Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-19
ROBERTS REPLIES TO CRITICS
Declares Compact Between Utah and United
States Has Not Been Broken. II
ONLY LOYAL TO PREVIOUSLY TAKEN VOWS
Says Greater Dangers 10 the Amer
lean Home In Helen GouId's
Home city Than whole
state of Utah.

NEW YORK, Nov. 1S-The Times tomor-
row will publish a three column article by
Congressman Brigham II. Roberts, dis
guessing the effort bt,ng made to exclude him
from the house of representatives. Mr..
| Roberts says, in part;
| Those engaged in working up a public
! sentiment against the representative from
| Utah demand from the house of representa-
tives either that he be net allowed to take
his seat, to which ii is admitted that he was
| legally elected, or, after being admitted,
that he be expelled. That the house can do
either Of these two things is extremely
doubtful.
'As many well meaning people and Chris
| tian ministers outside of Utah are mised by
the falsehoods of those at the bottom of the
relgo-poltical scheme to unseat Utah's rep
resentative and thus defeat the expressed
will of the people of sovereign state, 1
point out some of the false charges on which
| the agitation is based:
1T is falsely charged that the Mormon
| church has broken faith with the govern
| ment of the United States in regard to
polygamy; that is it is charged that the
practice of poygamous marriages has been
| resumed by the church. In the first place,
! it will be remembered that no compact
| exists between the Mormon church and the
| United States on the subject of polygamy.
| The only compact on that subject is between
! the people of Utah, acting through their
| representatives, in the constitutional conven-
! ticn and the people of the United States
| represented by the president and congress.
II affirm positively that that compact has
! been kept on the part of the people of Utah
| There is no attempt made to repeal or annul
the parts of the constitution prohibiting
| polygamous plural marriages. There
is no desire to disrupt that compact with
| the United States. The Mormon church has
not violated the compact and has no desire
to annul it, but, on the contrary, the ven
cradle head of the church has officially
aVowed his determination to adhere to this
settlement of the question.
Compact Not Violated.
THE representative to congress from
Utah has not violated this compact, the as
sertion of his enemies to the contrary not
withstanding. When the little coterie Of
sectarian ministers and disappointed would
be political bosses in Utah, who began this
agitation, say that the Mormon church or
it's members violate the compact between
our state and the people OF the United
States, because few men in Utah feel
morally bound to fulfill the obligations to
the women they married under sanction of
the Mormon church. previous to the issu
ance of the church manifesto of $780, dis
continuing polygamous marriages-when
they say this is violation OF the compact
with the United States they say that which
they know to be untrue; disrupting and dis
continuing those polygamous relations was
no part Of the compact. 1t was not de-
manded by the enabling act. 1t was not any
part of the action of the constitutional con-
venton, but, on the contrary steps were
studiously taken not to disrupt those rela-
tons by constitutional provision by discard
ing parts of the anti-polygamy law which
would have brought about that result. What
good would come to the people of the United
States by a disruption of those plural
families? What good would come to either
morality or religion to turn those plural
wives and their children adrift? What
Christian woman's home would be securer
for knowing that a Mormon plural wifes
home was now destroyed?
LET it be remembered that the family
and home of that plural wife was established
under the sanction of - to her - "a
holy church ceremony, and with the ap-
proval of all honorable people. The foun-
tain of; the evil was dried up, the people
of the United States can be generous enough
to allow the streams that flowed from 1t
to take their course until lost in the OBJ
livion of death. Some men-the number Is
few and rapidly growing less-who entered
into plural marriage previous to 1890, when
the church formally and officially discon-
tinued such marriages and hence, of course,
previous to the settlement of the question
by the compact of our state constitution,
have felt it morally binding upon their
conscences to fulfill the obligations Of their
marriage vows to those polygamous families
This is the only polygamy that has existed
in Utah since the admission of the state, or
since 1890. in fact.
Do Not Control Politics.
"It Is falsely charged that the Mormon
church controls the politics of Utah, and that
the representative from Utah was nominated
and elected by Mormon church influence.
1t is falsely charged that the Mormon
church leaders sought to have Roberts
elected to test the sentiment of the people
of the United States as to whether Utah
would be held to the agreement In the mat
ter of abandonment of polygamous or plural
marriages. This is too silly to require refu-
tation.
at is falsely charged that Roberts was
elected to crowd polygamy down the throats
of the American congress and people, to
fulfill an alleged prediction of Brigham
Young that it would yet be done.
1T is falsely charged that the congress
man from Utah was elected to represent
polygamy. That If he is seated and retains
his seat 1t will mean that congress endorses
polygamy, and that there will be an i'm
mediate revival of the Mormon plural mar
riage system in Utah
Does the house of representatives en-
dorse the individual views of all the men it
admits to membership? If socialists should
from some congressional district elect a
congressman. would his admission to the |
house say to the world that the American
congress endorsed socialism?
Il don't go to Washington as a representa-
tive of polygamy; / am not sent there by
my constituents to ask congress to consent !
to the repeal of the clause in our state con-
sttution which defines, prohibits and pun |
lshes polygamy-and il should be remem-
bered that this particular clause in our
state constitution cannot be repealed with I
out the consent of the United States. I
shall not go to Washington to advocate or
even defend polygamy,
II pass by the many other falsehoods that |
have been uttered relative to myself In this
political agitation, knowing the time is near
when those who uttered them and myself
will be face TO face. | can then answer the