Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-08-01

Nation grows older new issues are born of
time and progress, and old issues perish
Looking at the issues in Utah and their
causes, it may aptly be said that as the
Nation grows older old issues are born
again, and that which once was but has
perished and is of the past, has become
again OF the present. That which has
existed in countries old as civilization
itself, and has passed away to give place
to progress and the rights of the citizen,
is seen in Utah as it was seen in Europe
some centuries since. That which was
the cause OF half OF Europe's woes, and
is the cause of Utah's unhappy condition.
is the union of Church and State. That
union is the well-spring from which flow
all our ills and evils. The cure for such
state of affairs must come from within to
be effectual and permanent. The people
OF Utah must recognize that their political
rights in Utah came from the fact that
they are American citizens and not from
the fact that they are professors of a creed
or members OF a party. The great ma
jority of the people Of this Territory have
thought that their right to participate in
the control of the political affairs has
been derived from something other and
beyond the fact that they were citizens
of the United States. So believing, they
have rendered homage and allegiance
to that other power, which power was
their church Their politics have been
to do the will and wishes of that church,
and if, at times, men have become restive
and have felt that the burdens that they
bore were heavy and oppressive, still they
have said to those who were their ecclesi-
astical superiors: 'Thy will be done"
Reason has been subordinated to author
ity and individuality to organization. The
people of Utah have sought to preserve
their rights and privileges by surrender
ing them. They have thought that
which the law protected was higher than
the law which protected. They have
subordinated their country to their
church, and that subordination has
brought evil upon them. And why? Be-
cause they have ignored the great fact
that all their civil and political rights are
derived from their citizenship and are
protected and guaranteed by the laws of
their common country. Such being the
case, it is easy to trace out the causes OF
the present condition of affairs in Utah
and the issues consequent thereon. As
we said about the people of Utatr believ-
ing that their rights in the United States
come from a higher source than
their citizenship, so they have set up
system that Is distasteful to the
,4nrals of modern civilization
lhS-'A - '--'s Is-sSr..-: -. N Cu:
and which the eXpereiIcu LIZ, II =
tan nations has condemned. To sup
press this system of marriage, a system
that the Legislatures of Utah, which
until 1882 were very largely composed OF
polvgamists, never once did anything to
give it recognition and legality, Congress
passed law so early as 1862, and the
people Of Utah have continued their
system OF marriage and their defiance OF
a paramount law OF Congress. In
1882, twenty years after the passage
of the first law against polygamy, Con-
gress passed another law depriving polyg
amists OF the elective franchise, punish
ing unlawful cohabitation, and legitima
tizing the issue OF polygamous marriages.
Polygamous marriages have continued to
be made since 1882 the same as after
1862. But since 1882 there have been
more convictions for polygamy and un-
lawful cohabitation than for the twenty
years prior thereto, and never in all those
years was there ever once seen so great
among the people as at
present. And why is the dependency
among the people so great now? Because
they see that their leaders are in hiding;
that their friends and neighbors are in
hiding, and that no man who is violating
the laws, be he high or be he low, is safe
from prosecution. Their CONSERVATION
arises from the fact that they see the laws
are being enforced because the laws are
supreme, and for that reason alone. Al
ready they recognize that their troubles
have come from the fact that they
have thought their church above all law
and that their political control OF Utah, !
because of their majority, was a sovereign
control, and that in reality Utah is part
of the Union still in tutelage, and depen- /
dent upon the will of Congress for the ex-
ercise of political power The people OF /
Utah have been acting upon and living
n accordance with the theories OF the !
ong past, and are only becoming con-
'cious that they dwell in the present, and
hat the ideas OF to-day are better than
hose of yesterday; and these ideas of to-
lay condemn union OF Church and State.
because such a union is productive of
taught but evil and great unhappiness,
or where it does exist there will ever be
trife and turmoil, as there ever has been.
itself in Utah and the United
states is forever an issue of the past, and
,e Utah Territory or be Utah State.
he practice OF polygamy will stand upon
he statute book a crime. The solution
# its existence to-day is to be found in
he enforcement of the law There still
emains much to be done, bit the simple
act that the people recognize that some
hing must be done augurs we'll that
will be done.
WE ACCEPT IT.