The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-09-09
THE FIGURES

number of pardons granted py th7
President to persons convicted Of
polygamy. bigamy and unlawful &C.
habitation the young Idaho state mt
s.put his foot into it' so to speak. he
did not know where he would land.
The trouble with these juvenile pollti-
clans is that they are too fresh" They
90 off on the half-cock, as it were.
Now. Mr.. Dubois thought ne would
score point against Cleveland and the
Democratic party, by showing that the
President had been a party to con-
spiracv to defeat the anti-polygamy
laws, and that he had been rolling on
pardons about as fast as the courts
had been grinding out CONVICTIONS
But MIR. Dubois was net sufficiently
astute and foresighted to understand
and see that he would not be permitted
to make his little showing in his own
way, to put his own peculiar interpre-
tation upon it. and have it accepted by
the country in the manner in which he
had arranged. There are shrewd men
in Congress, men who know more about
partisan politics in minute than
Dubois, cunning as he thinks he Isl
could learn In century.
Nobody objects to the publication o:
the mum Der of pardons the President
, has granted to convicted Mormons;
a he hasn't granted half as many as there
was meritorious cause for granting.
= But fair men objected to the manner in
which the Idaho Delegate wanted t>use
: the statement, therefore his resolution
was set aside Tor substitute, which
|, asks not only for the list of pardons, but
O for the number of convictions which
:, have bsen had under the anti-polygamy
. laws since the first of the latter was
enacted in 1862. Tais resolution is
= more than Mr.. Dubois expected, and it
= will have tendency to make him sick.
- 1t issmore than he wanted, and it will
cause him to wish he had not opened
. the door to it. It proposes showing
which will not be at all creditable to
him and his party, which he thought
10 serve with his resolution. 1t seems
= almost cruel to thus turn the tables on
= the fresh young politician, but after all
n it is fair enough considering the trick
r he was trying to play.
Is United States Attorney Peters ha!
d completed the list for this Terri
~ tory, and forwarded the same tt
~ Washington, where it will b.
! read to Congress. The figures ar
- printed elsewhere in this morning
= issue of The HERALD. A glance a
- them will show that while the first Law
% was placed on the books in 1862, Their
was no conviction for thirteen years
and in 1915 there was one. 1t may b
remarked here that the one case wa
o' given to the court, the evidence bein
~. supplied by the friends of the accused
in accordance with the terms of bar
o gain between them and theaDistrit
70 Attorney. Matters ran along in th
o old way four years longer, and in 49,
,,o there was another conviction for polys
v.
-, this time for five years, when in 1873
'ar there were three convictions. Near
-. time, in 1882, a supplemental law (tf
, ), Edmunds) had been passed, giving II
los courts all the power and authority the
> o could ask for. 1t should be borne
I'D mind that during all this period
twenty two years the Federal admin
stration was Republican, and all t!
ew local officials for the enforcement
to the laws, from the Chief Justice doV
{ to the men who swept the court, room
Tho were members of that party.
ar twenty-five years, IN Ter Repu
the lican administrations, there we
al lust FIVE convictions for poly
the amy. In 1885 the politics of
nch administr 4tion changed, and n
mid Cleveland was inaugurated. That ye
ERE there were two convictions for poly
Raw any and thirty nine for unlawful
habitation. Mr.. Cleveland was
installed until March, and it took b
few some time to get fairly into harce
had and TO get the machinery of COVER
al ment well in hand. In 1886 there W
We four convictions for polygamy and
er- for unlawful cohabitation. In 1887 Il
far for polygamy and 228 for unlawful
the habitation. Up to the present til
year this year, there has been one con-
the ton for polygamy and 1O7 for unls
:. full cohabitation.
It must be borne in mind that
wv Democrats ave hesn operating un
:, go the same laws which were in the bo
wv when the Republicans were in powe
o' How does Mr.. Dubois like the sh
:, 'n"' ing? How do the Republicans ger
Ains ally. who are asserting that the Del
ei'i Gratis are in league with Mormons to
~ 49, petuate polygamy, like the disp'
nl' Whate yer credit there is for the
pc forcement of the anti-polygamy l
belongs to the Democrats, and the
"a iect is one upon which Republic