The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-06

Hon. B. H. Roberts returned last
night from Heber City and the Park.
and drove to Mill Greek. where he filed
the appointment made for him by the
state committee. 1t was very late when
Mr.. Roberts returned to Salt Lake but
Herald reporter met him and asked
him his views upon the personal at
tack made upon him by Governor
Wells
81 will tell YOU" said Mr.. Roberts.
land you need not interrupt me with
your questions while 1 am doing it.
1.-The governor, it seems. has thought
proper to dignity the personal attacks
made upon me by the Salt Lake Trib-
une. and endorse its low campaign
methods by the dignity--not of his
character, God knows-but of his high
Office. I have treated with silence the
assaults of the Tribune, but when the
highest officer of the state lends the
influence of his position to such sour
rilous methods in politics, feel under
some obligations to pay him at least
my respects by noticing what he says.
1t is enough to say of the governors at
tack that it is identical with that of
the Tribune-he takes up the cudgels
it has used-he adopts its methods, and
to him say:
Governor Wells is acquainted with
the system of plural marriage that OBJ
tanned in Utah for so yeras-he is a
product of that system-born of a
woman who accepted it, fathered by a
man who practiced it. He knows that
it was accepted by the pure women
who entered into its obligations as a
sacred rite, sanctioned by the ceremony
of holy church.
He knows that the settlement of
that question, after years of strife and
heartache left upon men moral obliga-
lions from which no decree of the
church could release them. and no act
of the state absolve them.
HE knows that the demand of the
American people. as expressed through
their representatives in the American
congress in the enabling act, went no
further than this: That perfect toler-
ance OF religious sentiment shall be
secured PROVIDED that PO-
LYGAMOUS OR PLURAL MAR
RACES ARE FOREVER PRoHIB-
TIED That is. the demand went so
far as to prohibit future polygamous
marriages. but no further.
HE knows that in the settlement of
that question in the constitutional con-
vention territorial law which was, by
the best lawyers Of the convention
considered as void because it paral-
leled congressional enactment on the
same subject, viz: the Edmunds- Tucker
bill-was split in two and the part of
that law only which forbid plural mar
riages taken and adopted into the con-
stitution; and that the part relating TO
unlawful cohabitation was Durposely
omitted, because there was no demand
in the enabling act to interfere with
existing relations growing out Of the
Mormon system Of marriage; and that
it was the intention of the convention
not to interfere with those relations.
because not called upon to do SO, and
this the debates clearly show.
He knows that since the adoption of
the constitution there has been no dis
position to exclude from political life
men upon whom the aforesaid moral
obligations concerning their domestic
affairs rested.
HE knows that among his personal
friends who have loved and admired
him were many, many men who were
fulfilling to the best, of their ability
those moral obligations, and SOME OF
THEM THE HUSBANDS TO HIS
OWN SISTERS.
He knows that while technically a
law which crept into our statute book
by what may be called an inadvert-
ance; viz. that the code commission
put into the code what was considered
before statehood an demonstrations
law. and then the code was adopted by
the legislature. a number of whose
members have said to me personally
that they were not aware that such a
law was in the code He knows that
that law has not been executed, that
there has been no public sentiment
that demanded its execution and that
like some of the blue laws of Connect
cut, which exist on the statute books
under similar circumstances, it has not
been enforced. And one of Governor