The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-04-30
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, Dc.
April 81. 1885.

A step in direction of squelching
polygamy in this country has been ia
ken by the Supreme Court ofthe Uni
ted States in the, Ciawson case, where
in the court decides that the exclusion
of polygamists from the jury box is
not only lawful but is absolutely de-
handed, to make the administration of
justice in Utah anything but a legal
farce. To admit to the panel for the
trial of a prisoner charged with polyg-1
amy, o set of men who believe that
the crime committed isjustified by Di-
all, is the highest absurdity and q ira
vesty upon the system oftrial by jury.
This man Clawson was convicted and
sentenced to the ~penitentiary for a
term of four years, and the case came
up before the U. S. Supreme Court on
appeal based upon the assigned error
of excluding polygamic jurors. The
decision paves the way for more con-
~victions ofthe same sort, but the Nor
mons declare that the enforcement of
the law against polygamy shall be re-
sisted even to a resort 10 arms, becaust
all such prosecutions are nothing more
nor less than an infringement upon that
religious liberty which the Constitu-
ton guarantees to all the citizens ofthe
| United States, Utah included.
Now that the cancer that Gen. Grant
never had is expected to get we'll it may
not be out of place to make reference to
the unbosoming ofJames d. Fish, who
promises to make q somewhat pro-
tracted visit I O New York p~eniteu-
tiary, for the hand he took in the
downfall of the late Marine Bank.
Fish declares that Grant was privy
to every one of Wards rascally rams
actions, because it was utterly impos-
sible for him to have been imposed up
on in the way that he pretends that he
was, for no man in his right mind could
have conceived the Legitimacy of trans
actions upon which Ward made such
enormous returns where so small an
amount of capital was invested. Be-
sides this, did not Grant sign the guar
anty to the genuineness of Govern
ment contracts ? and did he not permit
Ward to use his name to accomplish
successfully very many Infamous
transactions, even after the bank had
demonstrated its inability to keep its
head above water? When the excite.
ment over Gen. Grants illness dies out
Fish promises to furnish some more
interesting chapters concerning this
.great public crime.
The last Congress under a pressure
of public sentiment that it could no.
longer bear up against, passed an act
prohibiting the fencing in of the pub
lie domain, and requiring the remov:
al of all fences now existing that in.
close the lands belonging to the Gov
eminent. OF course the law will not
enforce itself, and therefore the same
pressure that bore upon Congress has
now been transferred to the President
who has issued his proclamation an
nouncing that the law must be enforc.
ed, and that all persons, companies OIL
corporations who are maintaining fen
ces upon the public lands of the Uni
ted States, must remove them at once
in default of which the President viii
take such measures as shall be neces.
sary under the law to remove or de.
stroy them. By the fifth section of the
law a sweeping authority is conferred
upon the President, to employ botf
civil and military force sufficient tt
wipe out the last vestige of these I'M
lawful Enclosures. The people of the
conntry will hail with eminent salts
faction the tidings that the executive
has made up his mind to enforce thu
statute. PHoNo.