The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-11-01

tives during the last session, and in
their report of last year, and submit the
following additional recommendations :
That the term of imprisonment for
unlawful cohabitatien be extended to at
least two years for the first and three
years for the second offense; that all
persons be excluded bv law from max
ing location or settlement upon any part
OF the land of the United States, who
shall refuse on demand to take an oath
before the proper officer OF the land
Office that he (if MANI does not cohablt
with more than one woman in the mar
rage relation and will support the laws
OF the United States, or (if woman)
that she does not cohabit with a man
having more than one living or IN
divorced wife; that the laws with refer
ence to the immigration OF the Chinese
and the importation OF contract labor
ers, paupers and criminals be so
amended as to prevent the immigration
of persons claiming that their religion
teaches and iustfieS the crime of polyg
amy. as this would cut off the chief
source of supply 20 the Mormon
Church. The Commissioners say they
have felt it to be their duty to resist the
general demand Of the nOn-MormOns in
tAe Territory that they should recon-
mend legislation that would place the
exercise of all civil power in the hands
Of a legislative Commission. appointed
by the President, until the Edmunds
act had been fairly tested. The hope
had been INDUCED that the Mormon
people would finally see their line OF
duty in yielding a willing acquiescence
to the law, but the result has been
disappointment, so far as the leaders
of the church and the principal part OF
their following are concerned. The de-
claration often-repeated during epast
year blythe chiefOfhcerS ofthe churchthat
1t is their settled determination to refuse
obedience to the law, their persistent
use of their great power and influence,
to defeat all efforts from within, as well
as from without, the church, to put an
end to polygamy, and their persecution
of those persons who desire to obey the
laws, have convinced the Commission
that some more decisive plan to reduce
the powers of the pOlygamOus element,
and to correspondence increase that of
the Federal authority in the civil
government of Utah, should be pre-
scented to Congress at this time,
for its action. In addition to the Legis-
lative Commission, the plan above
referred to two, others have been sug-
gested-the appointment plan, making
appointable al the offices now filed by
electors, and the Idaho plan, disfran
chising all the contributors to the sup
port of pOlygamic church. There are
objections TO all of these plans, and to
anythat could be devised. It may be
said for the Legislative Commission
plan that it is simple and direct; OF the
plan. that all the offices
including those of the Legislative As
sembiy, remain undisturbed; that they
ere all to be filed from the body of
people as now by agencies under the
control of the Federal government and
that the influence of the same would be
of the Idaho plan, although
4 more extreme, and more severe
remedy than either of the others,
that it reaches to the very root
of the system. In conclusion,
says the Commission. whatever may be
of these suggestions, Congress
would certainly render service of in
caIculable benefit to Utah, and indeed
to the whole country, If it would devise
some measure whereby this misguided
people could be brought out from IN
der the thraldrom which has so warped
their minds and their conscience that
a crime committed in the name of re-
hgion is considered by them a duty and
a blessing equally to those who COM
nit and those who aid or abet its COM
mission.