The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-01-03
SPRY MISREPRESENTATION.

While Governor Spry and his battle
ship christening party were visiting
New York. the New York Sun secured
short interview with the Governor,
In the issue of that paper of December
%, 1909. Mr., SpTy is reported as say.
ing:
Polygamy? Why. since the Woodruff
manifesto OF 1890 the law about plural
marriages has been adhered TO pretty
thoroughly. There may be some sporadic
is absolutely untrue that in any sense
they arc done or performed by consent
or tho Mormon church. What polygamy
we have consists in relationships Of some
of the older men and women which were
contracted In the older days. before the
manifesto was issued. and out there IL Is
pretty generally. conceded that the prob:
lem furnished by these will be solved
by time Itself.
Every detail of which statement is
totally untrue; and Governor Spry
knows that the whole matter is false
unler the record.
Since the issuance of the Woodruff
manifesto the law against polygamy has
not been ''pretty thoroughly OBJ
served. For few years after the pro
mitigation of that document there was
adherence 20 its inhibitions; but that
was during the time that Statehood
was being sought, and the church lead
crs were themselves, and required their
followers TO te, on their good behavior.
Since Statehood was procured under
these false pretenses there has been a
recTudescencc of mol yganv. as the Coy
crnor well Knows. The Tribune has
furnished the names of many of .he
new polygamists, and we assert that
where one case is exposed score re-
main hidden.
With respect TO the countenance Of
the church being given to these unlaw-
ful marriages, it is only necessary to
point out The fact that some Of these
new polygamists have been exalted to
stake presidencies since the commission
of their offenses; that others were
stake presidents when they broke the
law, and that they arc still retained
and sustained N these high positions
by the chief authorities Of the church,
that others who were Of lesser promi-
ncuce officially were still holders Of
the highest branch of the Mormon
priesthood, and are still hnld in good
fellowship and esteem by their chiefs,
and arc Ly them advanced in the con
hdcnce of the church and in their own
material welfare. BY every practical
means the church leaders counteuaDcc
the crime and the criminals. This Gov
ernor Spry knows TO be true.
AS to the only polygamous problem
| here being that presented in the old re.
| lationships entered into before the
manifesto, and which are to be " solved
by time ITSELF Governor Spry alto
getbcr misrcprcsents the true situa-
t.op. IL is claimed by the church
authorities that at the present time
there are only about FIVE hundred Of
such families here. We have given the
names OF thirty.two new polygamists,
no denial has been made in these cases
and To each one Of those exposed, as
VIC nave said, "A score at least arc uD-
exposed. Governor Spry knows that to
be a conservative estimate. Therefore
if enc take the time 10 figure the mat
ter ont, he Will find that there are over
six hundred new polygamists Ill the
church There being less than five
hundred of tho old sort, where does the
Governor get his result that tho prac
ticc IS dying out and will soon be
''sovcd by time itself2" This pre-
tended solution is not generally con
ecdcd;' it is only falsely asserted b.
persons interested i'll shielding these
ofenses.
II is bad enough to have Mormon
missionaries, whose particular busincs.
aud instruction is TO do such thinps
lie about the situation here; but 1T il
not fair for a public tax-paid official OF
the State Is Join in the misrcpresenta
ton. He is paid TO uphold the law