The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-03-09
THE EDMUNDS LAW.

Light of general amnesty for the much
married men of Utah. There is vtiI
of forgiveness running all through the
measure. The children begotten before
the passage OF the bill were declared
legitimate, and the President was author
lied to pardon polygamists upon con
ditions which he is empowered to i'm
pose. The promise held out in the bill
is that if a man will conform to the
law and cease to live with more thar
one wife, he will not be disturbed. He
is not required to turn his other wiVe:
and their children into the street, nor i:
there any suggestion in the act that he
should repudiate his families. Senators
and Representatives who voted for the
bill have said that their understanding
was that the past should be fer
gotten; the object and purpose were to
stop polygamous marriages, there being
NJ intention of disturbing the relation S
already existing.
Aut how has the law been enforced Z?
Certainly not in the spirit of it. A ma
jority of the men convicted and sent to
the Penitentiary had obeyed the law as
fully as they knew how. They had
ceased to live with more than one wife,
though providing for the others. The
case of Apostle Lorenzo Snow will il
lustrate many others. When the law
passed, Mr.. Snow discontinued marriage
relations with all except one of his
wives. He furnished the others homes
and provisions and maintained their
several households, caring Tor them and
their children; but he was so careful!
and circUmspect in his conduct that he
did not visit their houses except in the
company of others. All these facts were
testified to in the trial by the women
and children, and by others, and were
admitted by the prosecution, and yet
the gentleman was declared guilty of
violating the Edmunds law and
sentenced to eighteen months i'm
prigonment and to the pay
ment of hes aggregating 5000.
If his conviction shall be pronounced
valid, there will be but one way for
Apostle Snow to escape perpetual inn
prisonment, and that is to renounce
and denounce all his wives and children
save one, and not only refuse TO see or
recognize them, but decline to treat
them otherwise than as strangers. 1t is
the public remuneration which the
courts demand, as shown by the present
effort to indict and convict again, Mr..
A. NJ. Musser. Mr.. Musser has served
one full term in the Penitentiary and
paid the highest money penalty which
the law. allows, and now the officers are
tying 10 repeat the "dose." As
understand it, the gentleman has not
lived with either of his wives since his
release from prison, his home having
been with other relatives or friends
but this.is not enough to satisfy the
courts officers, who are doing their
best to return him to Marshal Ireland's
filthy den on the bench. Nothing
will satisfy the officers, apparently,
except an open and public declara-
ton by man that his wives are
n more to,him- than strangers in whom
he has no interest. This is not the inten-
ton of the law, and to interpret the act
In this harsh manner is not only cruel
bat demands a compliance which is
grossly immoral. 1t also requires SOM.
thing that cannot be complied with. If
Apostle Snow did not obey the law.
according to all the testimony which was
brought out by the prosecution in his
case, there will be rare compliance with
the statutes. The Penitentiary or death
itself would be preferable to most hux-
bands to going further than Mr.. Snow
did IN his effort to avoid the penalties
prescribed for violating the law. If it
is unlawful cohabitation for maa 70
live with women as Mr.. Snow lived with
his wives and Mr.. Musser is living with
his, then we believe that nine polyg
amists out of ten will spend the remain
der OF their days in the Pc niten6ary.
As remarked, the purpose of the
law was to put a stop to polyg-
amous marriages, rather than perpe-
trate the cruelty and immortality of
destroying families and turning
helpless women and children
upon the streets without protectors or
those upon whom they can lean for
comfort, advice and support. If the
law is checking or putting a stop to
plural marriages it is accomplishing its
purpose, and Congress and courts have
no right to complain. The only evil
dence as to whether or not it is doing
this must be found in the court records,
aud those show just one conviction for
o polygamous marriage entered into