The St. Johns herald., 1885-06-04
NEWSPAPER OPINIONS
Of the Monster Evil cf the Nire-
 tee2th Century.

| llOcrty 1nlflnSeQ, IS only tWadulf
 They are violating a fundamenta law, anu have no more right to DIG lection than would a band of sax
 ages who might settle here and at
 tempt, under the guisc of religion to offer human sacrifice to appeas the wrath of their deities. I
 would seem that the days of polyg amous Mormonism are numbered
 May the end soon come!
 Leadville (Col.) Herald: The plea for sympathy in behalf O the Mormons who "have growr aged and infrm" in the polyga nous relations is founded on false pretenses. One of the grounds fol the appeal made by the polyga- mists to the the President is that the effect of the Edmunds law Is to break up plural marriages and family relations formed before 1t was enacted. They affirm that they did not enter into polygamous re- lations in violation of law, but that the law was passed for the purpose of breaking up their families. The plea is false. Twenty-three years ago Congress passed a law declar- ing that every person having a husband or wife living who marries another, whether married or single, in territory. is guilty of bigamy, and shall be punished by fine and imprisonment" It will, therefore, be seen that polygamy has been a continues violation of law from the time it was established as an 
 New York Commercial Advertis- CT The authorities of the Mormon Church have sent to the President an appeal for what they are pleased to'call justice, and a protest against the iniquity done by the United States courts in sending holy saints to prison for committing the crime of polygamy. The gist of their ar 5umentis that polygamy is morally right because Brigham Young once said that it's righteousness had been revealed to him from Heaven. But is remembered that the doctrine If blood antonement"-which was put into practice in the Mountain Meadow massacre and in many single murders, was also justified )y the Mormons on the ground of revelation of the Brigham Young ;ort. But the law of the United States holds murder to be a crime md treats it as such in spite of revelation" to the con- rary, and precisely the same thing s true of polygamy. The protest i ,oes on to protest against the course | # the United States in making he conscienccs of the people gen rally binding upon those who | hink differently. But that is pre- isely what we do in the case of ther criminals. Many an enter rising burglar would like to be cid exempt from punishment for is offences on the ground that he oes not share the nrcjudices and onscientious scruples of the com lunity generally as to the impro- riety of house-breaking.
 Leavenworth Times Early in leir career in Ohio, Missouri and Ilinois the Mormons were more or 'ss nersecuted, Though there are yo sides to the difficulties between lem and the violent people who irtually drove them out of those ates, it may be frankly admitted lat they were more sinned against Ian shining.
 But after they established them lives in Utah they shifted the bal nee very rapidly. They grafted olygamy into their creed, and be- lme bloody prosecutors of dissen- ITS and interruptions nulliiiers of leelaws of the United States.
 Now that the power of the fcd- 'ai goverl. .ment is tardily exercised , punish them they try to screen leir evil practices behind the old