Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-07-28

The American flag on the Nations birthday
was trailed at half-mast And yet they say,
ave are the most loyal people IN the United
States" and this was the means they took
to express their loyalty to the Government
on the birthday of the Nation.
This, | think, ladies and gentlemen, Is
sufficient perhaps, to lead you to believe
that there is something, some Foundation
for the charge we make here, that the Nor
mon people as class are disloyal. We say
that the Church has usurped the civil au.
thority here. We all know it, and nobody
will care to gainsay it, | think. There has
not been an election held in this Territory
but what the ticket has been made up by
the Church authorities and has been. voted
for solidly by every member of the Mormon
Church. Such thing could not be in any
other country but this. 1t would not be SO
here unless there was power behind that
ticket which the members of the Church
dare not disobey.
Now, said that they also attempted and
endeuvored to overthrow the American home
and overturn the family altar. Why, ! can
point you to a place in Utah called home
where n man dwells with three sisters, and
CALLS EACH SISTER HIS WIFE,
Is rearing children by each one of the three,
and all dwell under the same roof called by
the sacred name of home. l can point you
to another place, almost within stones
throw of this building, where a man IS
a daughter and grand daughter, and
calling each by the sacred name OF wife, ana
has begotten children by each of them.
What do You think must be the effect OF
such examples as these, il allowed to 90 on
in the future as in the past? The tendency of
this crime of polygamy. and of the teaching
which encourages it, is this: That the public
morals of the community are becoming de-
bauched. There is being reared up here
community of hypocrites and perjurers.
That is a strong term to use, but l. use 1t
advisedly; | say Just what mean. The one
crime begets another; il is the prolific moth
er of crime here. 1t is almost daily oc-
currence, when the courts are i'll session, to
witness the sights and hear the words which
prove the truth of this statement. L have
seen n woman go upon the wltness-stand
and hold up her hand before high heaven
and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth
! and nothing but the truth, and when she
took her seat upon the stand, after taking
| the oath, admitted that she was the mother
| of Il young woman who was member of
her household, that the daughter had given
birth to n child and that the daughter was
married, but this mother could not, to save
her soul from perdition.
TELL WHO THE HUSBAND WAS
have seen n young woman go upon the
witness stand and admit that she was the
mother of child, but to save her soul from
everlasting damnation, she could not tel
who its father was! | do not wish to offend
ears polite, but think the time has come
when we ought to speak of things i'll Utah
as We know them to exist, so that the peo
Pile of the East may know something, too
of the infamy of this thing. i have known
a young woman, % or % years of age, mod
est in appearance, and of ordinary lntelll
gence take her oath to tell the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth, VIII,
went upon the witness stand and admitted
| lint gIa t,,pr
before that time, but to save her soul from
everlasting destruction she could not tel
whether she had
EVER BEEN A WIFE TO HER HUSBAND!
These things justify me in saying that th
crime of polygamy is the prolific mother o
other crime, and that there is rearing here
community of hypocrites and perjurers
and that the Church, or those in authorit.
in the Church, do, indirectly if not directly
encourage this hypocrisy and wicked per
inrv that is committed in our courts almos
daily.
1 nad occasion to allude to this matte
once before, and was challenged by tn
of the Church that taught the Saints to b
hypocrites or perjurers. Of course, l coul'
not do that. 1t is not to be supposed tina
they would put it in black and white am
promulgate it as a tenet of their faith. Blu
while that is so, we know that no word o
| CONDEMNATION Dy any Oue
ever been uttered against the perjury dali
committed in our courts, and that that por
tion OF the press which voices the sentimen
of the dominant authority here, 50 far from
speaking word of condemnation,
DAILY APOLOGIES FOR AND Defends
And praises these perjurers for their cunning
while upon the witness stand. How long
oh, how long must this thing be endured
When will the time come when the American
| ,nb thair IN
tives in Washington, shall say it must STOP
| say to each one of you, when you go bac
, to your homes in the East, do not forget us
talk these things over with your neighbors
, until the popular sentiment becomes arouse,
and the public voice is heard demanding re
, dress of the wrongs that we have to complain
, of. Why is it that the nation will hesitate
why is it, / say, when it is so palpable tina
the priesthood that rules the people Of thi
Territory are disloyal at heart, the natio
will hesitate to wrest the ballot from them
why hesitate to strike it from their hands
, to remain in their hands? There is nothing
un-American in such legislation, because tn
people here do not really exercise the fran
, chise-they
DO AS THEY ARE BADE TO DO
BY the priesthood, those men who stan
at the head of the Church-George {,
} Cannon, John Taylor and Joseph +. Smith
; strike from their hands the ballot whc
they never freely exercised and which the
, have so long prosttuted2 But they say
when we demand this, that is Cry gotte
: up by Il little ring of Federal officials il
, Utah, and handful of Gentiles who wis
, to get the offices into their own hands an
plunder the people. We do not ask for an
J offices. All We ask is that the Congress o
, the United States take the government o
i this Territory out of the hands of disloya
, men and into its own hands. The Gen
| tiles are willing that the ballot should b
, taken from their hands, too, if that is tn
only way that the crying evil can be rem
, edied. All they ask is that the
! BALLOT BE TAKEN FROM DIsLoYAL HANDs
And that the conduct of affairs here shall b
reposed in a Commission to be appointed b
the President of the United States, by an
with the advice and consent of the Senate
and let that Commission rule the civil affair
; of the Territory. And let me say again tina
? the only measure that will correct the cryn
evils existing here is a law that will tax
, from the priesthood the civil power-tha
power which they nse to aid them IN eyad
! ing and defeating the laws of the Unite
States; and We never can reach the root q
!, the evil until that authority is taken ava
from them.
Now, | wish to say word or two ahou
; the prosecutions here in Utah
"FoR CONSCIENCE sAKEr'
l The only answer, perhaps, necessary /
: make is, that there never has been ma
(: convicted in the courts of this Territory TO
oifenses of the nature referred to, but wha
. he has been free to go unwhipt of justice
! without any punishment, without a dollar o
fine, if he would but promise to obey tn
laws in future. In what other country ar
criminals treated with such leniency n
i thisy There has never been man caleI