The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-24

should appropriate the arguments OF
tbs majority against expulsion and
those Of the minority against exclusion
His constitutional qualifications were
admitted BY both the majority and mi
rerity Of the committee, and ne de-
clared that the members Of the house,
if they had regard for the constitution
- their country. would call him back
TO the bar from which he had been
improperly turned away
Why Nations Fell.
He warned the house that nations fell
because they departed from their ira
ditions. If a nation INDUCED N con
stitutiOnal immortality. il died as cid
the Individual who was guilty of ply
seal immortality He beseeched the
house not to yield TO the clamor Of I'M
thinking people
What was the emergency for this
proposed departure from the constitu-
fion2 A man who had married in the
sanctity Of the church a plural OF wives
had been elected to congress. The cry
had gone up that the American home
was endangered. and these eXJraOrdl-
nary proceedings had been lnaugurateo
against him
"For a few moments" said Mr.. Rob-
erts I want TO pay attention to the
nature Of this crime, rot with a view
of showing that the American people
have not the right to establish monog-
amy as a system Of marriage that snail
prevail, and not fer the purpose OF de-
tending polygamy, either; Tor IN the
early debate that took place with REFER
ence to this case on the floor OF 0he
house. I then declared that / was rot
tn de
fend it.
Does Not Defend Polygamy.
I'VE have long ago passed that stage
and the thing is out of the realm OF
discussion. l do not wish my remarks
construed as. a defense Of Dolygamy,
but I do want TO call attention TO the
nature CT this crime, in order that we
may ascertain whether it is so awful in
its aspect as to warrant more law
less act than polySamy itself, IN ORDER
to rebuke a man who has been elected
to the house OF representatives
Take the Jewish people, who were
made the repository of Gods reveal
ton to humanity. You shall not find
the crime of polygamy referred to
among that people as of the character
it is described here in the report Of the
committee. Evidently il IS nahum pro-
ulUlLultl- II - IlDL 4lAGAca IA 80 IL a.
were YOU would not find the Jewish
law enforcing it under some circUm-
stances, regulating it under other cir
cumstances. and men after Gods own
heart sustaining those relations which
are now supposed to justify you in clos
ing the doors against the member from
Utah.
IF you go to the teaching Of the
Great Master, whom 1 take 1T we all
revere, although he denounced every
crime, every sin that man can commit,
YOU shall find no word Of his in con-
demnation Of the conduct of the patri-
archs or the law as it was given to
Moses and ancient Israel
Martin Luther's Views.
Last week, when taking walk in
the resident portion of your city, I
passed a magnificent heroic statue Of
stern old Martin Luther, whom the ma
tons of western Europe and America
owe no man more than they do to him
for the religious and civil liberty that
they now express-the founder of Pro
testant ChristendOm. And that man,
upon this subject that is here so much
denounced, declared in the early days
of Protestant ChTiStendOm. when he
was informed that his discipline Carl
stadt was teaching pclygamy, I in
NGE-I must Confess NtldL L GdtilOt PRIV
test when one takes many wives, for 1t
does not contradict the scriptures.
And again in mis- letter TO Philip dc
Landgraave of Hesse, Temarl2ing upon
the fact that Philip had taken a second
wife, his first wife being still living, he
said: In matter Of Tuatrimony the laws
Of Moses are not revoked OF contradict
ed by the gospels.
yet we build monuments to Luther,
e.,1s, =
Tense of that form of marriage NGVa L
say all these things not for the pur-
pose Of arguing here upon the rights or
pOlygamy, but 1 do say what / have
here remarked for the purpose of liking
il in the minds Of members. that il is
merely a crime because prohibited by
law. 1 say that the United States had
the right to make that law if they
wished TO. The states have the right
to make it, Utah had the right to make
it the law Of that state, and has done
so. Consequently. it is outside of the
realm of discussion, further than IN
this incidental way"
Belief of Mormons.
Mr.. Roberts then explained the Nor
mon belief in polgamy, and said the
church thought their creed on this point
came within the constitutional inhibi
exercise of religious belief. He then
continued:
In 1876. desiring to put the matter to
a test. and not to be under the Odium
of violating the constitution or the
laws Of the country, and being conf
dent that the courts would sustain the
views that they had held. the Mormon
church themselves furnished case,
furnished the evidence and witnesses,
hot no
courts, carrying it from one court 10
another until the law against this form
of marriage was sustained.
TT has been recited as the chief Of
Tense, both Of the people and of the
member from Utah that nOtwithstand-
ing this decision. the people still con-
tinued to maintain the rightfulness of
that institution. The inference seems
to be that as soon as the decision of
the supreme court was rendered, those
should have dropped their hands and
instantly cOnformed to the law Of the
land
Limited. indeed. must have been the
reading of the man VINO would suppose
that controversies of this character
would be so instantly disposed of. and
that a great religious conviction would
/ be Immediately given UP on the decision
/ Of a court Worthy Of all respect as the
supreme court Of the United States IN
duestionably is, and held in high es-
/ TEEN amounting almost to veneratiCn
/ by my people, still we could not forget
the fact that the court was still human
and liable to fallibiHties
Rulings of Supreme Court.
I'VE could not forget the fact that
I this court of ours. high and exalted as
/ it is, frequently reverses Itself. We re-