Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-05-14
THE RESULT.

The delegation which went 10 --uasii-
ingten to present the Declaration Oh
GRIEVANCES and Protest to the President
had their interview with him yesterday
ana the result was such as any man VINO
was not blinded by religious zeal or par
tisan prejudice could have foreseen. That
anyone could have anticipated any otner
result is the thing which must astonlsh
all. The interview was really fiaSco
after SO many mass meetings had been
held to consider the grievances OF the
people and their grievances, either real
or supposed. were set forth at
fall length in the document known
as the Declaration and Protest,
and TO which the President so at
tentiyely listened The President IS
now fully acquainted with the Mormon
side of the Utah difficulty, from the in
ception OF the Mormon church to the IN
terview OF yesterday. VIII any special
good come from the mission of the dele
CATION, to Washington? Their visit VIII
have the effect of more particularly call
ing the attention of the Administration to
Utah affairs and the necessity OF a still
stricter enforcement of the laws. Was
there any occasion for reciting the history
of the Mormon church in the Declara-
ton, if all the people in Utah wanted was
to- haye the laws impartially admins
tered? 1t may safely be said that the
impartial administration of the law for
which Mr.. Caine asked, means lax ad-
ministration of the law. If this is not a
correct Interpretation of the phrase, an
impartial administration of the law, then
this is offered as the only other interpre-
tation of that phrase-ttat there can be no
impartial administration of the law IN
Utah so long as any Mormon is convicted
of polygamy or unlawful cohabitation, no
matter how abundant and competent the
evidence, nor how the jury is irnpanelled
nor of whom composed. When the gen.
tlemen of the delegation were in the
presence of the Chief Magistrate
Of the people, the man from whom
they expected relief and protection, why
did they not press the charges of the
Declaration? In that instrument it was
charged that ''juries are packed to con-
vict, and yet the delegation did not urge
this upon the President. The Declaration
says, that contrary to good law, persons
accused of crime are esteemed guilty
until they prove themselves innocent )"
this too the delegation neglected to urge
upon the President. II this last charge
is true, the attention of the President
should have been particularly called to
it, and not in the general manner of a
hurried reading of the Declaration, as
such presumption by any court is not
in harmony with the fundamental
Declaration charges plural marriage was
publicly proclaimed doctrine of the
church in 1852. Congress declared it a
crime in 1862; but the law enacted
against it remained for seventeen years a
dead letter. the Federal officials hesitat-
ing to enforce it, as if they. doubted its
constitutionalitY The law of 1862 was
not declared constitutional until the 9th
of January, 1879" Here was a
splendid opportunity for the dele
CATION to expound the Constitution to the
President in accordance with the
most advanced ideas Of the great lawyers
of Utah. Had the delegation done their
duty, they would have unfinchingly told
the President that Jay, Marshall and
Taney, Chase and Waite were all wrong
in their construction of the Constitution,
and that laws made in pursuance of the
Constitution were TO be deemed uncensti-
tutional and remain dead letters upon the
statute book until declared valid After
going to such trouble and expense to in
form the President about plural marriage,
why did the delegation not go little
farther, and tell him of how many plural
marriages they know since January 9th,
1892 This was evidently an oversight
on the part of those who drew up the
Declaration, and the defect should have
been remedied by the delegation. And
while upon this topic, with the President
attentive and eager, and wondering that
the Supreme Court should so long have
continued in error regarding the true con-
struetioR Of the Constitution, the
delegation should have for ever set
tied the theory of local self
government in the Territories by
insisting on the President recognizing the
fact that ''the authorities at Washington
have disregardea our rights in the matter
of local self-government." The Presi-
dent could never understand this: "In
consequence Of this crusade, which wears
all the aspects of religious persecution,
business relations of every kind are dis
turbed values of every kind unsettled:
neighborhoods agtated and alarmed; and
property of the people generally jeopar-
dized ;;"and the delegation should have
explained wherein the enforcement of
valid laws by duly appointed officers is
crusade, and how the supremacy of the
law unsettles values of every kind and
agltates and alarms whole neighberhoods.
II the delegation had done this, and been
explicit as to the hows and the where
fores, they would have revolutionized the
whole system of modern society. and
haveshown something for which such |
men as Buckle, NELL Spencer and Maine |
have searched in vain. In fact they
mould no, ,r.s rs,fi,tn a fI,o p;LI. i..nlr Il