The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-04-03
BULGE CASE SETTLED.

AS stated III ldSI week paper Inc
case against Judge Alfred Bulge of
Pocatello to test his right to hold
office, and also to determine the
rights of all members of the Nor
mon church to vote, hold Office and
sit on juries, was decided by the
supreme court of Idaho recently.
While the settlement of this case
leaves Judge Bulge in Office and
church eligible to all the rights of
citizenship, yet 1t deals with num-
Der of constitutional questions that
are of vital Importance in Idaho in
view of the fact that there Is and has
been for several years, a question of
fact.
The Bulge case was brought to
settle questions of law, and a care
full study of the opinion handed
down by the supreme court, puts
these matters clearly before the peo-
pie so they know the premises. The
findings of the court are very leng-
thy and would cover page If we
printed them in full, so we give a
synopsis Of it, realizing that it is a
difficult task because 1t deals with
the delicate subject of plural and
celestial and patriarchal marriages,
but If the findings of the court do not
coincide with the views of the read
err, we refer the reader to the court
and it's syllabus Of the case. We are
simply passing 1t on to our readers
as we find 1t.
When the constitution of the state
of Idaho was adopted, it provided
that no person should be permitted
to vote, hold Office or otherwise exer-
else the full rights of citizenship
who was bigamist or polvgamist
or who practiced plural or celestial
or patriarchal marriage or who be-
longed to an organization that
taught or encouraged these things.
The legislature enacted a law pro-
viding that voters should take the
famous test oath when registering
for an election, but when the Nor
mon church announced that 1t had
ceased to teach polygamy in every
form and promised the United States
government that everything of the
kind should cease, proclamation Of
amnesty was issued by President
Harrison pardoning all the past sins
of bigamists and polygamists up to
the year 1890, and after few years
Idaho repealed the test oath law, ap-
parently as courtesy to the Nor
mons, but left the constitution I'M
changed. Requests to have the con-
stitution amended in that respect
were made but were generally re-
garded with suspicion and nothing
was done about 1t, although the prac-
tice of requiring people to take the
test oath when registering has been
discontinued. During the last two
campaigns there was much talk
among the Democrats and 1t was
supported by some of other parties,
that the Mormon church has violated
its promise to quit teaching and en-
couraging the practice of polygamy,
and in 1905, the Democrats thought |
1t proper to require the Mormons to
take the test oath, and took the
ground that the constitution was
self-operative and did not require |
legislative enactment.
In some cases the Mormons we're
challenged, but the election officers |
had no instructions nor legal opin-
ions to guide them and they gener-
ally ignored the challenges. The
test case was made in order to get
an opinion from the supreme court
of the state, resulted in finding that
the constitution is self-operating;
that 1t does not require an act of the
legislature to place the test oath
before the voters; that 1t is the duty
of the officers preparing the election
blanks, to provide for the test of the
qualifications Of the voters accord
ing to the constitution, although the
decision does not define the means
by which 1t shall be done 1t leaves
a question as TO whether this may
be done by challenging at the polls
or by requiring every voter to take
the test oath.
The court proceeds to set forth
and define plural marriage, celectial
and patriarchal marriage,
so people may know just what the