The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-11-30
MENACES MADE KNOWN,

inc ola hypocrisy that - All is well in
Zion, but every day it, is becoming
more clear that the Nation AT large is
reaching better understanding Of the
community menace which exists and is
fostcred here. Occasionally there comes
public evidence that the people of the
country arc taking notice of the un-
lawful practices of the hierarchs and
arc making some pertinent comment up
on the situation. giving evidence of a
disposition to refuse TO he further
blinded by the specious pleas of these
ccclesiasts
In another column Of The Tribune
today is reprinted an article from the
Denver Times, under the caption,
Polygamy Is Not the Chief Danger
From Mormonism. - The mistake which
occurs in the article is in the state
ment that plural marriages have seldom
been solemuized within the past few
years. Had the Times applied that con
dition TO the past few months it would
have stated the exactitude. And it
might be well to say that such comment
as the Times makes in this matter, to.
| gcther with the warfare wagcd here
by the American party against polyg-
amy, are alone responsible for the ex-
istencc of this abstinence within the
past few months. The present time
marks an occasion in the history OF
the Mormon church when one of those
conveniently handy suspensions is in
| force.
| AS The Tribune has stated before,
there have been hundreds of new plural
marriages within the Mormon church
since the promulgation of the mani
festo, which was supposed to have done
AWAY with the practice entirely. In
Canada and Mexico are colonies of the
church which fairly reek with the prac.
tlcc of new polygamy. IT. is not so
long ago that the Canadian government
officials found it necessary to warn the
Mormons there that the government
would not brook their unlawful method
of marriage and living.
And if the whole secret could he
brought out it would be known to the
citizenship of this Nation and to all
the world that there are scores of new
polygamous families in this city. The
lmpossibility of legal proof of these
occurrences was made factor TO their
consummation, The average man from
elsewhere might pass by certain indi-
cations of the existence of polygamy
in certain quarter: but these signs
are, to old residents of Utah, infallihle
in their accuracy of assurance The
very fact that opponents are unable
(because of the careful deceit and the
cowaraly mystery with which these
marriages are surroundcd) TO demon
strate to the world the legal evidence
of the existence of these crimes is
often glecfully heraIded forth by the
ecclesiasts and their polygamous fol
lowers in an effort to show that the
church is being maligned by enemies.
But the truth nevertheless exists that
until the American party began to
make effective and vigorous opposition
TO polygamy it was again rampant
within the Mormon church The guilty
flight Of men whose testimony was
desired by the Senate Committee on
incident of culpability when consid-
cred in the light of all the facts Some
of these men, if they would utter the
truth in this connection, could tell not
only Of their own personal taking of
new wives since the manifesto. but
they could name scores of other men
for whom they had performed ceremon-
les which made them the unlawful com
panlons of deluded plural women.
However. the Times is right when it |
says that the chief menace involved |
In the present conduct of the Mormon |
church lies in its domination of politics |
in this intermountain country; for a |
continuance of the evil of poIygamy is
now contingent upon the degree of sue
cess which the hierarchs may be able to
achieve in influencing the politics of
this region. They depend upon their
political power to cntrench themselves
in their unlawful polygamy-thcir love
for the latter begctting their greed for
the former.
Yet the Americans of Utah may con
gratulate themselves upon the facts
that their controversy here has COM
PEELED the present suspension of polyg-
amy and that their persistent effort is
resulting IN the world growing knowl.
edge of the situation. The world at
large ought To he Informed, though,
that in the moment that the American
party abandoned the fight the practice
of new polygamy in the Mormon church
would be renewed in greater virulence
than ever, This is evidenced IN the
paeans of ecclesiastical Joy which
greeted the announcement that Joseph
Il. Smith had been merely fined three
hundred dollars upon his own confession
of guilt That fine did not cost Joseph
+. Smith personally one cent, and it
was therefore no punishment at all. N
And the shame OF it all is that Smith
is back in his polygamous haunts do.
ing business at the same old stands