The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-06-12
of and Election
hnou1ngrp In Smoots avor

known as Salt Lake t,,v g i.
OF 1877. The place wheTs "a "
vas, AT that time. MexIrar sne
morinons' however, hoIe,cS ~
strlpe9 on an emlnencc na.s
CT since called Ensign Pesr
On tho 9th day OF Sant
Brigham Young. The tbsuptsu
mormon Church. was noroinss
efnor OF tho Territory OF Isss{
ident Fillmore. and hls anno,-
confirmed by the SENATE e..
1850. During his term Of omSsp
appointment. and In the vssr
ham Young, rs the presidsn,
mon Church, formally ana
GAINED claimed rolyGamy as a doctHrI,
There Is some dlsputc >.
polygamy had not been nrr
lS4A by joseph Smith uu
ioungs predecessor as nrssts.
church, but IL is not deems
In this statement TO consid"r
OF that controversy. Tho sA~
=. ''hl TIE Ume of
Youngs announcement In IsSs
was openly prncticed In Utah n
the Mormon people, includjns
Young himself.
When his term of offico a.
the Territory expired in isa y
pointed for another term M ~.
President Pierce, his non,,rs,
again confirmed by the Senate
out his second full term oS
During al Of this time he ~
be president OF the church an;
live In polygamous relations
eral wives.
Act Of 1852.
There seems to have bean
by the Government OF the i'm
to interfere with the practice n
In Utah until July |. 1850 on
an net Of Congress entitled
punish and prevent the prnct,c
amy In the Territories OF h
States and other places. ard nj
and annulling certain acts o{
lative assembly Of the n
Utah" became a law Q2 Stat
The first section OF that acl
lows. l.
That every person having hur
living, who shall marry any n
whether married or single. ia
the United States, or other plaee
the United States have eYclunive
shall. except in the casoe specifIe5
Yiso 10 thio section. De adiudRs
oigamy. and upon conviction. ii
be punished by a fine not exceed
dred dollars. and by imprisorrneu|
not exceeding nve years: ProvIds
less. That this section shall no. 4
person BY reason OF any form
whose husband or wife by guch h
have been absent for fve pioc
without being known to such ID
that time to be living. nor 20 n
reason OF any former marrIage
have been dissolved oy the deere
petent court; nor 20 any person
any former marriage which shn1
nnnullcd or pronounced void BY
or decree OF q competent court q
OF the nullity OF the marriage q
1t VIII be observed that viii
tion OF the act of 1862 made n
Tense TO take a plural wife or
did not punish or In anyWil
with the continued cohabitatII
who had previously entered \
lygamous relation
The Ednlunds Law
Such cohabitation was not y
Tense until March q. 1851, vi
called "Edmunds Act" becan|
Stat. at Large, 3o). This
amended the act OF July l, IL
the meantime had become sec
the Revised Statutes) Secfir
amendatory act provided:
Sec. 3. That II any male perso
ritory or other place ovsr whicr
Stntes have exclusive, 1urisdlcsiC
cohabit with more than cne won
be deemed guilty OF a miedemsi
conviction thereof shall ba punia1
OF not moro thnn three hundred I
OF by both said punishments, II
tion Of the court
In the seventh section OF n
II was provided as follows:
Sec. THAT the issue Of I
polygamoue marriages. known
marriages, in cases In which su|
have been solemnized according
monies OF tho Mormon sect. In
OF the United States. and eucn
have been born before the drsf
airy. ammo Dom!ni eighteen hundrt'
three. are hereby leBitimated.
Soon after the Edmunds Acl
law. prosecutions were lnstie'
Territorial courts against p
were living In poIygamy. the
tions being nearly all under N
ton OF the act. which made u
for a man to cohabit with mo!
woman. From that time uu'
1890, the number OF polyg1
riages In Utah decreased, uu|
tice WAS not entirely stopped-
The Edmunds-Tuckez
BY what is called the Edm1
Act. approved March 3. l8f
615), the rules Of evidence ~
so as 10 make lawful huEnl
OF q person accused OF niGaf
my, or unlawful cohabitation
witness.
By section Z Of that act the
OF the legislative assembly oI
tory of Utah Incorporating oI
the corporation known as sn<
Jesus Christ OF Latter-Day
disapproyed and annulled, an
poration dissolved. and ~
made the duty of the Attok'
OF the United States 10 tahe
ceedings in the supreme conLs
ritory TO wind up the onalfs
poration. Section IL or tnls
further provided az follo"s'
Sec. IL. That the laws enactee
lntive assembly of the TerIlto''
which provide for or recosn,r
OF illegitirate children 70 hsr
entitled TO any distr1euuVe 80
tate OF the father OF any -
child arc hereby dis1pprovsu
and no iIleEltimate chila sns
entitled TO inherit from nus ~
10 receive my distributive ~
tate OF his or her fotncr- fio
section shall not apply 20 49,, s
child born within twelve
passage OF this act. nor 10 ~ ~
legitimate by the scvcntn ss sse,-
entitled An act To amend 49,.
hundred and fifty-two OF tne 49,
OF tho United StAtes. In refeTeL~-
and for other purposes sbf'
twenty-aecond. eighteen hundfce
two,
Reynolds v. the unissa
Although tho act Of lSz: as ae'
to. made 1t a criminal 9nens i.si.
plural wife In the Territofies,
led States. and although ~
openly and publicly practiceu,
to have boon little effort on
the Government TO supp.ta,
for many years after that w
however. one George heySs h,~
dicted and charged with ~
that act. and his case e,ssa Mss r