The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-10-20
IDAHo's TEST Oath Law.


The EUening Meas has a special tele
gram from Blackfoot, Idaho, announc-
ing that the Test Oath Act of the late
Legislature, has been pronounced valid
and constitutional by Chief Justice
Hays. The law referred to declares that
before any one can vote at an election
in that Territory he must take the fol-
lowing oath.
"You do soIemnly swear (or affirm that
you are male citizen of the United States
over the age of tWenty-one years; that you
have actually resided in this 1 er tory for
four months last past and in this county
thirty days that you are not bigamist or
pOlygamiSt; that you are not member OF
any order, organization or association which
teaches, advises, cOunsels or encOurag- its
members, deYotees or any other person, TO
commit the crime of bigamy or polygsmy
or any other crime defined by law as q duty
arising or resulting from membership in
such order, organization or association, or
which practices bigamy or polyEamy or
plural or celestial marriage, as 8 doctrinal
rite of such organization. Thai you do not
either publicly or privately, or in any man
ner whatever, teach, advise, counsel or en-
courage any person to commit the crime of
bigamy or pOlygamy, or aoy other crime de-
fined by law, either as q religious outy or
otherwise; that you regard the Co stitutiOn
of the Unit.d States and the laws thereof,
and of this Territory as Interpreted by the
courts, as the supreme law of the land. the
teachings of any order, Organization or as
socIatlon 10 the contrary Notwithstanding,
and that you have not previously voted at
this election. So help your God.
We doubt if anybody expected or
dared hope that Hays would rule other
wise than he has done. The Office of
Federal Judge in Territory is as com
pletely political in its nature as any
Office in the gift of the President.
Judge Hays is a fairly intelligent law
yer. and hence knows that the act men
toned is not only not constitutional,
but that the Constitution expressly
prohibits or forbids the enactment of
such a bill; yet Judge Hays under
stands that to have decided according
to his knowledge of the law would have
been equivalent to a tender of his re-
signstion. Both political parties in
Idaho took part in the passage of the
bill; both are committed to its indorse-
ment, and the two candidates for Dele
gate TO Congress have pronounced in
favor of sustaining the law. Under the
circumstances, all Hays had to do was
to find some plausible excuse for de-
claring the law a valid enactment, and
thus put himself beyond the political
reach of those who rule or may rule in
the Territory.
The election win occur in two weeks,
before which event there will be neither
time nor opportunity to change the rul-
ing Just made. The result viii be that
between 1900 and 1900 Mormons in
Idaho viii be deprived of their right to
vote. This fact will make no real diff
ference to the candidates for Congress,
as neither would haYe received any
Mormon votes; but it viii result in
placing all local offices in the hands Of
Mti-Mormons, Though in some districts
and counties it viii be difficult to find
enough Gentiles 20 ill the places.