The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-27
CANNON ON POLYGAMY.

The Tribune gave yesterday morn
ing good summary. with copious ex-
Cannon s article in the July Every
body's Magazine on 1.-The New Polyg-
amy In Utah. Pursuing his theme in
his revelations OF the inner organiza.
tion of the tricky polygamists, he
| demonstrates first the price of protest
against the arbitrary autocracy which
rules, illustrating it by the facts in his
own case, and in the case of Mr.. c. A,
Smurthwaite of Ogden, These in
stances make two vivid and pertinent
stories, recitiDg facts well known to
the Utah public, but the cases are now
presented in this vivid form to the
American people in a way that ought
to attract the widest attention and
the most fervent condemnation.
Then Senator Cannon comes to a
chapter on "The New Polygamy," In
this also he gives number of cases
showing that the recrudcscence Of po-
lygamy is simply sensuousness, IN
which the women and the illegitlmate
children are the victims and awful
sufferers. The revelations given by
him under this head are enough to
chill the heart and appall the con-
science. Nothing but the most reck
less and frenzied licentiousness could
possibly bring men to the state OF
mind where they could do the things
which Mr.. Cannon narrates as facts
Of their doing, and which undoubt-
edly are facts. In this section of his
revelations of the conditions Of life
"Under the Prophet in Utah, he
strikes to the core of the awful sys-
tenn. When he comes to cases where
women do not know who married
them. or the place where they were
married, where they have no showing
of any kind to prove their marriage,
and where deception is easy and IN
evitable, the dreadful conditions that
are sure to result can be imagined, |
but, as matter of fact, are not left |
to the imagination, because concrete
and personal gases are given of the
distressing calamities which such con.
dtions bring upon the victims
1t would not be astonishing if the |
American people should be incredu
lous about the depraved conditions re-
sulting from the loose liberty of Iicen
tiousness that Mr.. Cannon shows to |
- ho
conditions of secret polygamy, which
the church may ostensibly disavow, but
is in no condition to repudiate. 1t is
not astonishing that the fanatical ones
engaged in this propaganda have come
to the point, as The Tribune has
shown heretofore. where some of them
openly say that no marriage ceremony
Of any kind is essential in this new
and unauthorized form of polygamy;
hat the consent Of the parties alone
is needed according to that new
view; and this in fact and in practice
is free love The only difference IS
hat sort of tacit understanding pro-
;ects these disavowed marriages,
ina no one IeelS at llDSTIy tO piose-
,ute any Of the offenders and bring
hem to deserved punishment under
he law, because there is no telling
1t what point the prosecutor might
even though his act in COM
flaming against the trespassers should
&c undertaken in entirely good faith,
II order to purify the church from
ucb contagious evil be held guilty of |
tunchristianlike conduct, - For, as q
5 well known, no matter how good
he intention might be in such a case,
here always will be a liability to run
ounter to something that is protect
ID, and in such case the complainant
nd not the violators of the law will 7
re the one who would inevitably
uffer. {
We commend this article of Senator ;
,annon S to the newcomers in Utah G
s something that they can verify TO l
very large extent if they care to do {
o. While TO those who are not resi- '
ent in Utah, we commend it as abso- {
utely sincere, truthful and worthy
f their entire confidence r
A GOOD SENTIMENT