Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-15
DEFENDS PD[YGAMY
New York Woman Finds Good
in Practice of the Mormons.
DOESN'T FAVOR IT FOR ALL
But Believes That i Makes for
Morality
HER OBSERVATIONS IN UTAH
Praises Character Of the Polygamous
Husbands-Says Gentiles Are
Becoming Less Hostile.
HER OBSERVATIONS In UTAH

Special Dispatch to The Star. r
NEW YORK, January 14.-"Polygamy
is the most feasible OF all the panaceas
that have been put forward for the cure
OF the divorce evil. ~ 5000
81 favor polysamy for those who want
1t.
"Polgamy would be q boon to the tens
Of thousands Of spinsters in this coun-
try, who 1t present lead life that IL
incomplete without the masculine COM
partnership which they crave ana to which
they are entitled. 80
"PblyGamy. is openly vprscticed- in
Utah and is becoming less and less OPP
posed as the Gentle minority Of the pop
ulation Of Utah witness its manifold bene-
fits" 49,
1t is not an elder in the Mormon Church
who is speaking. nor the shade Of Brig
ham Young or even one Of the forty-three
children Of Joseph Smith.
Mrs. Mortimer NJ. Menken, wife of a
metropolitan attorney, is the one woman
in city full Of suffragettes and modern
women" who dares to raise her voice in
defense OF the plural marriage system.
Mrs. Menken, who Is q member Of the
Equal Franchise Society, the Political
Study Society and the post parliament,
attended the mock meeting OF the WON
an governors OF the latter organization
at the Waidorf-Astoria Friday. Each Of
the women present represented a state
Mrs. Menken was the Governor" of
Utah, and she threw the audience into a
panic when she boldly declared herself
in favor OF return to the practice OF
polygamy.
Doesn't Favor Practice for All.
Today Mrs. Menken received . re-
porter at her home on West End ave-
nue.. She laughed heartily when asked
II she favored the adoption Of polygamy
for all women.
my beliefs are hardly as drastic as
that" she replied. THE subject is a
hard one to discuss sensibly. People
are SO liable to lose their heads In con-
demning polygamy and the sect that
practices 1t. Now / did not say should
advise all men to get themselves half
dozen wives, or women to band them
selves into clubs Of dozen or moro
members and marry some man.
But from my first hand observations
in Utah I believe that polygamy makes
for morality. You should travel in
Utah, and you would observe that polyg-
amy is becoming more and more
openly practiced. 1t is even spread
in particular. And the Gentirles in Utah,
who comprise one-third OF the total
population. are nowhere near as bitterly
opposed to the plural marriage system
as they were formerly:
1.-THE people are beginning to realize
the many benefits to be derived from
polygamy. Poiygamy, for instance.
settles the labor question. In Utah you
eight wives, as the case may be. tiliing
the soil in perfect harmony. All take
a personal interest in the farm, and
the result is that the family is inde-
pendent.
or one another; IL the husband does not
.nlay fayorftes.' 1t may be 30 in some
cases, but have not observed 1t In Utah.
They look upon the system OF plural
they respect their cowives as wen as
their common husband.
The. Polygamous Husbands Moral.
I'm Utah have found that polygamous
husbands are the most moral. the most
respectful and self-respecting men in the.
world. Their manner OF living tends TO
make them so. Their every interest ID
wrapped up In their family. They have
nothing but the family and. the church
to think about. The tenets OF their
church. which to them IL dearer than
life itself, tell them to live In an1ity and
peace with their wives, and they follow
the mandate Of the church to the letter
There Is another aspect OF the matter.
I am not advocating the adoption or
polygamy all over the country. and. AZ
for myself personally, I am perfectly
satisfied to be one wife Of one husband.
But statistics tell us there are more wonf-
en- than men in this country. In Massa-
chusetts alone there are 5000 more woni-
en- than men. Now purely upon q m4the-
NAUTICAL basis there are not enough men
TO go around. What does this mean?
1t means that many thousands OF WON.
en-the less favored by chance or nature
must pursue a lonely path to the grave
and eternity. Would not these women
he better off as one of q heYyrof wives