The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-07

Spouse Dy Congress.
SEVENTH STATEHOOD MOVE
MENT.
The seventh statehood movement
was in 1887. The convention met in the
/ city hall. Salt Lake city, on June go.
/ Sixty-nine delegates were present.
Permanent organization was effected
by the election OF Hon. John T. Game,
president: z. G. Woolley, first vice
president: James T. Hammond, second
vice-president: Heber NJ. Wells, secre-
tarv.
Daily meetings were held, Sunday
| excepted. until July 7, when the con-
/ stltutiOn was adopted and the conven-
! ton adjourned.
4 The constitution contained a section
( which read: "Bigamy and polygamy
/ being considered Incompatible with a
( republican form of government, each
/ of them is hereby forbidden and de-
/ claTed a misdemeanor. Any person
who shall violate this section shall, on
/ conviction thereof. be punished by a
/ fine of not more than $1,000 and i'm
! prisonment for a term not less than
! six months and not more than .hree
| years. in the discretion of the court.
/ This section shall be construed as OPP
erative without the aid Of legislation.
/ and the offenses prohibited by this
section shall not be barred by any
! statute OF limitation within three years
after the commission of the offense;
nor shall power of pardon extend
/ thereto until such pardon shall be ap-
4 proved by the president Of the United
States" Utah was the name chosen
for the new state. &.
Hons. Franklin S. Richards, e. G..
! Woolley and w. w. Ritter were elected
3 a. TO
coed to Washington, and with Hon.
John T. Game. then delegate to Con-
gress. present the constitution to the
president and Congress and urge the
| passage of an act admitting Utah into
the union.
The committee appointed to prepare
the memorial to accompany the con-
stitution consisted of Hons. ]. Z.
Booth. c. G. Richards. James Sharp,
j. f. Wells and Andrew Jensen.
THE MANIFESTO.
Later the constitution was adopted
| by the people. the vote being 1885 for
and 504 against. but as in the preced-
ing instances. Congrqss turned a deaf
ear to Utah's appeal, and the state
( hood question practically dropped cut
| of sight until after the division of the
people on national party lines in 1880
/ 81. The leading events intervening be-
! tween this point and the present are
matters of current history-the division
! of the people on party lines and the
| issuance by President Woodruff of the
so-called manifesto" in which he said;
And l now publicly declare that my
| advice to the Latter-day Saints is to
! refrain from continuing any marriage
/ forbidden by the laws of the land"
| and the action Of the Mormon people
! in their general conference of October
/ 6, 1890, and again of October 6, 1891, in
| adopting by unanimous vote resolu-
| ton declaring that: eve consider him
! CWilford Woodruff fully authorized,
I by virtue of his position, to issue the
manifesto which has been read in our
| hearing. and that as q church, in gen
eraI conference assembled, we accept
| the declaration concerning plural mar
rage as authoritative and binding"
| Then the granting of amnesty by Pres
/ ident Harrison and afterwards the dis
solution Of the Liberal party.
THE FINAL EFFORT.
1t is related of Tamerlane, the cele-
! brated warrior. that on one occasion.
having been utterly routed and de-
feated by his enemies. he
sought refuge in an old and
| crumbling ruin. and yielded himself
up to the most poignant dependency.
While there he espied an ant strug-
/ Cling to carry a kernel of corn up a
crevice in the wall. Sixty-nine times
the ant struggled to reach the top, and
each time fell backward upon the
floor, but upon the SEVENTEEN time it
succeeded In crossing the difficult part
of the ascent and bore away the load
| in triumph. The warrior was so
moved by the lesson in patience and
perseverance taught by the little ant,
that he caught new courage from that
moment, and rallying his warriors he
made final onslaught upon his foes,
with an energy born of renewed hope,
/ and came off victorious. So it was
with Utahs statehood, although the
analogy is not complete, because
Utah's final and successful effort for
statehood was no more energetic than
several which preceded it, the sue
| cess OF it being due to the changed
conditions, rather than to increased
endeavor. To make the record COM
pleLe, 1t only remains 10 be SAID. that
Congress passed the enabling act for
| Utah's admission, which was approved
by President Cleveland, July 16. 1894
The constitutional convention was
held in March, April and May, 1896
when the constitution of the state was
framed The people ratified it on No
vember 8. 1895. and the day before
yesterday, January 4, 1895, the presi-
dent proclaimed Utah a state on an
equal footing with the original states
Of the American Union.
THE CONSTITUTION.
The constitution which forms the
fundamental law Of our state contains
these provisions:
"There shall be no union of church
and state. nor shall any church domin-
ate the state or interfere with it's func-
tions. Perfect liberation of religious
sentiment is guaranteed"
mo inhabitants of this state shall
ever be molested in person or property
on account of his or her mode of re-
| liglous worship; but polygamous or
plural marriages are forever pro-
"The act of the governor and legis-
lative assembly of the territory OF
Utah, entitled AN act to punish
polygamy and other kindred offensesi
approved February 4. A. D., 1892 in SO
far as the same defines and imposes
olared to be in force in the state of
Utah"
THE OLD AND THE NEW.
From this brief resume Of the main
Incidents of history connected with
Utah's struggle for statehood, it will
be patent how earnest have been the
efforts of majority of the people to
avail themselves of the full rights OF
American citizenship on the one hand
and how careful and jealous the gov
eminent to withhold the coveted boon
until the political conditions of the
territory might fully warrant it's be-
stowal on the other hand It is there
fore, a subject Of the supremest salts
faction to have the privilege at this
time of congratutating all the people
of Utah. Of every party. creed. opinion
and belief, upon the happy termination