The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-03-21
OBJECTS TO THE BILL.
A Strong Protest From the
Catholic Organ.
,pE AFRAID OF A PRECEDENT.
o,,iects to PoIygany, But Wants
Justice for the Accommodating
other Means,

M less pressing than important
'n' ..tion, what measures should be
Q,.tod in order to put speedy and
su cf;tive termination to polygamy
asuI the Mormons? Different at
'|Y ats made in this direction proved
' or less turtle, and only since the
raderaI officials in Utah began, some
:;sbteen months ago, strict enforce
of the penal statute against polyg-
men' The so-called Edmunds Act of
sin!odb % 1889, has there been an APP
Nance of an approach to solution of
NIorTson question. Since the Fed
ll le, officials have begun to proceed with
est',rdv severity against the Latter-day
S s.i and have condemned several Of
I'm fo long terms of punishme on
aoconnt of polygamy, and especially
&c ex-Deiegate Cannon, one of the
ss in of the Mormon church, has
paen arrested and, although accused
n",,rIv of a misdemeanor, put under
az 6O0 hail. the MormonS have. been
ssa;1e6 nv a wholesome fear. In fact,
son,e of their leaders, who do not hap
non IN ne in actual duranee or under
hail on charges Of unlawful cohabitation
have left the country TO escape judicial
nrosecution. 1t seems, therefore, that
he Edmunds Act, if strictly and con-
scientiously carried out, would attain
its purpose, if not completely, at least
unfortunately, and that 1t therefore
only needs some amendments in order
tn make it effectively suited to its object,
or in other words to bring it about that
the Mormons would submit to the Fed
L. NJ loo ioh
oFends against all morals a par ial
confirmation of this is to be found in the
report laid before the Secretary of the
Interior by the so-called Utah Commits
sion. concerning their activity since
November, 1884, and IN which the fact
is admitted that the strict enforcement
of the Edmunds Act by the Federal
officials in Utah has visibiv contributed
to 4 reduction of polygamy, in that
since then far fewer Mormon marriages
have taken place. A notion, however,
that the dim mutton of these marriages
would continue only so long as the
government continues this strict en-
forcement of the Edmunds Act and that
much stronger measures than those
already in force were necessary TO a
radical removal of polygamy, has led
Senator Edmunds to pre- pare and lay
before the Senate a new measure, to
give the death stroke to all Mormons.
The Mormon question is Enthusiastically
one of the leading questions of the day
in the United States and in religious
sense naturally attracts the special at
tention of Catholics, because it 90 Germs
persons who maintain that their religion
orders and iustitiesT olygamy. We have,
therefore, carefully examined the bill
1. Il L., 81 49,
Senate, and now lies before the House of |
Representatives where it will in all !
probability be shortly taken up, and we |
have come to the conviction that 1t is |
by no means as praisewerthy as it would |
seem on a hurried perusal. Should this
bill be adopted by the House OF Repre- |
sentatives, and then become law |
through the signature of the President, |
there would be created most dangerous |
precedent, which, remembering the |
fanaticism and influence of bigots, could |
possibly at SOM time time be turned |
against the Catholic church itself, for
the old proverb Il to-day and thou to- |
morrow" which mas held good in times /
so numberless, Will always anew prove |
itself true.
In so far as the prop osal recommends |
legally and constitutionally allowable |
means for the suppression of polygamy. |
it naturally has our full approval, for
it goes without saying that We
thoroughly dislike the Mormon sect on |
account of its immoral character, and |
earnestly approve of the strict enforce /
ment of ali measures tending to radI-
cal disposition OF the many wives. But |
this bill contains propositions in which |
we can in no wise concur, for they are |
neither in harmony with the common
principles of right, nor with the pro-
visions of our Constitution. In its pro-
visions, this bill oifends not on Y against |
the time-hallowed rights OF The citi-
zens OF our country in that it pro-
Yides that persons who have made
themselves guilty Of no offense of any
sort whatever, may be taken into Gus
tody on the order of Federal courts,
judges, commissioners and grand juries,
merely upon suspicion that they will not
render obedience to supRnas in pro
ceedings against Mormons, but also in |
that it disregards the right belonging to |
every citizen oflawful protection against |
unlawful search and seizure of his pri- |
Vate books and papers, for 1t empowers |
Federal officials upon the pretext of an |
order of any sort, TO break into a house |
and lake possession of writings and !
documents which possibly might serve
to bring about a connection OF p ,rsons |
accused of polygamy.
Finally, the President of the United |
States is authorized, on the advice and |
with the consent of the Senate, to ap- |
point commissioners who are to take |
me property of the Mormon church into |
thelr possession, control it, manage il !
and dispose Of il without the regard to-
Inc wishes of its rightful owners. In !
theSe provision. the bill stamps upon /
me sacred I'D best assured rights OF |
citizens OF our land, although the Con- |
sutGtion, in clear and unmistakable |
words, declares these inviolable. This |
IS, too, the chief, not to say the only, |
reason why we do not concur in the bill |
although it is directed against a sect
with whose religious faith we have no
sympathy; but in addition there IS also
10 De remembered as a further consid-
Grafton. the possibility that if this bill
should become law, il might be made
70 serve as 8 starting point for other
unconstitutional measures which for the
same reason, should under no circum-
Stances he aDOrOVeI even fh0lph nc in