The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-09
Utah Gentiles Give
Their Answer to
Roberts.
TWO THOUSAND POLYGAMISTS.
Startling Statements Rela-
tive to Increase Of Plu-
raj Marriages.

Washington, Dec. S.-An answer to
Mr.. Brigham Roberts address to t
American people was issued today by
the delegation representing the Gentle
element of Utah, who are here to oppose
Mr.. Roberts. The answer in part is
| as follows:
Mr. Roberts claims that the prece-
dent made by his exclusion is both new
and dangerous. That it is not new
was shown by Mr.. Taylor (Ohio) in his
able argument before the house, and
not single precedent to the contrary
was cited where the ground of objection
was ineligibility. Neither is the prec-
edent dangerous. Whenever a "prima
facie" case is made against members
citizenship, by showing that under
conviction of felony against the laws of
/ the United States, he is disfranchised,
and further, that by reason of his pres
ent maintenance of the status of po-
lygamist he is again suffering from civ
il disability, under the Edmunds anti
polygamy act, such a member refusing
even to deny the charge should be ex-
cluded.
Mr.. Roberts claims that whatever
were his civil disabilities before state
hood, they were removed by the adop-
ton of the state constitution. If at
the time of the passage of the enabling
act Mr.. Roberts was, as he says in his
appeal, disfranchised by act of con
gress and therefore not a full citizen
of the United States, as by the legisla-
/ ton he must be to become a member of
/ congress, then he is still in the same con-
/ ditiOn, because the constitution of Utah
| could not restore him to federal citizen
4 ship, and the enabling act did not do it.
| The enabling act of Utah required cit
izenship of the United States as a quail
4 ification for voting, and did not confer
that citizenship upon those not such cit
liens.
Mr.. Roberts says he has not been
convicted by any state court. 1t does
/ not follow that he is innocent. He is
now a fugitive from justice in Salt
Lake county on a charge of unlawful
cohabitation, and in Davis county,
Utah where resides one of his polyg
amous wives with her illegitimate twins
born August II, 1897 a charge of adult
terry "a felony under the laws of Utah)
| has been for two months pigeon-holed
| Mr.. Roberts insists that he is only
charged with a misdemeanor. He
knows that he has been charged with
the felony of adultery, as we'll as the
misdemeanor of unlawful cohabitation.
Unlawful Capitalization, under the
Edmunds act, under which he pleaded
| guilty, was a felony, as also is adul-
| terry, with which Mr.. Roberts is charged
in Davis county, Utah. In the District
of Columbia, both unlawful cohabita-
| ton and adultery are felonies. Many
sentimental people are being misled by
! Mr.. Roberts very ingenious explana
tons.
Adultery was a crime in Utah when
| Mr.. Roberts was born, and at the time
of the passage of the Cullom anti-po-
| lygamy act, Mr.. Roberts was only six
years old. His plea for sympathy,
| therefore, amounts only to this: That
he should be allowed to continue his
| criminal practices In defiance of law.
| We demand that he should support his
! families, but also demand that he shall
/ cease the begetting of further illegiti-
mate offspring. EX-congressman w.
H. King was and is a Mormon, and no
claim of ineligibility was ever made
against him. We point to this fact as
showing that we oppose Mr.. Roberts,
not upon the ground of any religious
| opinions entertained by him, but be-
cause of his criminal practices. Meth
er is this matter of religious or polit-
! zeal persecution or prejudice.
! We assert that the compact between
| Utah and the other states has been
I violated. That compact was evidenced
| by many public acts. All the public
! acts combined show conclusively that
| the compact includes the discontina-
! ance of old polygamous relations as
| well as the prevention of new ones.
AS evidence that this compact has
| been broken, we point to the follow
| ing:
First-That in Utah 1000 ilegitimate
children have been born of polygamous
wives since statehood.
Two-That about 1000 polygamous
households now exist in Utah, and that
the attempt to secure a punishment of
these offenders is denounced by the
majority, as we believe, of Utah's cit
liens.
Third-That the circumstantial evid-
ence Enthusiastically points to the exist
ence of new wives in polygamous
households, the most conspicuous ex-
amples of which are the cases of
apostles Abraham H. Cannon, John w.
Taylor and apostle TeasdaIe, in at
least the first of which cases the church
organ of the domir4nt church refuses
to deny the marriage and the new
polygamous wife is employed as teach
er in a church academy.
Fourth-That the very men who in
terpreted the manifesto of 1890 of the
Mormon church, to prohibit unlawful
cohabitation with prior acquired wives
now publicly justify it's continuance.
Fifth-That most of the same men
who in a petition for amnesty pledged
their sacred honor for the obedience of
the law by their people are now en-
couraging the commission of the crime
of unlawful cohabitatioE.
Sixth-That men holding high church
Office have pleaded guilty to the crime
of unlawful cohabitation before the
state courts without having their
church standing affected.
All this is by necessary implication
erGorsed by a majority of Utah's peo-
pie in. thS Election of Brigham H. Rob-
erts, who during his campaign was
publicly charged with being a violator
&c the laws. and in spite of undenied
charges was elected by an overwheIm-
ing majority. That Mr.. Roberts him,
self understood that compact to mean
the discontinuance of unlawful cohab-
itation there is no doubt and he swore
q, obey that law.
(Signed)
T. c. Illif, Salt Lake.
G. w. Martin. Manti, Utah,
G. H. Owen, Salt Lake.
j. M Coombs, Brigham City. |