The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-10-20
A RIDICULOUS WHINE.

There is one item in the report of the
Utah Commission to the Secretary of
Interior, the full text of which was
published in yesterdays HERALD, that
is extremely amusing. It is thar por-
ton Of the report which alludes to the
effort of the Territorial Legislature last
winter to enact a law concerning regis
trations and elections in the Territory,
but their efforts amounting to nothing
because of the arbitrary exercise of the
veto power possessed by the Governor
OF our unfortunate Territory. After
alluding to this effort on the
part of the local Legislature, in
an injured tone. the Commission
add: The effect of such a bill would
have been to return the registration and
election machinery to the local agencies,
from which they we're taken by the act
of Congress, and to restore TO the Nor
mon people the political power of the
Territory, in derogation CT the act Of
Congress referred to-"
This is decidedly rich. 1t shows that
the Commissioners have an idea that
the Utah Commission is to be eternal in
its existence, and that the object of its
creation was to take the political power
out of the hands of the Mormon people.
a glance at the mint b section of the
Edmunds bill which created the use.
less Commission will certainly dispel
such an illusion. That section declared
all registration and election Offices of
every description of ourTerritory vacant
and appointed thisCommlssion to attend
to all registration ind election business
in the Territory, under the existing
laws of the United States and the Ter
ritory, and were to continue in office
until the Legislative Assembly of said
Territory shall make provisions for ell
ing said offices as herein authorized"
The section closes by saying:
And at. or after, the arst meeting of the
said Legislative Assembly whose members
shall bsve been elected aud returned accord.
ing 20 the provisions of this set, said Legi-
lstive Assembly may make such laws con
tolmable to the organic act of said Territory
and not inconsistent with other laws ef the
United States, as II shall deem proper con-
corning the filing of the ofices in said Ter
ritory declared vacant by this act"
That is, the election and registration
Offices. Yet when in conformity with
the provisions of this infamous Ed
mQnds bill. the Legislature undertakes
to pass those laws which would do
away with this useless and expensive
Commission, as was contemplated by
the act which created it. a :piteously
plaintive cry goes up from the
Commission that the effect of
such q law would be "to re-
store to the Mormon people the poIiti-
cal power of the Territory, in deroga-
ton of the act of Congress, meaning
the Edmunds bill. Wouldn't it be a
good idea for the Commission to look
up the Edmunds law and read 1t. and
study the object of their creation ?
They viii then find that the obiec.
sought by that measure was not the
taking of political power from the
Mormon people. but the punishment OF
polygamy and unlawful cohabitat1on.
and to take political power from the
hands of actual polygamists, and not
others of the Mormon faith.
The trouble with the Utah Commission
issimply this: They have hold of a gov
eminent teat that's decidedly rich in its
yield Of filthy lucre. They get the