The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-12-30
MORMON POLYGAMY.
ASAN TNSTTYUTION TITS DE4ID, BUT
PESTIGES STILL EXIST.

because Offenders Continue Marital Re.
Anti-Poiysnmy Laws Were Rigorous
ly Enforced.
The laws against Mormon polygamy
have not been completely effective. In
view of the present interest in the ques-
tion it will be useless to show briefly
what important progress has been made
toward the eradication of polygamy and
how the law is, in part, still eVaded by
a small minority of the Mormon people.
The position to-day may be summed up
In the statement that Mormon polygamy
as an institution Is dead, but that yes
tiges still exist owing to the TACT tnat
some offenders continue marital rela-
lions with plural wives whom they had
married before the anti-polygamy laws
We're vigorously enforced.
The penalty for violating the law Of
1882 against polygamy is fine and i'm
prisonment. During the period Of open
resistance to this law, the average pen
atty imposed upon over eleven hundred
men convicted of violating the law, was
six months imprisonment and $500 hhe'
The position of the Mormon Church.
previous to 1890, was, that If polygamy
was to be uprooted, the tack would de-
volve wholly upon the government, as
the church would do nothing to Indicate
an abandonment of the practice. Nor
mons contracted plural marriages Win
little attempt at concealment, and went
cheerfully to Jail as martyrs
AS the church government and people
persistently countenanced the violation
of the law, congress adopted the drastic
measure of 1887, in which the Mormon
Church and its Emigration Company
We're declared to be disincorporated,
and large part of the property of the
church was confiscated. The Mormons
fought this law by every means in their
power, and when their case was ire
trievably lost in the courts the open at
titude of the church on the question OF
polygamy was suddenly changed.
On September 25 1890, Milford Wood
ruff, president of the church. issued
proclamation denying that the church
was teaching polygamy. 'Inasmuch,
he continued, "as laws have been enact
ed by congress forbidding plural mar
riages, which laws have been pronounce
ed constitutional by the court of last
resort, | hereby declare my intention to
submit to those laws and to use my in
fluence with the members Of the church
over which I preside to have them do
likewise
Twenty-seven days later general
conference Of the church was he'd and
on motion of Lorenzo Snow, who is now
president, the conference declared that
"as a church we accept the declaration
of President Woodruff concerning plu-
raj marriages as authoritative and
binding This is to-day the avowed
official position Of the Mormon church
with regard to the contracting of plural
marriages. There Is no reason to be-
lieve however, that the church or any
important number of it's members has
changed it's views as to the unimpeach-
able morality of such marriages. The
dictum still stands, in the words of the
Mormons themselves; zone of the doc
trines revealed to us is celestial or plu-
raj marriage. This is a vital part of
our religion, the decision of the courts
to the contrary notwithstanding"
Thus nine years ago the church avow-
of plural marriages, not because 1t be-
lieved they were wrong, but because 1t
was compelled to yield to the unanimous
demand of the people of the United
States. Two questions arise in any in
curry as to whether the Mormons have
since that time yielded obedience to the
laws of the land. Have they continued
the practice of contracting plural marri
ages since the church declared that it
would henceforth discourage them; and
are Mormons still living in marriage
relations with the plural wives whom
they married before the manifesto of
President woodruff?
Since 1890 the number of new plural
marriages has been extremely small,
The missionaries of other churches who
are opposing Mormonism in it's strong
holds have made public every case of
which they have heard. Whether or
not their testimony is accurate the in
they mention do not number a
score In the annual report of Governor
Thomas of Utah for 1892, he said moth
ng had occurred during the year to in
1icate that the Mormons were violating
The law. II do not believe he said,
that any polygamous marriages have
aiken place with the consent or permits
sion of the Mormon leaders, and I also
believe that 1t is the intention of the
Mormon people not to approve or sane
ion polygamous marriages in the flu
ure" In 1893 Governor West, who had
succeeded Thomas, said in his annual
'eport that the practice of contracting
marriages had been "abso-
utely abandoned The later annual
'eports from the governor of the terri
DRY contained no references to polyg-
my, and apparently there was nothing
lew to say on the subject.
The situation had so far improved that
n January, 1898, three years before he
dmisson of Utah into the Union, Presi-
ent Harrison restored the rights. of {
citizenship to all Mormons who had for
cited them through Imprisonment for
the laws upon the condition
hat since November 1, 1890, they had {
from unlawful cohabitation
nd would in the future obey the law. {
n a speech in Brooklyn the other day
elder Snow said that there had been I
o plural marriages since 1890 and that ]
olygamy among the Mormons was as 6
cad as slavery in this land. There is |
very reason to believe that this state
lent is practically true so far as it re-
+ae IN tha CONTRA ptit1n nf 1111r9l I11nY,fi- |