Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-03-30

pNOpO0AIAOu dS q well lOuuGSu ACBdk
conclusion that no one can exercise
the elective franchise, serve on a jury
or hold Office who comes within the
inhibitations of section 3 of the 'Suf-
frage and Elections article of the
constitution. In such case the only
inquiry to be made is: Does the de-
PENDANT come within the constitution
al enumeration of prohibited persons
or classes as charged in the COM
plant?
ION February 3, 1885, the terri
torial legislature passed an act regu-
lating elections within the territory
and prescribing the qualifications Of
electors, and section 16 of the act
contained what has been popularity
known ever since as the Test Oath
(Sess. Laws, 1885, p. 100. At that
time it was generally conceded, we
believe, even by the Mormon authori-
ties and ecclesiastics themselves that
bigamy, polygamy and plural and
celestial marriages was the tenet Of
the church of Jesus Christ or Latter
Day Saints and was taught by it and
practiced by some of its members.
The test oath provision was incOr-
porated into section 504 of the re-
vised statutes of 1887, and its sub
iect was also embodied into section
sol of the same code. In 1889 the
case of Davis vs.. Beason was taken to
the supreme courI of the United
States where it was argued in Deem
Der of that year. In that case II
was contended that the statute of Ida.
no was in conformation of the FIRST
amendment of the constitution of the
United States, and was an unlawful
and unwarranted interference with
religious federation.
THE supreme court denied that
contention and sustained the acts Of
the territorial legislature, and thai
decision would equally apply at THU
time to the validity Of the constitu
tional provision now under consider
alton. Section 3 of article of th'
constitution prescribes substantially
the same qualifications for electors
as was required by the foregoing ter
ritorial statutes. We must now de
termine the meaning of the Language
used in this section in the light o
conditions as they existed at the tim,
the constitutional convention was IL
session in July 1889.
at would be useless to go to die
tionaries and lexieons for definition
of such terms as celestial marriag
and 'patriarchal' marriage as her
used in the organic law of the state
We are now removed nearly IS year
from the time about which we mus
inquire as to the social. civil and pc
litical conditions that confronted tn
constitutional convention and tn
people of this territory, and for tina
information we must turn to the put
lie history of the day as 1t can b
gathered from the press, public writ
ings and current literature Of tina
! time, aided by whatever memory "
may have left as to the occurrences G
those days.
1.-THE principal and primary objeS
: of the people and their represents
tiyes in the constitutional conventio
u was to suppress and forever outla'
and discountenance bigamy and pol!
: gamy within the state of Idaho, und'
whatever name or designation
u might be given or under whatev'
9 doctrine or creed 1t might be recoI
{ nized, taught or praeticed by any pc
y son or organization. So when II
, convention came to writing section
G of the article on suffrage and ele
n tons they were confronted by Il
o fact that while in the language OF le
u islatures, courts and law writers, an
, thing which looked like having mo-
u than one wife, at one and the san
L time. was defined as bigamy or pol
? eamy: nevertheless, this organiZati'
N of Latter-Day Saints. commonly q
e led the Mormons, was emPloyii
I and using other terms and EXPIRE
sions concerning the marital relation
y and which terms might also signi
e bigamy or ploygamy; 50 the eonve
ton included those other terms al
e I'm section 3 as herein set out.
, NO more Importance seems
( have been attached By the conventi'