The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-11-07

cause he had visited the house of one of
his polygamous wives. with whom be
had ceased to have relations, for the
purpose OF watching at the bedside OF
sick child. There is an espionage set by
the Federal authorities over the private
intercourse Of Mormons. in order to
obtain evidence of Illicit cohabitation,
but when the Mormons retaliate by set
ting a watch on Gentiles, whereby they
are detected in criminAlity, the court
discharges the prisoners because they
do not violate the law which il con-
tends was not enacted to meet their
case.
The great trouble in Utah, which
sets society by the ears and deranges
all business, does not arise from the en-
actment o. laws, but from the malad-
ministration of them. The Mormon
cry Of persecution" which they have
always been ready 20 raise on
no provocstion at all, is now
sounded with tenfold greater effect
when they see themselves without rem
edy in the hands OF the Federal courts
and Gentle juTies, who construe and
even make laws 70 suit themselves.
Does anyone suppose for an instant
that these methods will stamp out"
Mormonism, or that they will induce
Mormons to withdraw their claim that
polygamy is a divine revelation? Can
It be imagined that they will have any
other effect than to bind the Mormon
people together in q solid phalanx and
70 make them more tenacious than ever
of the doctrine which everybody but
the Utah Gentiles is so sincerely desir-
Gus that they should abandon2 Who
can doubt that in the coming confer
ence all this 'precautiou" will be kan
died effectively in the epistle which Will
be sent to il by the president of the
church, who has not the manliness 10
come forward and take punishment
himself, but who from his hiding place
will counsel his subservient dupes to
stand firm IN the faith Fanatic that he
Is, he believes that the Lord God of
Israel" is on his side, and Mormonism.
polygamy and all will ultimately
triumph.
Nobody outside of Utah is unwilling
that Mormonism, with polygamy
abandoned, should take its chance with
other sects. 1t is as harmless as any Of
them. All that is desired is that this
one Objectionable doctrine shall be
practically discontinued. have
assumed a. the commencement of this
letter that. If left alone, it was on the
way 10 humiliation by force OF circum-
stances, without any force of Law. But
laws have been passed, and they should
either be consistently asserted or
they should be repealed and more
efficient ones substituted. Polygamy
and its continued pursuit have been de-
clared crimes, and they should be both
punished alike by five years imprison-
ment Of hard labor. Ii is eminently
proper that those who are guilty OF
., - 10 81
cluded from Jury service when either of
these matters is before the court. What
is wanted is purity instead Of impurity
in this life, and this should be i'm
pressed upon Mormons and Genules
alike.
What / have suggested before, and
now suggest again, Is that government
officials should re stationed at Castle
Garden to warn immigrants Of both
sexes of the consequences of disobeying
the law, that these consequences should
fall upon male and female aiike-for
the women are As guilty as the men
that all marriages should be on civil
record, and that a woman who bears a
child for whose parentage she cannot
produce a marriage certificate shall suf-
fer the penalty with the father. It
might be an heroic remedy, but If
polygsmy is to be stamped out, " il is
better, since We have decided to do II by
law. that the Law should be effectUal
and impartially enforced. As 10 Nor
monism with this practice eliminated.
il might still stand in the way of the
political preferment OF the Gen lies #
Utah, but they wOnld not be able any
longer 10 enlist the cooperation of the
nation a large N the furtherance of
their ambitious and merceEary ends.
J. c.