Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-05-25
GRANTED.


mission to come to Utah and make an in
vestigation into the condition of affair
here, and after thorough and searchin
investigation, to report. the result of thei
labors to the President and Congress. l
is claimed that there is Crusade" goinj
on here against the Mormons, and tha
whole communities are being terrorized
1t is claimed that this Crusade
this "raid'-is being directed solely
against the Mormon portion of the com
munity; that there exists in the COM
munity numerous houses of ill-repute,
and that these places are sustained by
those who are non-adherents to the Nor
mon church, and that against these no
charge is ever brought. For arguments 8
sake, let us grant it. II is also claimed,
and this claim is made by the highest
authority of the Mormon church, the
First Presidency, that only two per cent.
of the Mormon church practice polygamy !;
and letthis also he granted for argu-
ment's sake. Let it be assumed that
q Commission shall come and these
are the main facts which they find
out, what then? In arriving at these
facts, they will more than likely stumble
upon some other facts, among which will
probably be the fact that there is such
statute as the Edmunds law, and that
this was passed by the Congress of the
United States. This may startle them
when they come to fully investigate mat
tiers. They may also discover that this |
law has been declared valid bv the SUI /!
preme Court of the United States They |
will find, if they pursue their investiga-
tions far enough, that under this law
there have been found quite a
number of indictments, and under the
cohabitation clause thereof some seven
convictions, the names of the men con-
victed being Arnold, Aird, Spencer,
Pratt, Cannon, Musser and Watson. If
the Commission shall make full and inn
partial inquiry, and it is merely for this
they are wanted, they will learn that Ar
mold, Aird and Spencer pleaded guilty to
the charge in the indictment, and when I
brought before the Court for sentence and
asked if they had liking TO saw. they I
all promised obey the law {
in future, and Sc their influence to
have others dc he same. They
will further learn that these three men. s
were well scored and berated by the 1
church papers for he .pogitiul. they took V
with regard to their future conduct in try
ng to obey the law. II Woull = well for t
.he Commission to Loo .t the files OF F
The church papers to find out .hese last t,
acts, and remember that these o re the
same papers which were so anxious to
have them come. So far they have only
made acquaintance with three Of the h
seven cases above mentioned, az q as they Il
will doubtless be pleased with the com a
iuct OF the three men whose eases they n
already understand, for those three |,
men acknowledged the supremacy h
u the laws of the same Government p
which sent the Commission out, they 7
viii naturally desire to investigate the T
Eases OF Pratt, Cannon, Musser and Wat ~
'on. Ii they will but turn to the files of "
he church papers, they will find that n
these four men are there termed heroes. ~
martyrs, and all that religious enthusi- Il
lsm and admiration can bestow. II NAV Il
tt hrst blush seem a little strange f,
hat ablect pleaders for mercy and cow Il
'fds and traitors are at large in the COM T
nunIty, while heroes and martyrs are r
imprisonment; but suchis life in 81
Utah. 1t will be seen from these files Fl
hat Mr.. Mnsser was the recipient q,
II an Ovation, an evening or two II
'eiore he was sentenced by the Court and q,
custody of the Marshal cr
lay be the, Commission will presume q,
hat this ovation was given because the fr
ntertalners supposed Mr.. Musser on the fo
borrow would declare i'm favor of law ~,
Ut II such is their presumption, they III
Ill be sadly at fault. From these files fo,
It them turn TO the records of the tb
ourt, and there different tale will ha ia
afolded. These will tell them that Nj
annon and Musser were found guilty of TN
he charge OF unlawful cohabitation. and mr.
hen the Court asked them if they had m,
lythlng to say, that they said III,
good deal, among other THINGS vii
al they had endeayored to live within nIo
e law, and that Mr. Cannon said he had %
ID ms children, when the Edmunds law wo,
Is passed, that be desired to live within Ii
at law, and Tor this purpose he had q con
ON specially prepared. But when the mn,
'urt asked them what their intentions nro
ne as TO their future conduct 50 far as tis
eying this law was concerned. they tbo
AID give no satisfactory answer. both talk
alnlng TO promise 10 try and obey the thi,
v; and that in the absence of anvtbino ao,
swing a desire TO obey the. law one
future, the Court gave them the witt
penalty OF the law. If the pro,
nmlssion will look over the files of that
Aeaes, they will find in the issue of serv
'ruary IA, 1885, a sermon preached by No ]
John Taylor, President of the Nor. tion.
a Church, on February lst. 1885 in ,;ob,
ch he stated that when ex-Attornev- anvc
ieral Rerrepont called upon him. be such
the ex-Attorney-General that eft veS conf
- - - ~ ,sfe TWO wives now. ment
~" Hunnunas law was far
y i00Aeu careluAy over the publ
iment, and saw that if was the &
70 ave an Inc same house such