St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-31
UTAH As A STATE.

The fact that the bill in the senate for
the admission of Utah comes from
prominent Republican excites Inquiry,
if not surprise. 1t is presumably not
without the concurrence OF other Re-
publicans. The protest in that quarter
has been vehement and persistent
against the admission of such state,
professedly on the ground that it would
be a church-ridden affair, and the anti
p0lygamy role would be abandoned
when the immunitieS of statehood were
attained. The fact that Senator TELLER
Is one Of the most Jealous free silver
leaders, and his state one of the chief
beneiciaries OF the scheme. has led
10 the uncharitable suppositiOn that
he was willing to sacrifice his
deep convictions of the enormity
of polygamy to secure another sill
yer state, but this is not warranted
by the circumstances or the apparent
attitude of other Republicans. Why,
then, do they propose to admit state
shat is likely for long time to have
Mormon majority of its population? The
surprise comes in at the vigor of the
protestation Of the senator at further
diStrust of the Mormon sincerity.
There is no weak point in his convic-
ton that there has been radical and
permanent regeneration of the Mormon
heart. The represSlve measures of the
government toward the peculiar insti-
tuition" were at first odious and repug-
nant. The Saints resisted them. But
as Mr.. TELLER sees it, the process was
like that indicated by the poet-hatred,
endurance, and finally the embrace.
lie thinks the Mormon people are
persuaded that their prosperity and
general welfare require the abandon
ment of practice so out of line with
modern civilization and repugnant to
q progressive spirit. 1t seems to the
senator that polygamy is SO dead in
Utah that he would not harrow up the
sensitive minds of its former votaries by
requiring that the new state shall recog-
mise any possibility of resurrection of
the practice. The only suggestion of
religious requirement is the usual con-
stitutional provision Of liberation of
religious sentiments aud mode of eX-
pressing them.
1t has always been insisted by the
Republicans that no confidence could be
had in the professions of the Mormon
leaders. They were arrant hypocrites,
pretending to have abandoned polygamy
and to accept the situation in
good faith in order to get the reins in
their own hands, when they would re-
turn to their patriarchal customs. If
they had reason for this view when the
later states were admitted and Utah
shut out, there has been nothing to war
rant this change of belief since. The
suspicion will arise that political con-
slderatlons are the influential ones. 1t
has been supposed that the Mormons
would side with the Democrats and send
two senators of that complexion to
washington. Senator TELLER NAV re-
side near enough to Utah to observe
that in the new voting divisions there of
late the Mormon vote has often been so
carefully divided between the parties
that the same leaders figure as Demo-
Gratis or Republicans, as the immediate
need is. The object lessons of other
new states may have persuaded the
leaders of Mormonism that deal with
the Republicans would expedite state
hood. Some ale perhaps so controlled
by partisanship that they impute inter
ested motives to the Republicans who
have SO revolutionized their minds. Still,
it has always been insisted by the DEM
ocrats that politics should not affect &C
ton in such cases. If Utah is otherwise
worthy of admission as a state, the
probability that it will vote for this or
that party should not be made an objec-
tion