The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-03-23
POLYGAMY STILL CONTINUES,
LATE UTAH LEGISLATURE TOOK
NO NEW ACTION.
Children Recently Born Arc Not
LeSitimatized and Therefore Do
Not Inherit Property.
New York Herald.

new ork Herald.
Salt Lake, Utah.--Polygamy was too
grave a question for the Utah legislature to
touch upon at the session which closed here
after long deadlock over the senatorship.
No attempt was made either to repeal the
Law against cOhsbitation with more than one
wife, which IL. B. Roberts has confessedly
violated. or to legitimatze children porn in
plural marriage. The legislature of 1898 passed
n law making legitimate all the Issue Of
polygamous marriages born before January /
OF that year. but although Mr.. Roberts twius
ana the children OF many other prominent
Mormons have been born to plural wives since
that time no effort was maze 10 extend tnis
statute The eviaent desire to let these lues-
tous alone mas excited muCn comment among
the Gentiles here.
When Roberts was openly charged during
his congressional canvass with violation OF
the cohapitatiou law he declared that IL had
'crept on the statute books by an mad
vertcnce, ana like some of the blue laws
Of Connecticut it had not been enforced b -
cause there WAS no public sentiment which dc .
manGcd its execution"
The Mormon church authorities took a sim
liar position, authorized editorials IN their
organ declaring that the only promise OF
tn church was that no pOlygamuus marriages
should be allowed in the future, President
Snow ana other high church officials also
said emphatically that IL was never intanded
should be broken. In view OF these declara-
tons II was expected that the Legislature,
which was overwhelmingly Mormon, would
repeal the law Ia question leaving onlv tho
other law. forbidding future plural marriages
and so free ROGERS and MS fzliow- iornon
leaders from the charge Of continued break
ing OF the law.
Had the church demanded It's repeaI un-
doubtedly the legislature weld have obsye1.
| MADE inquiry during the session. however
and learned that none Of the Aormw legis-
~ NJ - tab
mited that the law WAS enacted with full
knowledge Of its meaning by Mormon leg
stature 10 ls92, and re-enaeted BY the Nor
ed Il enforced and there was no movement
for its repea
state Senator Martha Hughes Cannon. VINO
IS poygamous wife OF Angus NJ Cannon
Informed me hat she had made an effort 90
obtain the repeal OF the law. but had been
toid by persons on whose Judgment she re-
led: that Il was best not to aEitato the
SUBJECT President Acquila Neheker OF the
senate, however tonk the general Mormon
view when he said that 1t was NOT Intend ID
70 enforce this law IN cases of polygsmy. bat
u would be useful TO guard against inmor-
atty"
| learned that representatives OF the Nor
mon church had discouraged movement
Tor repeal in the Interests OF Roberts taking
the ground that the question should rot be
touched until the National house of rsprc-
sentatiyes he'd decided whether OF not TO IN
seat The present representative, It was
position on tho part nj the Geutiles ana
might precpitate an opca fight against tl,e
church
he failure 10 provide ror children barn IN
poiygamy has caussl most surNrse. however.
The Protestant ministers OF tn state gave
statistics carly IN 1898 to show th:t Nor
than 1000 Of these little ones had been bort
to plural wives since January J. 1896. aud
they low declare the number almost doubled
now. President SNOW himself has a baby les
than years old ALLEGED 10 BE- the chilli ~
his last plural wife, I. he should dlo before
the next legislature meets this child eonid
not share his property. Other high cburcb-
men IRE, similarly situated An Instance Of
the hardsaips caused by the continuance nj
poiyg9miy and failure 70 provide protection for
the children Is found ~ the case OF Mrs
Lillian hamlin Cannon. fourth wife OF Tho
late apostle. Abraham II. Cannon. Her child
was born late IN 1896, has cen recognized by
George Q. Cannon's family as one of them
put Is not mentioned In the papers RELATING a.
It's fathers estate. IN territorial DAYS tbe~e
Was a statute witch legitmatlzea sii ebiIdr.n
n Iss n poIygamy This was lrnsalad by ths
Edmunds-Tucker act Of 1887 The Ststc law
q 1876 restored the old territorial ststnte ~
me beginning. Of the period Of Statehood
lhat y should not be continued now indi-
Gates the desire OF Mormons not 10 arouse anv
moro National opposition. ""'