Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-16

their wives and children by casting
them adrift. No such inhuman crime
ought to be committed. Such as would
do II could only be regarded as un-
worthy the name OF man. II the great
hearted American public were correctly
informed on this subject, and II were
asked whether an act so monstrous
should be required, there would be
sounded negative that would only be
comparable to peal Of national thun-
der.
Our answer 10 the religlo-political as
sertlon that polygamous marriages are
numerous or occur at all exists In the
fact that In searching for cases to
prosecute, the pursuers Of the Mormons
were compelled to have recoures to
such cases as antedated the manifesto.
Much fuss and fury has been raised
over the election OF b. II. Roberts TO
Congress, because Of his being a polyga-
mist II has been unblushlngly assert
cd that he was candidate OF the
Church for that position. The fact IL
that the Church is not In politics, but
the pious clerical gentlemen who are
raising this disturbance are stepped In
IT. They are seeking to have a class
Of the Mormon people placed under
political disability. The Church had no
candidate. Mr.. Roberts was nominated
by a Democratic convention composed
OF Mormons and -Mormons. The
figures from the election returns are
before me. They exhibit the fact that
Mr.. Roberts owed his election TO the
nom Mormon portion OF the community.
They show that he received by far his
largest majortles In those towns and
counties which were the most heavily
populated by nom Mormons. Park city
being the only exception. In some To-
calities where the population Is almost
exclusively Mormon, Eldredge carried
the day. This was notably the case in
the county Of Sanpete,
The question raised In this connection
by the agitators Is simply this, and
nothing more. Since the issuance OF
the manifesto an estoppel has been
placed upon plural marriages. Mr..
Roberts has been duly elected to repre-
sent Utah in the House Of Representa-
tives. In order for him TO take his seat,
shall Congress, by an adverse decision,
require him to cast adrift the wives he
married before the manifesto, and thus
degrade his family? No matter how
the subject may be twisted, this is the
essence Of the situation. II such an al
tentative were offered the gentleman,
there could be no doubt about his choice
being such as TO uphold his own honor
and that Of his family.
The present persecutiye crusade Is no
exception 10 the automatic rule from
moral standpoint THE prosecuted
may possibly be in the wrong but the
prosecutors are never right" Since the
establishment Of the law Of the Church
to abolish plural marriages there has
been a period Of peace on the Mormon
question. Assaults Of murderous mobs
upon the Elders and members OF the
Church in the Southern States had be-
come incidents OF the past Since the
opening Of the existing religio- political
campaign, conducted by the use OF
Misrepresentation as ammunition, these
onslaughts upon innocent people have
been renewed. II Is only short time
since that an armed mob with masked
faces invaded the home of a worthy
family in search Of two Elders whom
they evidently intended TO murder.
The mistress OF the house recognized
one Of the mobbers, called him by name,
and upbraided him. He Immediately
said, shoot that woman" The COM
mand was obeyed, and the shot tore
away a part OF one side Of the face OF
the innocent victim.
Still more recently, in Tennessee, a
similar mob OF about one hundred Vio-
lently broke up religious meeting. AS
two OF the Elders were retiring from
the scene of the disturbance they were
fired upon from an ambush. The bull
let missed rs intended mark. and
struck and severely wounded a little
girl. The man who did the deed was
Informed by one Of his neighbors that
he had killed the child, whereupon he
committed suicide,
Such barbarous work Is q result OF
the agitation which has its headquar-
ters in Utah. The initial disturbers
make a misuse OF BRAIN tongue, anl
pen In melting the population TO an
tlpathy against the Mormons. The
more brutal class of their imltators
resort 10 masked faces and murder0us
weapons. The meters have masks Of
another character-sham sanctity made
from himsy material. That the moral
responsibility for the murderous on
SlHuEntN duUtTt 10 lutill 10 ~ NlNoA NheeN
the facts need not be stated.
1t is urged by the promoters Of this
unchristianlike pursuit OF worthy
community, through their agents, that
their object is simply to extirpate
polygamy. This subterfuge can be
safely denied. On the clerical side the
object Is religious asoendency, sought
10 be attained by enlisting the govern
ment TO aid them in the scheme. on
the political side il is local political
supremacy. With both wings the pro-
curement OF an amendment TO the ma
tlonal Constitution, for purposes OF dis
franchsement, is the weapon they de-
sire the American people TO forge Tor
their use in the attainment OF their OBJ
iects. They seek to throw dust In the
eyes Of the populace abroad by assert
ing that the existence OF polygamous
families OF long standing, the over
whelming bulk Of them antedating the
passage OF either Of the laws under
which they were prosecuted, tends to
perpetuate the institution of plural
marriage.
This is self-evidently untrue. No
other process than the multiplication OF
plural 1dH FOSsAsiy fNAHtNT
uate the system. The permanent stop
page OF such marriages is just as sure
to wipe out the institution as II Is true
that II man were TO cease multiplying
his species he would inevitably become
extinct. IL is Just as certain, also, that
the two per cent OF adults Of the Nor
mon" community who are In the polyg-
amous relation will gradually disappear
from the mortal stage. Then what
would the anti-"Mormon" Christian
philanthroplsts do for another great
moral question, and for unfortunate
victims? What, then, would those poor
patriots do who are so fond OF free
dom that the word IL ever on their lips,
II they could not expend their ener-
giles in hunting for an opportunity to
squat upon the rights Of their neigh
bors
In an hour of national peril Utah re-
sponded with alacrty TO the call for
her sons to defend the interests Of the
republic. Some OF those who stepped
forward were not called TO confront the
enemy in battle, but they We're ready
and willing at any moment. Those who
did have made as brilliant a record as
any soldiers who took the field. The