26
Our Washington Letter.
From our Regular Correspondents

facts bearing upon the Colony Of Salt
Lake have been developed Notwith-
standing the pressure Of business upon
/ congress, the variety and daily in
creasing number of questions demand
irg legislation, many members real;za
the necessity OF action for the suppress
sion OF wholesale polygamy among the
Mormons OF Utah, and other Territor-
les. Public sentiment having lone
since asked for the extipation oe the
evil, refuses to be satisfied with the re-
suits OF the recent legislation. Con
gressmen generally profess a willing
ness to give their support to any meas
ures which seem to be practical, and
tar reaching, but they are compare
lively few who thoroughly appreciate
the difficulty Of dealing with society
as entrenched and perfectly organized
as Is the Mormon church. Several
measures dealing with the chronic evil
have been offered in each branch of
Congress. Notably, among those who
have given the subject of Anti-N Nor
mon legislation careful study are Sen
ators Edmunds of Vermont, and Gull
lom of Illinois, Representa- ives Eose-
Grams of California and Cassidy of
Nevada. The latter having lived near
the Mormons of Utah for twenty-five
years, has had the best opportunity for
observing the effects Of polygamy. He
has long been an uncompromising en-
envy of the institution and has taken
deep interest in all schemes for the
suppression of the twin relic" His
bill provides for the abolition of the
Territorial legislature; and the vest
ing of all power of government in a
commission Of fifteen, to be appointed
by the President, and divided between
the two great political parties This
commission is to have the power to en-
force laws, punish criminals, and will
be responsible to Congress for its act
ions. The District of Columbia has
the same form of government, and
Mr. Cassaidy claims further precedent
for the appointment, in bill passed
by Congress i'll 1903, creating a COM
mission of thirteen members, who with
a Governor, constituted the govern
eminent of Louisiana. Senator Gull
Ions bill also provides for the reor-
ganization of the legislative power of
Utah, and he addressed the Senate on
the subject several days ago. Senator
Edmunds does not believe in arbitrary
measures with Mormonism. His bill
provides for the gradual disenfranch-
isement of polygomous Mormons of
both sexes, SO that, while every mem
Der but one, of the Territorial Legis
lature elected previous to the adoption
Of that measure was polygamist, ev
cry member last elected is a monogram
Gus Mormon. The one-wife Mormons
however are sa to do the bidding of the
Church as faithfully as did their poly-
gamous predecessors; the Mormon in
variably making affairs of state sub
seryient to the interests Of his church.
For this reason, the government of the
Territory of Utah is considered men
ace to Republican institutions. Most
Congressman favor more stringent
measures, and Senator Garland Of
Arkansas following Senator Cullom i'll
the discussion of the matter, compar
ed the Edmunds bill TO the remedy of
a corn plaster for consumption. Gen.
Rosecrans proposes to do away with
the evil by prohibitory amendment
to the constitution. But others not
.
favoring this policy say that, the Nor
mon laughs at law, and they will
scarcely treat an amendment with
more respect, Polygamy IS every day
becoming stronger in Arizona, Idaho,
Wyoming, and Montana, and from
the temper of both parties. there is no
doubt some sort Of legislation will be
enacted. The objection to a constitJi-
tional amendmet empowering Congress
to pass a uniform law of marriage and
! divorce for the United States is the
fact that it would throw another large
body Of litigation into the Federal
courts, which have already more than
they can attend to; and tend to en-
croach rore upon the State tribunals.
The jealousy excited by this tendency
is one of the reasons why it is so diff
cult to pass a uniform law of bank
ruptcv, or to secure it from being re-
pealed soon after it is passed. Moreov-
er, Congress does not pay the Federal
Judges enough to keep the best ability
on the bench. This is without refer
ence to the almost irreconcilable diff
ferences between the various States on
the moral question involved in the
marital relation. Any kind Of di-
vorce law, for instance, arouse commo-
ton in South Carolina, which only
tolerated for a few years the divorce
law passed by the Legislature during
the reconstruction era, and boasts
record of no divorces before or since
"A daily mail between Portland,