Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-02-06
MoNTEsoUIEU ON PoLYGAMY.

MONTESQUlEU ON OLGGAMG.
In that udde mecum OF all statesmen
in that book whose deep study con-
stitutes a superior political education, the
Esprit of Laws" Montesquieu speaks OF
polygamy as follows:
With regard to polygamy in general, inde-
pendently of the circumstances which may
render it tolerable, IL is not of the least SER
vice to mankind, nor to either of the two
that which is abused. Neither Is IL of SER
vice to the children; for one of its greatest
inconvenience is that the father and the
mother cannot have the same affection for
their offspring; a father cannot love twenty
children with the same tenderness as
mother can love two. It is much worse
when wife has many husbands; for their
paternal love is only held by this
opinion, that father may believe, IL
he will, or that others may believe, that GER
tain children belong to him
dess awapS q be sp may
desires for those of others; it is with lust as
with avarice, whose thirst increases by the
acquisition of treasure. May not
say, that plurality of wives leads to that
passion which nature disallows? for one
deprivation always draws on another
The words which the great French
thinker wrote above hundred years ago
very well describe the evils OF polygamy
which are seen in Utah to-day. Polyg-
amy is of Oriental origin, and it can never
be harmonized with the civilization of the
West. To the Mohammetan it is we'll
suited, for the Mohammetan is supersti-
tious. tyrannical man, who looks upon
women as being the inferior OF men, as
being the toys of men, and not their COM
panions. The effect Of polygamy upon
those who enter into is baleful in the ex
treme, but those who enter into it do so
fully aware of the step which they take,
but perhaps not always fully conscious OF
the inevitable consequences which
will follow that step, Upon the
children born of polygamy the effect
is worse than upon the parents.
The children of the half blood rarely have
the same love for each other as children
OF the whole blood do. When this fact
is cited as an argument against polygamy,
the defenders OF that institution answer
that it is not natural that children of diff
ferent mothers should have the same
feelings towards each other that the
children OF one mother do. That is true,
and being true, is it not an unnatural sys-
tenn OF marriage which creates such con-
ditions? This is not all. The law for
bids this system OF marriage rs being in
consistent with the best interests of the
State. Ii polygamy is inconsistent with
the best interests of the State, then how
much more inconsistent must it be with
the best interests of those born in it.
As Montesguieu says, polygamy sis not
OF the least service to mankind, nor to
either of the two sexes" The people OF
Utah have made polygamy the basis OF
both their religious and political
systems, yet the people of Utah have
never once attempted to make legal this
system. When polygamous children have
ceased to belong to the church sanction
ing the practice of polygamy. the officers
OF the church have invoked against them
every law OF the land to deprive them OF
their inheritances OF property. Those
who preach and laud polygamy never
hesitate to take advantage OF any and all
laws which deprive polygamous children
OF their natural rights because OF the
laws condemnatory of the system of po-
lygamy, and merely because those chill.
dren do not uphold a wrong doctrine and
uphold an illegal practice. That any
citizen should be deprived OF any rights
on account Of his birth is as wrong as
wrong can be, for in this case the innocent
are made to suffer for no fault of their
own II the citizen owes duty to the
Government, then the Government owes
a duty to the citizen, and in the case of
those citizens OF Utah born OF polyg-
amy, it is that the Government shall alb
solutely suppress system which gives
them birth and in giving them birth de-
prives them OF those rights with which
all other citizens are endowed from
birth, or that the Government shall
make legal the system it now makes
illegal. 1t is the duty OF the Govern
ment to take immediate and decisive
action in this matter, and to cease
making the enforcement of the law
against polygamy an irritation and an ag-
sravation. That polygamy will be sup
pressed there can be no doubt, and such
being the case, why does not the Govern
ment provide ample means to make this
suppression speedy? The present force
OF officials in the Territory engaged in
enforcing the laws against polygamy is
wholly inadequate to the task to be per-
formed. The present policy is penny
wise and pound foolish.
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THE JURY BILL VETO.