Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-12-10
AsHAnEFUL PUBLIC DOCUMENT.

Lnl-SibAcSAHAc AucE lcil AIllS CRY.
The major portion of the report
was published in the "Elberai''
organ, emitting such pats as did
y -ot serve the purpose designed. and
the dispatch iisui in this city ma
niPaiatsd those Portions that couli
be used TO defame the "sIormon-
Church, and they were widely pub
hshed and commented upon by the
: pzpers-
z 1t is too late 70 take up the report
and deal with it in detail. Much
Z of Il is now dead matter. Notable
events have occurred since the date
.-Ofsits compilation which render
a great part Of it pointless. This
statistics aud references to Polygamy
are OF this character. The DsciIra-
tion o: President Woodruff aud the
actisn Of the General Conference Of
the Church show that the Con.mis-
sion are not to be numbered anon.
the prophets.
The only items in that part Of
cheir report which touches on the
polygamy question to y hlch refer
p ence neei be maze, are 4 numbered
isolated sentences picked out irom
discourses by the Apostles and
leading Elders, and the repetition
OF the spsculatious inIulged in by
unnamed registrars in regard 10 IT,
cent plural marriages.
Z The sentences and parts Of .sen-
teuces thus selected are quoted by
{ the Commission as ILLUSTRATING the
tenaeity with which The Mormon
Church aiheres . all the tenets Of
the Church, inciuiing polygany.''
The truth IS that they have no REF
. erence whatever to the subject Of
: polygainy. And comparison with
= the reports Of the discoursss from
which the Commission cul!ei
these extracts, demonstrate
the fact that plural marriage
was not treated Of, either directly or |
Indirectly, ard that the Comni-- |
sion have in iulsei in tde most des-
pieable and coEaIily Risrepresen,-
alton which, in our view, IS a great /
deal worse than bold and deliberate
falsehood.
As TO the fOrty-one cases OF al
legged polygamous marriages. t.e
statement about which was so in
dustriously circulated throughout
fhe country, taey are Simply thi.:
''Thc Commission is in recent Of
reports from lis registration officer.
which enumera-e forty-one male per-
~ sons who At IS belfeUod have entered into |
PolygaInic relations since the jane
revisionoflSs9.r
Thus the whole story IS nothing
but runor, the authority Tor when
Is not given, f3s even the registrars
who are said To have made the re-
port are not charged with holding
TINS bslicf anI the whole thing
Is a mere bit of baselezs
gossip-as viii be seen from the Z
words We Observation-Disclosures the
Utah Commission ought to have
had too much dignity - Lilate and
enlarge upon anu publish rs though :
twas OF vital national imDor.anc.
= 7The political part OF the eport !
calls Tor some common. from u,
because reference Is made therein ,
to the DEsEREr News aud to the
editor personally, that should not :
be passed by in silence. Ate. civ
ing some account Of the contrD-
versy, last winter, over the conduct
OF the registration sfii-ers Tor the
municipal ele .tion. WHO delrau.;e6
many OF the Peoples party voters
of their rights 1t the pals. ami
were Gully whi.ewashed By the
Commission, reference is made 70 !
some correspondence between the q
Commission ard the editor OF the f.
DEsEREr NEWS. And the reDori {
says:
The DEsEREr NEws 1t one tine
named one oftae registrars in conpe,-
ton with 4 ques ioaable transaction. s
but before the Commission had Time ,,
10 investiga e, the charge was publicly 70
and explicitly Withdrawn a, 10 tbe ];
registrar named, and n majority OF the C
members Of the Commission wer, OF C
the opinion that the seDeriI charge as il
rel Grated, wi.hpu; uzrin- the per ~
sons claimed to be engaged in the IA
work, was probably as devoid OF f,un- Il
iation As the former explicit charge
Ws-confcsssdto nave bean.n 3.
This statement Is entirely and !,
most shamsfuliy false. the DEsEsgr d,
News did no! name one Of the -e- il
,istrars as described, neither diIit n
withdraw any such allegation. :.
'ither' publicly or privately, or in ~
my manner We here spuhilcly er
md explicitly deny the charge. Of
md challenge the U;ah Commission ia,
o produce from the Columns Of the CD
)sSERET News either the item ",
which named the registrar or that II
which Withdrew the accusation. vi
Tne object Of the false1ood is seen m
y what follows IN tie renort. be,
illusion Is made 70 the corespol- in
enee between the Commission aud $40
he e'iitor. aui while tbs importance pia
the DEsEsEr News is .iWelt Of
pom. the evident effort o. the re COZ
'rt is to cast doubt uporshe veraci- cou
OF the NEWS aud to exonerlte ser,
lie Commission from the stigma | yea
iat ought 70 attach TO that body. eTl
r its failure 10 investigate tn pro
iarges that were subsequently, v
abe against the registrars wno fest
ere engaged in the notorious Rio ful
rande Western railway resistss- tiou
~. As the latter part Of this cor reEl
sponaence has not before been part
ade public, 'Ee here reproduee,. il Par
M pages Is aud Il of the report: vat.
SILT LAKE Cirr, May !. 1880. v
!. G. L. Godfrey, Chairman Utah The
COMMISSION; invS
M sh.-on the 'th Of February poor
ad The honor TO receive from YOU a of %
Of which the annexed 9th
$50 r,v, c, that
February :, 1890. resa
r Charles " p-,r,sa I-;;to- ~ this