The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-01-26
ROBERTS is
EXCLUDED.
MormOn's Seat in the House is
Declared Vacant
By a Vote of 26s to so on Ma
jOrity Report.
GIVES UP THE FIGHT.
Says He Will Go Home and Not
Try Again.
Declares He is a Martyr to
GIVES UP THE FIGHT,
Declares He is a Martyr to
Spasm Of Prejudice.

Washington, Jan. 26.-The case of
Brigham H. Roberts. the Mormon rep
resentative- elect from Utah which has
occupied so much of the attention of
the house since the assemblage of CON
gress, was decided today by the adop-
ton of a resolution to exclude him, by
a vote of 268 to so.
The exact language of the resolution
was as follows:
THAT under the fact and circum-
stances of the case, Brigham. H. Rob-
erts, represen tative-elect from the state
of Utah, ought not to have or hold a
seat in the house of representatives and
that the seat to which he was elected
is hereby declared vacant"
The amendment to expel Mr.. Roberts
without seating him, offered by Mr..
Lacey was ruled out on point of order
and the house only voted upon the reso-
lutionS of the majority and minority of
the committee. the former-to seat and
then eXpel Mr.. Roberts, was defeated
81 to 244.
An analysis of this vote showed that
1853 Republicans, SO Democrats and four
Populists voted against it and II Demo-
Gratis, six Republicans, two PopulistS
and two silver Republicans for it.
The majority resolution-to exclude
Mr.. Roberts and declare the seat vacant,
were adopted, 26S to so. The affirmative
vote was divided as follows:
Republicans. 164; Democrats. SO; Pop
ulists, 16; and the negative vote, Dem
| ocrats, Al; silver Republicans, two;
| PopuliStS, one.
| There were over a score of speakers
| and the closing speeches on each side
were particularly able. Mr.. Lanham
| (Tex.) closed for the majority and Mr..
DeArmond (Mo.) for the minority.
Mr.. Roberts was present throughout
| the day and only left the hall after the
result of the last vote had been an
nounced- AS he did SO he gave out a
statement justifying his retention of
| his plural wives on the ground that his
! moral obligation was more binding
upon his conscience than the technical
| obedience to statutory law, and saying
that there was little excuse for the
| extraordinary efforts to crush a system
! already abandoned and practically
| dead. He said he was a martyr to a
'spasm of prejudice" He would not,
again, although he would go back home
with light heart confident of the fu-
! ture.
ROBERTS STATEMENT.
Mr.. Brigham H. Roberts gave out the
| following statement in relation to his
| exclusion:
"'Our griefs are past when remedies
are ended.
By seeing the worst which late on hope
depended
ST was elected by the people of Utah
as their representative by the substan-
tial plurality of 1865 votes. An effort
was made by what I believe to be an
unconstitutional and unprecedented
process to exclude me from the house
of representatives. In behalf of myself
and my constituents, comprising the en-
tire population of the state of Utah,
did all l could to maintain the position
to which they had elected me, but the
house of representatives, under the
whip and spur of popular sentiment,
have decided to exclude me from the
house. l have contended for my rights
nd ri Oh nf my 81 n ole
handed and alone to the best of my
ability, but have been overwhelmed by
force of numbers.
Notwithstanding all that has been
said, the people of Titan are not a law
less people. Those of them who have
been involved in the past in the plural
marriage system. once taught and sane
toned by the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. are not wanton vio-
latorS of the laws; but, finding them
selves in the position where the law
commands them to do one thing, and
moral obligations sacredly entered into
under the sanction of the Mormon
church, command them to do another,
they are place in very trying situa-
ton; and some few of them, including
the member from Utah, may have found
it necessary to regard their moral OBJ
legations as more binding upon their
consciences than their technical obed-
fence to the statutory law.
''Such a position is but tranSitory in
Utah and comes down to the Mormon
people from conditions growing out or
the plural marriage system of the past
The condition here referred to, however,
is rapidly passing away. From authori-
tative figures officially collected re-
Gently by the Mormon church, it has
been ascertained that the time of the
discontinuance of plural marriages I'M
der the authority of the late President
Woodruff's manifesto, in September,
1890, there were 2,451 polygamOus fam
lilies throughout the whole Mormon
church Since then it has been ascer-
tanned that 908 of these families have
ceased to exist through death. divorce.
or abandonment, leaving at the present
time but 1,543 polygamous families in
the church throughout the world; and
as most of these are we'll advanced in
years and all beyond middle life, the
system will soon be obliterated from the
q -. and 1andar. thesa circ1111n sta meas