The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-03-24
THE FANATIC EXPLAINS.

The leading Liberal organ says: "When
the first EDMUNDs bill passed the Senate,
Senator EDMUNDs was heard to remark:
we will try this; if this does not answer,
next time we will attack their lands.'"
In this way the organ tries to deny that
it advocates the robbing of the Mormons,
and explains: "All that we have ever said
about confiscation has been to try to get the
Mormon people to understand that SOW
ereign power has right by law to attack
the property of aliens who are engaged in
disobeying the laws
Well, who is it that is engaged in DISC
beying the laws" Not the Mormons, GER
tainIy. The jaiis and court rooms are filed
with non-Mormons. True few Mormons
once did violate the law, for which they
were punished with savage severity. AT
the time this punishment was going on,
the fanatical organ said:
One of the strangest features OF Mormon ism
and the Mormons is their seeming utter lack Of
comprehension of the enormlty of disobeying
the laws. The first thing probably thai
will be taken from them will be the franchise
which they have so long prostituted. Then they
will find themselves at the mercy of such laws
co, the next attack will be on their property
and no man who believes it right to obey the
first presidency rather than the laws VIII be
permitted to acquire title 10 lands. This will
mean final bankruptcy, not only for the masses
but for the rich in the organization.-T Tribune
September IS, 1856.
This reveals the true inwardness of try
ing to lay the blame of urging actual rob
berry upon EDMUNDs. 1t is altogether i'm
probable that the Vermont Senator.
lntolerant as he is, was ever ''heard to re
mark" any such an infamous thing as that
attributed to him by our local fanatic.
When practically all the Mormons that
had violated the law had paid the penalty,
and the prosecutions waned from sheer lach
Of material, the church formally abandoned
and forbade polygamous marriages, anG
none have since occurred.
For time the fanatic was dazed and
knew not what to say. Finally he reused
himself and declared that the Mormons
should still be DISTINGUISHED, because they
were not obeying the law on principle, but
simply for the sake of avoiding punishment
Yesterday he said:
We Will repeat that if we had our way we
WOuQnI let the MormonS vote; like Othel
aliens, we wouldn't permit Mormons from
abroad romnatura lizing in this country We
have nothing selfish or personal in the feeling
and would be glad if they would stop their fool
ishness and become Americans in fact.
This is. the first punishment the fanatic
desires to see inflicted on the Mormons, not
because they are not law abiding, but be
cause Of their "foolishness." Of course
the confscation part would follow, as the
following amendment to the proposed new
constitution of Kentucky plainly suggests
mo one not citizen Of the Shifted States OIL
who has not lawfully declared his intention tC
become such citizen, shall acquire by pur
chase any lands or interest therein in this com
monwealth; nor shall any one not a citizen Of
the United States hold or own any lands OF
interest therein for term longer than eight
years.
it is vain for the fanatic to protest that
Acknowledgement and denial Of the right tc
enter land is no punishment, and that there
is nothing in particular to be feared from
such a condition. He knows well enough
the robbery and plumber it signifies for him
and his party.