The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-04-12
ANTI PoLYGAMY AMENDMENT.


The clcarcst and most unequivoca
note struck at the recent Conference
of the Mormon church was that by
President Joseph i. Smith on the first
day, relating TO the proposed anti
po]ygamy amendment to the Fedora
Constitution. On that question Pres
ident Smith said (we quote the News
version. although that paper has init
mated desire since to discredit its
own reports
with respect to the idea proposed by
| some TO induce the Congress OF the United
| states to amend the Constitution so as
to give the Federal Government the au-
| thority TO regulate plural marriage SO
| far as | am concerned. / have no obicjc-
| Neither has any other Latter day Saint
Let the States petition the nation to
regulate the whole subject OF marriage
in the United States, and 1t will be a
sodsend to the people everywhere.
That was given by the News in quo
tation marks, and evidently was meant
to be taken as the verbatim language
| of President Smith.
In this utterance President Smith
pledged, not only himself, but all other
Lattcr-day Saints, not, to be sure, to
the support of this amendment, but
against any opposition TO il. He said
that he had no objection whatever to
such amendment, and neither had any
Latter'day Saint. There would appear
to be no reason, therefore, for any of
them opposing it; and since the oppo-
sition of the Mormon church may fair
ly be considered from this utterance to
be withdrawn, no organized resistance
TO that amendment can reasonably be
expected.
As we have pointed out from time
to time, there are good many rea-
sons why the Federal Government
should be given control over the ques-
ton Of marriage and divorce, aside
from the jurisdiction that would there
by be given to Congress over the ques-
tiou of poIygamous relations within the
United States. First Of ALL it would
insure a reasonable and fairly con.
sistent rule Of divorce throughout the
Nation. AS it is now, the divorce ques-
tion varies from great Iaxity, AS in Ne
vada, to great strictness, as in South
Carolina. But with National enact
ment covering and governing this ques'
tion, it as not likely that extremes
on either side would be possible.
With regard to marriage, on the other
hand, with Federal jurisdiction and con.
troll. the rights Of married persons
would be uniform throughout the
United States. There would be no
forty-six separate jurisdictions setting
IN various vexatious ways separate
standards or legal rights as affecting
married people; and the change to Fed
eral control would certainly be great
tending to plification, to
uniformity, and to better status
everywhere in the United States.
The National control over marriage
would also give to the United States
a jurisdiction hitherto denied in the
case of American men or women marry
ing foreigners, and over the rights at
taching by reason of that marriage. AS
IT is now, Americans marrying foreign
crs are absolutely helpless so far as
their American status is concerned,
for the General Government has no iur.
isdiction, and the States have no for
eign relations, The rights of Amer
leans, therefore, in such case. are abso-
lutely unprotected,s whatever equities
and proper claim may lie, because there
is no home jurisdiction to assert or any
power to enforce whatever rights ar
American may have. In such cases the
parties concerned have to rely entirely
upon the European jurisdiction, and in
such eases Americans, especially in
France. have no chance whatever This
was demonstrated very forcibly in the
case of Anna Gould. who married, first
one titled Frenehman, and then another,
and all the time was at the mercy of
the French jurisdiction. Other cases in
plenty also might be cited, the most
conspicuous of all being the case of
Miss Patterson Of New Jersey and Je-
rome Bonapartc, in which the American
rights of the American woman were alb.
solutcly ignored in France, and an un-
holy disruption arbitrarily decreed.
1t IS unworthy of the standing and
the ethical claims Of the United States
as nation to allow this matter Of mar.
rage and divorce TO remain in such a
chaotic state as it is in this country.
For the dignity and good repute of the
American, nation, we trust that the
Federal Government may be given com.
plete jurisdiction over the question Of
marriage and divorce, and all of the
relations that necessarily attach to the
married status.
NOTE THE CONTRAST.