The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-08-28
THE IDAHO SITUATION.
THE HERALD,
Salt Lake CT


torneys IN Idaho, is a peculiar sort G
person, gagged from every standpoint
Like many others of his ilk, he is max
ing himself conspicuous by fghtin
against consistency and reason in orde
to reach the Mormons and deal them
staiwart blow. His superior in tn
official law department of the Territory
had previously given an opinion relatiy
to the status of that class of people il
our neighboring district that were
willing to take the rough-shod and IN
precedented test oath faxed up by tn.
Republicans o. Idaho for the purpose o.
placing aod keeping themselves il
power, and this is perhaps the only
straightforward thing there is in Stand
rods -abstractly he is right in
not being swayed by the opinion of
another, concretely he is wrong in not
having a correct view of the situation
with or without the opinion of that
other.
The question is whether or not those
who believe in the doctrines of the
Mormon Church in that Territory shall
be allowed to register and vote. It is
well understood that many of them
who were otherwise qualified intended
j to do this and not permit the infamy
designed for their virtual expatriation
to have its effect. This intention has
alarmed The Republican consp;rators
Il and their so-called Democratic allies
knowing as they do that with that por-
ton of the Mormon vote cast which
has a right to be, cast, the chances of
the former in Idaho would be no better
than in Kentucky, and they make
: haste to declare that even if the pro-
'cribed religionists prefer the bitter
medicine provided for them to exclu-
ion from the privileges of citizenship,
hey shall not have the chance to take
Fl.
1t is not the province of the law to
= go beyond overt acts in such cases, and
! he attorney-generRl wisely and pro-
erly so decided He said that il
iormon subscribed to the oath, and
as otherwise qualified, the registrar
uty in the premises was plainly
Ministerial and clerical-such person
lust b5 registered of course. If he |
pmmitted perjury, it was matter for
e grand jury. not the registration
beer, to Inquire into; and this
5ew of the case must certainly COM
3 en- itself to all unprecedented and dis.
S assionate people as the legal and |
,rrect one. But Standrod won't have
& that way, no matter what his chief |
staff thinks about it. To his judicial
q Id scholastic mind the case assumes
phase dramatically opposite; if a
an is Mormon he ecessarify be-
e YES in the tenets of the church, one
which is the doctrine of polygamy
ergo, he is polygamist within the
otemplation of law and as such
suld commit perjury if permitted to
,ister, and 10 the interest of public
Icy he should not be allowed to
nmit perjury. In other words,
8 ich are ours, he should be debarred
IN helping to restore the Territory
Democratic rule, which is about
at the cap:ious functionary would
if another kind of public policy
b a private attachment didn't re-
ain him.
trequires no specious and very lictle
Il my kind of reasoning to show that
his of whatever nature appeal only 7
the conscience of the one
, takes them. The fear of cor
al or punitive infections for per-
81 may exercise some restraint, but /
lawmakers from the first have rec
ICED that this was not enough, and
: $ the customary formula has been
q lie to conclude with an appeal to a
eriOr power for assistance and guild
9, with an understanding that other
1 mortal punishment would follow
edition to that inflicted by human
lcies, This, we take it. is what in
an oath with the greater part of
olemnity. Call it superstition, or
tevsr you may, it is an obi +
n which thorough Christian will 7
81 break. The class whom the Idaho
oath affects are Christians pure and t
BE: whatever they do religiously A
solsmnty is done with the full be- f
lat they are to account for any 7
,crisy, deception or double dealing Il
may be permitted to enter into
actions while so acting, ecause
faith is firmly fixed on hereafter -
! supreme Power, to offend whose il
is to subject the offender to pun l
emit from which there is no escape. e
81 believing and understanding, r,
are not apt to take oaths to which G.
do not subscribe with an unre- e.
d intention OF carrying out fully. b
thing may have been don n