Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-12-16
UTAH GENTlLES REPLY
TO MORMON ROBERTS
Claim That He Is Guilty Of felonies
ard Not of Mere Mis-
demeanors.
VIOLATION OF THE COMPACT
Evidence That the Agreement by
Which Utah Obtained State
hood Has Been Broken
by Roberts.

Brigham Roberts address to the Amer
lean people was made Yesterday by
delegate representing the Gentle eie'
ment in Utah, who are here to oppose
Mr.. Roberts. The answer is as fol
lows:
"In this mornings papers Mr.. Rob
erts makes an appeal for sympathy, IL
which are many statements needing
correction, while many facts are sup
pressed.
"Mr. Roberts claims that the prece
dent made by his exclusion is both new
and dangerous. That il is not new was
conclusiyely shown by Mr.. Tayler III
his able legal argument before the
house, and not a single precedent te
the contrary was cited when the
ground of objection was ineligibility
"Mr Roberts contention that nc
evidence of his guilt can be received
as n judicial record of his conviction IN
Utah, as a matter of law, is erroneous
and as a matter of practice dangerous
because Mr.. Roberts and his all power.
full and inspired priesthood can pre-
vent such conviction il they consider
IL worth while.
"Mr, Roberts says ne has. not beer
convicted since statehood. 1t does moi
follow that he is innocent. He is now
fugitive from justice in Salt Lake
county on charge of unlawful cohab
| itation, and in Davis county, Utah
where resides one of his polygamou'
wives with her illegitimate twins
born August II, 1897, charge of adut
terry Ga felony under the laws of Utah
has been for two months pigeonholee
by Mormon prosecuting attorney.
"In his attempt to belittle his crime
Mr.. Roberts insists that he is only
| charged with misdemeanor. He
| knows better. He knows that he ha.
| been, under oath and before the prop
er prosecuting officers, charged with
| the felony of adultery, as well as tho
| misdemeanor of unlawful cohabita
| ton.
'In the District of Columbia both
unlawful cohabitation and adultery
are felones, az defined by the Utah
statutes, and it is only in Utah that the
| former is misdemeanor.
These charges, in view of the Ed
| munds and Edmunds-Tucker laws OF
| the United States. still in force, war
rant Mr.. Roberts exclusion.
"They are aggravated, however, be-
| cause his is not an isolated case, but
| one representative of system.
"We demand that Mr.. Roberts shall
| support his families, but also demand
that he shall cease the begetting o.
| further illegitimate offspring, and
this is our only bone Of contention
the only thing demanded which he re
fuses to yield.
''In this matter we disclaim any de
sire to have him declared ineligible
because he is a Mormon, but solely
because he is violating and defying
| the laws of our state, of the United
| States and of common decency.
Neither is this a matter of religious
| or political persecution or prejudice
| The undersigned include men of diff
| ferent convictions and men who be
| long TO no church, those who are re
publicans and those who are demo
| Gratis.
"Mr Roberts denies and we assert
| IIluU lHt pSlNSCh ~ tuh ohs
| the other states has been violated.
"As evidence that this compact ha!
been broken we point to the follow
ing: =.
a.. That in Utah 1000 illegitimat,
| children have been born to polygam
ous wives since statehood.
"2. That about 1000 polygamou:
| households now exist in Utah, ant
that the attempt to secure a punish
ment of these offenders is denounced
by the majority, as we believe, of Utaf
| citizens.
"3. That the circumstantial evidence
Enthusiastically points to the existence
of new wives in polygamous house
| holds, the most conspicuous examples
| of which are the cases of Apostles
Abraham III. Cannon, John w. Tay
| lor and Apostle Teusdale, in at leas
| the first of which the church organ o.
the dominant church refuses to betra,
the marriage and the new polygamoui
| wife is employed as a teacher in ;
church academy.
| ~. That the very men who inter
| preted the manifesto of 1880 to prohib
| il unlawful cohabitation with priol
acquired wives now publicly justif,
| its continuance.
| "5. That most of the same men whc
in a petition for amnesty pledged
their sacred honor for the observance
of the law by their people are now b!
example and precept encouraging th'
| commission of the crime of unlawful
cohabitatiop.
sc. AS further evidence of this bat
faith we call attention to the fact tha
men holding church Office have plead
ed guilty to the crime of unlawful co
habitation before the state court with
! out having their church standing af
fected, even in some cases having
their fines paid by sympatheti
friends.
az. All this is by necessary implica
tion Endorsed by majority of Utah
people in the election of Brigham ii
Roberts, who during his campaigl
was publicly charged as violator o
the laws, as evidenced by his illegiti
mate progeny, and in spite of thes
undepied charges he was elected b,
an overwhelming majority.
"8. That Mr.. Roberts himself under
stood that compact to mean the dis
cor ortipuance of unlawful cohabitatiol
we point to his registration oath o
1898. in which he swore it to be his in
tention 10 obey the law prohibiting