The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-12-14

to prevent residents Of these quiet and or
derby communities and precincts from
naming even their own police
men, fremen, watermaste-s. Or pound
keepers: to compel them to pay
taxes for the support of officers, all
OF whom are strangers to these localities,
and many of whom are bitterly preiudiced
to begin with; to permit the sovereign peo-,
pie the single privilege of paying in their
harc-earned substance for the perpetual
ton of a tyranny more despicable, a carpet
bag rule more odious than has ever before
been known in this country. This worse
than Outstanding of the most peaceful
| communities and precincts on this CONT
nent is called by the Utah commission the
liberty and civilization of the age in which
we liver
But what further justification does the
commission urge for this unspeakable out
rage, besides Ihat one concerning which the
commission hangs its head in silence for
very shame-the report that forty-one
male persons have married polygamously
in Utah this year. Have they no grounds
In addition to this self-confessed falsehood,
this alleged report of the commissions
registrars! They have, indeed; and here
follows their justification for the robbery
| OF American freemen, that ought to go
down TO posterity for its baseness and cow
ardice:
| It 1.-THE commissiopl believes suffrage is a
privilege that would become so priced by those
disfranchised under such law that in time it
would be sought for by young men who, either
from better education and. more enlightened
views 9r from motives Of worldly ambition
would begin to question in their own minds
whether ii be profitable TO adhere to supersti-
ticn and false doctrines at the cost of citizen
slip, and many, after doubt and reflection,
would finally embrace the right and become
good and loyal citizens.
/ Ofcourse suffrage would become priced
if taken away, just as property or food
would become priced, if withhele from a
man till poverty had made him desperate
or starvation had made him weak To be
sure motives of worldly ambition would
be very likely to operate whether for res
toration of ons's franchise or his property
and men who would, like the Titan com
mission, deliberately put forth proposal
to bride young men to renounce their belief
mo reference is made to one's actions in
the test cath recommended by the commits
SION are unfit, we say, to pass upon the
qualifications of their fellow men In regard
to citizenship in q republic
Referring once more to the first extract
from the commission, we note that they IN
consciously compliment the Mormon re
gistrars as to truthfulness, since no
plural marriages have occurred, so far as
can be learned, in this territory within the
time specified by the COMMISSION. The
commission further makes an exhibition of
itself in the remark that 1.-THE birth of a
child is generally the first cause to suspect
the fact of unlawful marriage:' for had
the commissioners any such reason as that
upon which to base their estimate OF
''forty-one.n they would not have main.
tanned their present logged silence, under
the incessant fire of questions and crit
cisms that have been hurled at them
The Utah commission is useless, sense
, less, unrepublican body, whose chief work
in Utah has been to defeat the will OF the
people at elections and whose chief anxiety
for the future is retention in an office pay
ing to its incumbents large salaries for
duties that could as well and more fairly be
performed by any ordinary clerk.
Nor DO we write this with any thought Of
being able to affect in any degree the ten
ure of Office of a single member of the
commission, nor the existence of that body
of nerveiess autocrats. We simply give
publicity to the shal!owness of the allega
firms of tho r.,aioY.ity- Of that bod,, oDd III.
, unworthiness OF its recommendations.