Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-05-05
THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE.

The cOmmlUUee VINO are 10 present Jll'
Declaration OF Grievances and Protest tC
the President, left yesterday morning
The gentlemen will have pleasant time
see many people, especially if they pre-
sent their petition to all the people OF the
United States individually-and they
should, as it is addressed to the People
of the United States-and probably do no
good. Most of the grievances detailed
in their petition are too vague to make an
issue upon, and are also barred by the
statute. The issue of to-day is the thing
70 which the petition should have confined
itself. and that issue is the suppression OF
polygamy in Utah. The Declaration III
no WAY suggests plan by which it shall
be continued or discontinued; 1t neither
asks for amnesty nor says whether the
people of Utah will still insist upon it as
4 religions right. In fact, the Declaration
is masterpiece in the way of how not to
do il. Who was the Montague Tgg of
the instrument it is difficult to say,
as all who had anything to do
with it have been raised in that school.
The Declaration makes some grave charges
against Federal officials, and when the
President and Attorney-General ask for
satisfactory evidence in support of the
charges, it will be rather hard matter to
produce it. Is there a gentleman on
IA !. 1. 4l
legal training to say wherein the conduct
of the Chief Justice and the District At
torney has been at variance with the
well-established rules of law? Supposing
the President says to the committee that
he acknowledges the truth of everything
which the Declaration charges, and then
asks them what they and those whom
they represent propose to do in future
so far as the practice of polygamy
is concerned, what will the gentlemen re-
ply? If they say they and those whom
they represent propose to obey the law,
will not the question naturally arise in
the minds of the President and his Cabi-
net, why did you not so say in your
Declaration? If they say they do not
propose to obey the law, will it not be
reasonable for President Cleveland to say
to the committee that it is an insult to |
him and the nation to wait upon him with |
their Declaration, and that they had |
better go home, as he proposes to enforce
the law Notwithstanding their Declaration
and Protest? These are questions which
it is very likely will be asked, and the
answers should be ready and honest.
The Declaration specially says that
'juries are packed to convict" That can
only refer TO the fact that those who be-
lieve in polygamy are excluded from the
panel in polygamy trials, and to the open
venire. Those who are excluded from
The jury in trials for polygamy or unlaw-
ul cohabitation are excluded by an act of
Congress, and the power of the District
courts in Utah to issue an open venire has
been sustained by the Supreme Court of
he United States. Mr. Cleveland NAV use
hese facts as an argument in refutation
'f this charge, and the gentlemen of the
will scarce have the hardihood
o say that the decision of the Supreme {
Court is unconstitutional, although they
nay say that the act of Congress is in
yalid.
Perhaps Mr.. Cleveland and the gentle
nen composing the Cabinet will smile
when they read in the Declaration ,
hat the effort of their subordinates
o enforce the laws here is a crusade. ,
md that business relations are disturbed, '
'alues OF every kind unsettled, neighbor- {
hoods agitated and alarmed, ard prop ,
'rty OF the people generally jeopardized,' {
md they may say that this part of the j
Declaration reads very much like the
1pistle which Mr.. Taylor and Mr.. Can s
ION issued from the Presidents Office. |
april 4, 1885, which soIemnly declared /
hat they considered cit an act of great 4
INJUSTICE to the ninety-eight per cent. $
be abused and outraged and n
ave all their business relations b
disturbed, values of every kind a
nsettled, neighborhoods agitated and @
larmed, and the property of the people q
enerally jeopardized, because of this a
and upon these alleged breakers of the v
W." An explanation for this seeming ~
Rblance may be found in the fact NJ
lat grea' minds run in the same chan II
els, l some coarse and vulgar O,
ind nave thought that the two docu- 81
ents We're written by the same Il
and. But was ever such solicitude
lown ior minority before as
he Eplstle md the Declaration
low? In most communities the major ''
are looking alr-1 their own interests.
I'd II the mirror ~ persist in such a
'urse OF action aS wjl upset an entire da
and make t as bad for the &c
nocent rs for the guilty, the majority ar ar
nerally make the minority come to- ne
1t the course OF action here is highly 1t
lristian, and wheu the minority, the III i
% per cent, smite one cheek the major ar
turn the other one TO them and yo
we that smote Why make so to-
uch ado about the crusade if only IN IN,
out one per cent. of the entire popula- col
M is suspected Of violating the law? crt
the overwhelming majority of the on
ormon people are monogamists, would po
not be for the interest of the over oGE
lelming majority of the Mormons 70 Iy
Ike the small percentage who are ''sus-
cted of violating the law'' conform 70 vel
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