The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-09-11
IT WAS MALICE.

II this Will not suffice it must appear :
That malice ears down truth
Merchant of Venice.
A dispatch in our columns thi morl =
ing conveys the information that five of
the Mormon immigrants detained by
the immigration commissions IS, at New
Y Tx, wall be sent back to Europe. Yes
terdsy afternoon the commission at its
received a letter which was read
before it, from Lawyer Leonard, ID
which the commission was given to I'M
derstand that the Mormon Elders ten
dered bonds of indemnify for the de-
tanned immigrants. The bondsmen OF
fered were well known and thoroughly
responsible; yet the offer was defined
and final decision reached to send the
immigrants back to Europe. If tnat Is
not case where malice bears down
truth" and law, then there S no instance
on record where it ever was done.
Moreover the commission is acting
they contrary to emphatic ms ructions
but recently received from the acting
Secretary of the Treasury on this very
subject. Mr.. Stephenson, of the lmmi-
grafton Commission, wrote TO Secretary
FairchiId, protesting against this sys-
tenn of receiving bonds for immigrants !;
and further urged that the immigration
laws should be invoked to stop the
landing of Mormon immigrants. Nj.
StepheDson's first objection was as to
the legality of the bond, and second to
the expediency of it. To the first bjec-
ton Secretary Fairchild said;
Fer reply to the frst branch fthe objection
it is perhaps sufficient TO say that before this
were submitted to the Solicitor If The Treas
ury: ID Whether It was competent under
the law for your board to take sucn bond,
and, if so, (2) whether il was drawn in cor
rect from, and tnst both questions we're
answered by that Ofncer in the affirmative
This gave the commission to under
stand, that so far as the legality of the
bond system is concerned, there is no
question in the minds OF the Treasury
Department.
In answering the second objection,
Secretary FairchiId took occa-
sion to explain what class of
immigrants the pauper immigration
laws we're calculated to operate against
Mr.. Stephenson's argument against the
expediency of the bond system was
that the assisted immigrants sent to
this country are usually supplied with
means to support them for limited
time, and then they fall back to the
condition Of paupers and become a bur
den upon the communicate this it
was replied:
With reference to this it may be said that
if the term assisted immigrants is used in
its ordinary acceptaton il applies to foreign
paupers, generally inmates of almshOuses
whom the public authorities or institutions
burdened with their support seek to rid
themselves OF by sending them TO this coun-
try. Immigrants OF this class should not or
dinarily be permitted to land under any
and if in the case of any such
Immigrant a bond is rendered 1t should not
be accepted unless your board has from in.
vestigatiOn good reason to believe that the
immigrant will not again relapse into pau
perism.
There are two classes of the INDECENT i'm
migrants recognized By the immigrant law:
Flrst-Those unable to take care of them
selves without becoming a public charge:
these are what may be called the pauper
class, and by the terms of the law are pro-
hibited from landing. SecOnd-ThOse who
from variety OF causes-Derhaps beyond
their control-have fallen into distress, but
who in their mental, moral, or physical en-
dOWments, or perhaps in all these COM
bined, give an earnest of their ability to
earn livelihood under the more favorable
auspices presented by their new home. AS
1t seems to this department the taking of
the bonds in question may gu serve a Useful
purpose in respe to this latter class, no:
only In the protection Of the imm grant
fund, but also in rescuing such immigr ,nts
from want by securing the cooperation and
assistance of others in their efforts 10 earn
Here is a clear statement of how and
against whom the law is to operate.
And now, were the Mormon imm.-
grants of the former class We're they
brought from European aims houses
We're they at all likely to become
burden upon the community We could
vouch that they were not. Were the
bonds offered good and suficientf
From the information of our dispatch
We have reason to believe they were.
Then why were these immigrants de-
tained2 There can be but one answer,
and that is out of malice, pure and
simple, because they were Aormons.
And that too in direct opposition to the
instructions given by Acting Secretary
Fairchild, who said in answer to
Stephenson's proposition of making the
laws operate against the
landing of Mormons, that, if it be found
that any Mormon immigrants are of
the classes prescribed by the immigrant
law they will be dealt with accordingly
as being of such classes without regard
to the fact that they are Mormons.
But the Commission having settled in
its own mind that the laws should be
stretched to exclude the Mormon i'm.
migrants, in violation of Ghe spirit of
the law and the special instructions of
tha TrooSurv nonorfr,aD& Xbo No,,;-