Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-10-02
WHO is TO BLAME?

WHO Is IL BLAME!
The Herald this morning, in an articl
mainly devoted to the Honorable Jane
w. Barclay, NJ. P. has this:
ssHe. (Mr. Barclay sis also interested i
Utah enterprises, and would undoubtedly b
more so were it not for the unsettled condl
tion of affairs here due to the unwis
course pursued by some of the Government
representatives who insist upon keeping th
community in a turmoil
This sentiment belongs to the Herald
and must not be supposed to be that G
the Hon. Mr. Barclay. Mr.. Barclay ma
deprecate the condition of things here
and wish it were far otherwise, but h,
certainly cannot think that the enforce
ment of the law is a wanton proceeding
whose sole purpose it is to create turmoi
in this community As member of tn,
British Parliament, he is too familiar witt
the maxim that Parliament is supreme
to admit that any community has righ
to violate laws with impunity, even wher
those laws are broken on the ground of &
claim to religious right. The community
is in turmoil, but who is to blame for it
the officers who enforce the law and pun
ish law breakers, or those who break the
laws? In all civilized governments rest
ing upon law and order it is absolutely
necessary that the law be supreme ovel
all, and that its mandates be obeyed
What is the theory in Utah with
regard to the supremacy of the
law? 1t is this, if we mistake not,
that the law is supreme after the Mormon
church, and that it is the right Of Nor
mon to set the law at defiance if at any
time he conceiyes that the law is in con-
flict with what he thinks is his religious
right. That is the cause OF all of Utah's
woes and the ills which are now upon her.
Who is to blame for such condition of
things? Clearly those who insist upon
breaking the laws and claim immunity
from punishment for so doing If the
Mormon people have a right to ignore
one law, others have the same right to
ignore other laws. Ii laws are to be
obeyed or disobeyed at the pleasure of
those desiring to obey or disobey them,
then chaos will reign, and social disso-
luton and anarchy will supervene.
The first amendment to the Constitution
of the United States was not adopted for
the introduction of any such order of
things. Ii "a choice is to be
made in Utah between busi-
ness prosperity upon the condition
that people must be allowed to violate the
laws according to their own sweet wills,
and business depression consequent upon
the vindication of the laws, we should
certainly say let the business depression
come. The people of Utah desire to
make lawlessness law and law lawless-
ness. 1t is truly said that the enforce
melt OF the Edmunds Act keeps the
community in a continual turmoil. There
are two remedies which will prove effica-
cious for the cure of this turmoil,
if applied. First: Amend the Ed
munds Act by making the jurisdiction of
the District Courts concurrent; abolish
the statute of limitations so that polyg-
amy and unlawful cohabitation shall
always be liable to punishment; make
the punishment for unlawful cehab-
itation co-eXtensive with that for
polygamy; create a Supreme Court
separate and distinct from the trial
judges, and increase the number of trial
judges so as to enforce the law simulta-
neously and effectively throughout the
Territory; give the United States Prose
cutting Attorney a sufficient number of
assistants to perform the work to be
done; and to all these old and newly
created officers give salary sufficient to
command the services of men of marked
and superior ability. 1t might also be
well to have a contingent fund to be
drawn upon for extraordinary expenses.
We believe that the enactment of the
measures above suggested would be suf-
ficlent to suppress, in comparatively
short time, polygamy and un-
lawful cohabitation-the causes of
the continual turmoil in the
community. The other method
by which this endless turmoil can be
terminated is for the Government to
repeal all laws enacted for the suppression
of polygamy and unlawful cohabitation,
and for Congress to suggest to the States
an amendment to the Constitution fer
bidding the passage of any law, either
by the General Government or bv the
State or Territorial Governments. which
will in any way interfere with the prac-
tlce of polygamy and what is now termed |
unlawful cohahitation In the adoption |
OF either of these methods will be found
solution of the much vexed question of |
polygamy, and our wish is that every |
journal throughout the Territory will urge
and advocate the adoption of the one or !
the other, as may best suit them. Those
who are to blame for the present turmoil |
are the law-breakers, if law is to have |
any force, and those law-breakers should
either be. entirely suppressed in their
law-breaking, or they should be absolved
from all liability for breaking the laws by
the repeal of the laws which they violate.
Let the turmoil cease.
THE CITY'S HEALTH.