Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-01-09
EDMUNDs, BILL IN THE SENATE.
Its FINAL Passage Yesterday by IA
Vote of 3S TO Z.


WASHINGTON, January S.-The Utah bill
came up in the Senate for consideration.
Morgan again called attention to the
twelfth section, which provides for fourteen
trustees to administer the property, bust
ness affairs and operations of the corpora
tion known as the "Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints" He wanted to know
what their duties and pay were, as the bill
was silent as to their salaries. He demanded
an answer from his fellow-members of the
judiciary committee.
Edmunds replied that Morgan should
have an answer.
Morgan saw no authority in Congress to
appoint trustees to manage church bust
ness. He characterized such trustees as
Mugwump Mormons. They would be occu-
pied necessarily, he said, in promoting Nor
monism, as he interpreted the bill under
consideration, for the trustees had to exer-
else all the powers granted by the Terrific
rial laws creating the corporation.
Edmunds replied that they had nothing
whatever to do with church matters or mat
tiers 9f 9fd faith but G only with the property to
enormous, were not applied to the propaga.
tion of polygamy. Not one-quarter of the
Mormons, as Edmunds understood it, be-
lieyed in polygamy.
violation of the charter of that church?
Edmunds replied he believed they were.
Teller asked how.
Edmunds answered: "They are used for
the purpose of inducing and securing immi-
grafton that may contribute to the lusts of
these yagabonds." MaIsy supported the
bill. He held that Mormonism was
A MERE COVER FOR I1oEST1ousNHss
He thought the judiciary committee had
discriminated with great skill between re-
ligious liberty and secular license.
Call said we owed our liberties to the free
dom of speech and worship. We were de-
parting from that ground when we passed
such bill as that under consideration.
Mormon has as much right TO proclaim his
faith as "the distinguished man who denies
the divinity of Christ" The reason why
Mormonism had become so successful, he
!, thought, was because of it's great activity as
secular organization. 1t had gone abroad
over the earth and drawn people from misery
and poverty and brought them to land Of
!, plenty. 1t was no wonder that under such
, circumstances it had become successful
! But these people could now be brought under
! the influence Of the Christian religion. The
ministrations of that religion were sufficien,
to conquer the Mormons, and would do SC
, more completely and happily than the bill
before the Senate could.
Some amendments offered by Call were
, voted down.
! vote Morgan said its friends seemed deter
= mined to press it without giving its oppo
nents chance to study Il. He again in
! quired as to
, THB SALARIES WHICH THE COMMISSIONER
4 WERE TO HAVE.
: He did not want to send fourteen men ou
; to Utah to loot the Mormon church. He hat
i announced his determination to wipe thi.
: church out and leave nothing of it but
: name and an unholy memory, but had beer
9 met by proposition in this bill to perpetu
! ate the church.
1 While the bill was on final passage, Var
Wyck endeavored to fix the duties of th,
: proposed fourteen trustees upon the mem
, bers of the present Utah Commission, bu
was ruled out of order. He asked Edmund
8 whether he had any objection to such a,
s amendment to which the Senator answered
Q that he had.
I The bill having been brought to vote
7 was passed-Yeas 49, nays 7, as follows:
! Yeas-Allison, Beck, Berry, Chace, Cock
rell, Coke, Conger, Cullom, Dawes, Dolph
g Edmunds. Eustis, Eyarts, Frye, George
t Harris Harrison, Hawley, ingalls,, jackson
8 Logan, Mcmillan, Manderson, Maxey
e Mitchell of Pennsylvania, Morrill,, Palmer
Payne, Platt Pugh, Sawyer, Sherman
Spooner, Van Wyck Walthall, Wilson O
Iowa, and Wilson of Maryland
Nays-Blair of New Hampshire, Call O.
Florida, Gibson of Louisiana, Hampton o.
. South Carolina, Hoar of Massachusetts,
i Morgan of Alabama, and Vance of Nortl
J. Carolina.
Hoar, explaining his vote, said he vote,
II against the bill only because of the sectio
n disfranchising women, but even with tina
;. section in, he would have voted for the bill
had his vote been necessary to its passage.