The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-12-20

| Mr.. Rawlins-But the gentleman said
that these things took place in secret
AS to what takes place in secret, if we
should uncover all the misdeeds that
are committed in Utah, in Washington,
in Massachusetts,. what would be dis
closed IN all its nakednesS none but
the all-seeing Eye can tell
! Mr. Wilson, of Washington-Wash-
ington state, or Washington city?
| [Laughter.l
/ Mr. Rawlins-Both. Laughter Mr..
Chairman, there is a presumption when
a man is arraigned for crime that he
is innocent because the rule is in ia
Vor OF right conduct, of decency, and of
morality. A man who charges to the
contrary has the burden of proving it.
And the rule is a just one 1t has come
down as a part Of the common law and
as an incident of our civilization. When
an individual is charged with wrong
doing, the Constitution itself rears
about him that bulwarS which enti-
ties him to be heard in his defense and
preSumeS his innocence until the con-
trary is shown. When an entire peO-
pie IS arralgned by any gentleman he
certainly ought to be prepared with
some evidence to justify what he says.
And when a gentleman rises upon this
floor, as the gentleman from MasSa-
chusetts (Mr. Morse did, and makes
the assertion with respect to the people
of Utah, that they are murderers, pOlyg-
amists, thieves, vagabonds, and is not
able to produce one syllable of evidence
to justify his statements-when a man
who lives 1000 miles away from them,
who is unwilling to accept the testi-
mony of reputable people who live
right there among them, unwilling to
accept the testimony Of the people of
Idaho, of Wyoming unwilling to &C
faCfffaAr1xr Of
who have been in Utah-when gen
tleman takes that attitude and has
the effrontery to get up here and make
such speech as did the gentleman
from Massachusetts awhile ago, he
ought to hang his head in shame. ZAP
plause.] He is not worthy to represent
a civilized people. [Applause.l
Ancient History.
Mr.. Morse-I would like to say to
the gentleman that I have read the
book entitled Brigham Young's Wife
No. 49, and she ought to know.
[Great laughter.]
Mr.. Rawlins-oh, I suppose you
have read some fictitious and fanciful
tale.
Mr. Morse-Not fictitious at all. 1t is
the book of Brigham Young's Wife No.
Is, and it tells what took place in the
endowment house. 1 guess she knows
what was going on there. Laughter
Mr. Rawlins-Where did you get
''Wife No. 15?"
Mr.. Morse-It is book which has
had circulation of $4,000 or 100000
copies.
Mr. Rawlins-Oh, my friend, 1 am
not going back to discuss those ques-
tons with you. 1 am not going to deny
that Brigham Young had ten wives or
thirteen wives, or fifteen wives.
Mr.. Morse-Then, do not accuse me
of falsehood or tell me to hang my
head in shame when my statements are
truth and history. [Laughter.1
Mr.. Rawlins-That is not the state
ment you made in your speech. The
statement you made applied to the
people living in Utah today Brigham
Young is dead; did you know that?
[Laughter.l
Mr.. Wilson. of Washington-Did he
have to go out of doors to die in the
bosom of his family? Laughter and
confusion in the haiIl
Mr.. Powers-Mr. Chairman, ] object
to this proceeding. I raise a point of
order upon it. Brigham Young was
born in Vermont [Laughter.]
Mr. Rawlins-NGw Mr. Chairman
if I may be permitted to proceed, I
would nke'te 90 50 tor a rev moments
without interruption A case was tried
x
number of witnesses were called who
testified that polygamy in that terri
tory as early as 1884 had been forbid
den by the church. Testimony was
given in a case in the spring of 1888
that in Utah the Mormon authorities
had in reality forbidden the practice of
polygany or the contraction of polyga-
nous marriages as far back as 1886,
and that after that time the practice
had not existed. In 1888 the legislature
of the territory of Utah passed what is
entitled IAN act regulating marriages.
It will be found in Compiled Laws of
Utah of 1888, page 90. The second
section of that act provides that mar
riage is prohibited and declared void
where there is a husband or wife liv-
ing from whom the person marrying
has not been divorced
Anti-PoIygnr.y Act.
That declares poIygamous marriages
unlawful. The act provides for the
issuing of licenses by the clerk of the
court to persons proposing to be mar
ried. Such licenses can only be issued
to persons who are known; or, in case
the persons are unknown, they are re-
quired to make affidavit that their
status entities them to marriage and a
false affidavit is made perjury. punish
able as such.
The act designates the persons who
shall be authorized to solemnize mar
riages, and then it provides that any
such person who solemnizes a marriage
under conditions not authorized by the
act shall be punishable by imprison-
ment not to exceed three years, and by
a fine
That is a law which in effect renders
polygamy unlawful. and provides for
the punishment of any person who
practices it or who participates in the
solemnization of a polygamous mar
riage, and that, be it remembered, is
an act passed by the representatives of
the people of Utah at that time.
In 1892 a statute was passed, to be
found in the session laws of Utah for
that year. the first section Of which
provides as follows:
Every person who has husband or
wife living, who hereafter marries
another, whether married or single,
and any man who hereafter simultane-
ously or the same day marries more
than one woman. is guilty of pOlyg-
amy. and shall be punished by fine
of not more than $500 and by imprison-
ment for a. term of not more than five
years. But this section shall not ex-
tend to any person by reason of any
former marriage whose husband or
wife by such marriage shall have been
absent for five successive years and
is not known to such person to be liv-
ing and is believed by such person
to be dead, nor TO any person by rea-
son of any former marriage which
shall habe been dissolved by a valid
DECREE of competent court. or any
person by reason of any former mar
riage which shall haye ben pronounced
void by valid decree of a competent
court on the ground of nullity of the
marriage contract
The next section provides the pun
ishment for unlawful Capitalization of
man with any other than his lawful
wife-makes it a misdemeanor. Those
laws are to be continued in force under
the provisions of the bill which is ia