The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-12
Statement by Senator Evans, Author
Of the Measure, Who Says 1t Is
intended to AIlay Agitation.
WILL AFFECT FEW PERSONS
AND PREVENT ARRESTS FOR POLIT-
ICAL PURPOSES, HE ASSERTS.
Views of Representative w. G. Van
Horne, Who vigorously Opposed
the "BGckward Step" Taken.

| SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March IL
| To-day, three days before the Legislature
| comes to a close, the House. by a vote of
25 to II, and after exciting debate,
| passed the Evans Senate bil amending
| that portion of the revised statutes of Utah
| relating to prosecutions for adultery. Hav-
| ing passed the Senate last week by a vote
| of IL to Z, the document now goes to the
| Governor for signature. The bill, which
was introduced by Senator A. j. Evans,
| of Juan county, has caused more discussion
and more feeling than any measure intro
| duced at the present session of the Legis-
| lature. Its text follows:
Every person who has reason to be-
| lieve that a crime or public ofense mas
| been committed may make complaint
| against such person before some magls-
| trate having authority to make inquiry
| of the same; provided that no prosecu-
| tion for adultery shall be commenced ex-
| cept on the complaint of the husband or
wife or relative of the accused within the
| first degree of consanguinity, or OF the
person with whom the unlawful act Is al
| legged to have been committed, or, or the
| father or mother of said person, and no
prosecution for unlawful cohabitation shall
| be commenced except on complaint or the
| wife or alleged plural wife of the accused;
| but this provision shall not apply to prose-
| cutions under Section 420S of the revised
| statutes 1898, defining and Furnishing poly
| gamous marriages"
| In answer to a request fer statement
| as to the object of the bill. Senator Evans,
| its author furnished the Associated Press
| with the following:
MY object in presenting the bill was
| two-fold. In the first place, ii was intended
4 to keep down public agitation by taking
away from certain agitators the oppor-
tunity to arouse periodic Jurors against
| the Mormons directly and indirectly against
g..
| its primary purpose was for the good of
| the State | believe that general act upon
| our statute books, in conformity with the
| laws of Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, oregon
and North Dakota, and even more liberal
| laws, should create much less agitation
| throughout the country than the practice
which has heretofore been resorted to OF
| arresting, every few weeks some Mormon
| on a charge of unlawful cohabitation, and
| having the arrest announced In flaming
! headlines by all the newspapers through
| out the country which can be induced TO
| take up the anti-Mormon crusade. Every
| body knows that these arrests have been
made for political and religious purposes.
"Within the last ten years much more
| than half of those involved in polygamous
| relations have passed away by death, or
| those relations have been otherwise dis
solved Most of those remaining are ad-
vanced in years, and no good or honorable
purpose can be subserved by prosecuting
| the few remaining polygamists. Every one
of these prosecutions Is a source OF regret
| for the reason that such proceedings Gre
ate an agitation harmful TO the State. 1t
| may be that an agitation more harmful
| sage of this law, but don't believe it, To
| use metaphor, we are between the devil
| and the deep sea, and the bill is intended
| to relieve the State of a condition of affairs
more harmful I'm my opinion than this bill
| could possibly be. Surely the United States
| will permit Utah to act in her domestic con-
Germs with as much freedom as is allowed
| such States as these L have mentioned.
especially when the terms of the enabling
| act and our State Constitution have been
strictly complied with. i have in this mat
| ter acted with the best motives and for
| the best interests of the commonwealth
Representative w. c. Van Horne. of Salt
/ Lake. who made an impassioned speech
| against the bill, furnished the Associated
| Press with the following statement:
1.-The first object of the bill is undoubted-
| ly to prevent prosecution or those main-
tanning polygamous relations long since
| contracted. The effect. however, probably
! will be TO have adopted constitutional
| amendment giving power to Congress to
! legislate ag- INST polygamy and unlawful
| cohabitation. Laws passed under such an
| amendment would be prosecuted by United
| States district attorneys sworn to enforce
| the law. ana the vi9lations would be care
| fully looked up by United States marshals
| and their assistants. There would be
| return to conditions prevailing during tn
aggressive prosecutions under the Ed
| munds-Tucker law, when hundreds of
| prominent Mormons were imprisoned for
polygamous pactices and rumberless others
| were in hiding in Utah to avoid arrest
| There would. however, in case of convic-
| tion, be additional hardships over those
| suffered in former times. Those men con-
| victed were imprisoned here, near their
| families, and were deemed by their neigh
| bors martyrs rather than criminals. Con-
victed under United States law. they would
be confined in United States prisons out
side CT Utah and away from the support
and consolation of their friends I opposed
the bill in all friendship for the law-abid-
| ing people of Utah and with pity for the
| suffering that the not strictly law-abiding
will bring upon themselves. 1t is a dis
| tinct step backward and can bring naught
but misery"