The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-03-24

pA+AAO oAO FlSOI VI llle, anu men IEem
ping with age, and they would almost In.
variably say that they had no promises tc
make, which Of course meant that tuey
would continue to disobey the law Some
had been convicted before, and had gone
back to their wives and were living with
them again
Ia September, 1890, what has been
known and spoken of here as the manifesto
OF the presidency of the Mormon church.
was issued, the date of it being, think, the
24th. In the October following, at general
conference, which was an immense gather
ing OF the Mormon people, at which were
assembled 10000 or 1900 people, they en-
dorsed that manifesto. the language OF
the manifesto itself does not mean q great
deal The members of the Mormon church
are not ''commsnded' nor advised in il
to stop practicing polygamy, where they
are already in its practice, but they are adj
Tised not TO enter into any more marriages
contrary to the law of the land. But east
OF Utah the balance of the United States
las taken that to mean q great deal more
than 1t sald. 1t was taken as a proclama-
t on against the further practice of poiyg-
amy. 1t was not thai exactly, but it was
taken as meaning that, even among tue
Mormon people themselves. am satisfied
| that the great bulk of the Mormon people
took IL as meaning that polygamy mus;
come to an end in Utah. While there have
been great many indictments found since
tand probably there will be more found
yeD against members of the Mormon
church, yet they have been for of1enses
/ committed several years ago.
They have been for violating the law
prior to the issuance of that manifesto.
nave known OF 70 plural marriage being
soiemnlzed In Utah since the manifesto
the last l have known of, or Eeard of, being
n hn nn
had married his plural wife in 1887 l &C
not thiuk that any more plural marriages
are being entered into in Utah. | DO not
believe that the Mormons, if left to them
selves, would reestablish polygsmy airy
more than the southern people would re-
establish slavery. The bulk of the people
rejoice that they have been relieved from
the obligation to support that which was
held to De an ordinance of the church, or
rather command of the Almighty that il
was their duty to obey, and that their ex-
altaton in the next world would be in
keeping with the cheerfulness with which
they obeyed it. Since the manifesto was
issued l believe that In every case that has
come before me for sentence the defendant
has stated he was willing and intended in
good faith to oUey the law, and TO advise
his associates to do likewise. In my court
l do not remember a single one but who
flied manner that he intended to obey Ehe
law and advise others TO do so.
In my district (which is more than half
the size Of the state OF Iowa, being 90, 600
square miles in extent, and wild, thinly
Inhabited country, since the manifesto
was issued, have been told by the deputy
marshal in charge of the district that he
had received letters from Mormcns who
had been in hiding for several years, asking
n
them before the court; that they wanted
TO be indicted and have their cases d sposed
of. l think that is the general feeling
among them. l will say, further, that
where they have promised TO obey the law
have taken the promise as having been
made in good faith, and 1 have made it an
invarlable rule TO suspend sentence, espec-
tally where they were men of advanced
years. [ have done that in all instances
except one. That was the case of young
man who had married as his plural wife q
young woman whose father did not know
OF the marriage until 1t was found that his
daughter was pregnant with child, which
child was born as late as last July.
Furthermore, SO far as have read
the proceedings before your committee,
where the persons representing the terri
tory have made statements, there is one
thing which has been overlooked and it is
of Utah, which is Mormon body, or
largely composed of Mormons, passed 2n
act prohibiting and publishing with severe
penalties the crimes of polygamy, unlawful
cohabitatlon, and adultery. DO not know
whether that has been referred to here or
not. The legisla ure substantially enacted
the Edmunds- Tucker law. l do not know
Of anything further that these people could
do to show that they have actually aban-
doned polygamy than what they have done
Their church, through its presidency and
through the general conference, composed
OF many thousands of people, Endorsed that
which they understood to mean, and took
as meaning, that it would put and end to
polygamy in the territory.
l will say further, that when the mani
festo was issued, and since that time, so far
as my intercourse with the Mormon people
is concerned, it seems to me that the whole
body of the people have received a new rev.
citation. They seem to feel good over it,
Tney feel that the strife between them and
the government IN regard to polygamy has
ended, and they seem now to be imbued
with the same ambition and high hopes as
other American cilizens, and seem to feel
an interest in the glory and power of this
government just the same as other citizens
feel, instead of feeling as heretofore that
thoy were being oppressed, and that the
government was their enemy.
There has been great deal said In this
discussion about the past, and some pro-
coed upon the theory that the government
had been wrong in passing laws to punish
those people for polygamy, and so they
seemed TO think the government was ex-
pected to apologize for what it had done.
do not propose to discuss that, but do not
think the government is called upon to