Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-16
CAN UTAH BE CAST OUT ?

When Utah was admitted as a State
n solemn COMPACT was made that po-
| lygamy should cease. But II we can
believe the testimony furnished by the
salt Lake Tribune. the leading Gentle
paper OF Utah, II has not ceased, but
polygamous marriages are being Sc.
cretly contracted almost every day,
and polygamous children are being
brought into the world by hundreds,
II not thousands, every year.
The paragraph above is clipped from
the Minneapolis Tribune. We repro
duce 1t as evidence OF the false impress
sion which has been made upon the
public mind by the Misrepresentation
sent forth from this city. A discussion
Is now going on between some Of the
leading journals Of the East concerning
the compact" entered into by the peo-
pie OF Utah and the United States. II
seems TO be taken for granted, by many
OF those papers, that this compact"
has been violated by the state OF Utah.
That Is In consequence OF the kind OF
charges accepted as correct by the Min
neapolls Tribune. and the question has
been raised whether, because Of that
alleged violation Of the agreement,
Utah can be reduced to a territorial
condition.
First as to the question OF fact. We
deny most emphatically that "polyga-
nous marriages are being secretly con-
tracted almost every day 1t is not
required Of US or Of the people Of this
State TO prove a negative 1t is for
those who prefer the charge to estab-
fish II by evidence such as can be ac-
cepted as proof, The journals which
are debating this question should un-
derstand that no case Of polygamy,
such as is contemplated in the laws for
bidding the practice. has been prosecut-
ed in the Utah courts. Against the
charge repeated In the Minneapolis
paper and originating in this city, the
Ogden Standard, a Mormon" and
Republican paper, has had for some
time a standing offer OF 800 for every
authenticated case OF polygamous
marriage since Utah entered the Union.
No one as yet has made application
for the reward, though 1t has been pub
lished repeatedly.
The Deseret News, while dlsputing
the charge concerning new polygamous
marriages. and asking why such cases.
IL they exist, are not prosecuted, has
never denied the continuance Of fam
ily relations among some Of the plural
households. in which the marriages took
place long previous TO statehood. When
any person OF paper states that we have
challenged action Of the courts in such
cases. grave mistake is made. wheth-
er wilfully or Internationally does not
matter However, we do deny and
have denied, the monstrous assertion
that Utah Is filling up with plural
wives who were not wives when Utah
entered the Union. and thousands upon
thousands Of poygamous children are
being born" The first part Of the
charge is wholly untrue, and the other
part is a gigantic and malicious exag-
geratlon.
The position we. have taken on this
question, has been and Is that plural
marriages have ceased TO be solemn
lied in Utah; that the compact with the
ration has been faithfully kept; that
Che number q plural families is sieadi-
~ decreasing; that in process Of time
the system. on natural principles, must
disappear, and that the whole agitation
on this question is needless, injurious
to the State and Of no benefit whatever
TO the nation.