The Portland daily press., 1900-01-22

kscn nouss nay 4r4s<AnAas 10 Fets'
e e, s,srs- .ss'. "a .;s -
ooseurrsnoe Of two-thircs. sxpsi . mem
"No one can reed that rrsvssion with.
out raisinx In kis mind NE qsssxion
WHISTLER the Houss hes say pcwss 10 en-
pol sxospt for some cssss relating - IN
confess. The sble~t lawyers from the bs-
ginnins Of the republic have 20 tnsistss
and their reasoning has bsen % c7gsni
that propositions are esta biisbed. namely
"i-Neithsr House Of Congress has svss
expelled q msmDsr for acts unreiatlns
70 him as q member, or consistsnt will
his public trust and duty ~ such.
"2-Both houses have many times re-
mem bar Was apparent. where the refusal
10 expel was put upon the ground thai
the House or Senate, as the case might
De. had no right 10 erpsl for m aot IN
related 10 the mem bar as such, or becsusl
10 was committed prior 20 his ele-tion."
The report then says In DC; I'M iation
"Prior 70 1889, b. II. Roberts had mar
ried one Louisa Smith. She has borne
him six children and II still living.
"Asout fss5, when Utah was fairly
ringing with the blows OF the kdruunds
act Of fSs2, while numerous prosecutions
were going on and after the suprems
CouEb nRu D8rr8a npoa suo N8tt.t"y VI We
act, when the American people supposed
that polygamy had received lite death
blow. when no man OF the many whose
cases weut 10 tho United States Supreme
court pretended the provisions against
poIygamous marriages were invalid
with all these facts insistently before
him, Brigham II. Roberts took another
wife-his first polygamous vife-Cslis
Dibble by name, who. In the following
~ years Lore him sil children.
"1his second wife he married In den-
ance Of the law. He spat upon that law (;
he declared by his act that he reoos uised
no binding rule upon him Of n law Of
nized higher law. The Congress OF the
United States WAS 10 him an object OF
oontempt. The supreme court OF the
United States might declare the law for
others, but nos for him. He laughed ct
Its futile DEGREES and spurned Its ad.
n onitions. The executive which had
declared in solemn messages its gratiiic,-
he dsfisd and despised. OF what conse
quence to him were laws OF Congress and
declarations Of the highest court and
proclamations Of presidents % against
his sensual Interpretation OF a sensual
doctriner
"And all the time the Edmunds laws
declared NOT only polygamy. but oohsbi.
lawful. Roberts not only bigAmously
married second wife, bot he persisted
In violently, defiantly. trampiipg under
foot every other provision Of the act.
"But he had not yet sufficiently pro-
claimed his utter contempt for the Su-
preme Court, for Congress and Its most
solemn enact ments. A few years later
he took q third wife.
From the time Il his second marriage
to the third hs cohabitatsd with two
women. From the date Of his third mar
riage down 20 his election and, Wa
doubt not, to the present time, he has
been cohsbiting with three women.
"As recently rs Deem bur o, 1873, he de-
fined his position az follows:
"'Thess wmsn have stood BY me. They
are good aud true women, The law has
said shall part from them. My church
has bowed 20 the command Of Congress
and relinouished the practice Of plural
marriage. But the law cannot free me
from obligations assumed before It spoke.
No power can do that. Even were the
church that sanctioned these marriages
aud performed the ceremonies to turn Its
back upon Us and say the marriages are
not valid now and that / must give the
good and loyal women up, III be d
II l would
ain this stateinent he adheres to the
audacious assumption that the law Of 1885,
did not speak to HIM and that be did not
recognize 1t as rule OF conduct TO him.
We ssssrt before the House, the country
ard history that IL 10 absoutsly and I'm
pregnably sound, not to be effectively
attacked, oousonant with every lsgisla-
tive precedent In harmony with the Ia v
and with the text books on the subject.
"BIGHAM II. ROBERTs's
persistent, notorious and defiant viola.
ton Of one of the most solemn acts svsr
passed by Congress, but the very body
which he seeks to enter, In the theory
that he Is above the law, and his dsf'
ant violation OF the laws Of his own state,
necessarily render him ineligible, dis
qualified, unfit and unworthy to be q
member Of the Houss Of Reprsss tatives
And this proposition is asserted not so
much for reasons personal to the mem
bership Of the House as because It goes
to the very integrity Of the House and
the republic Us such.
The report concludes as follows:
"lf there 10 any fact apparent In this
cass It Is that the constituents OF Mr..
Roberts knew all about him before bis
election. Can there be room to doubt
the proper action Of the House.
"Is IL prepared to yield up this salu'
tary power OF exclusionS win IL declare
itself dsfenoeless and ridiculousf
"Nor are tboss who assert that eIpul.
from voting for the resolution declaring
the seat vacant. He must, indeed, b
techniosl and narrow In his construction
Of the constitution who will not nd nit
that II vote TO declare the seat vacant
10 sustained BY q two-tbirds majority
the constitution 10 substantially DOM :
Piled with. He may not agree with the
c1mmittse that mere majority can ex-
ciude, but he can reserve the right Il
make the point Of order that the reso-
luton Is not carried II two thirds do not
vote for ID.
"If the HOUSE takes the a,tion which
the minority OF the committee insists II
ought 10 take, 1t viii, for tbs first time
In Its history. part with most bene-
ficisnt power which IL has often exer
cissd, power that ought rarely to be
sxsrcissd, but which the House has never
declared It did not posssss.
oMindful Of the gravity of the question
and realizing the responsibility imposes
upon us, We recommend the adoption o
the following resolution:
{" Resolved, Thst under the facts and
circumstances Of this oase. Brigham II.
Roberts, rsprssentative-elsct from tn,
state of Utah, ought not 70 have or hold
Q seat IN the House OF Representatives