Show A CONTEMPORARY AND A COMMISSION COM-MISSION t A morning contemporary of yesterday yester-day says that the address of Messrs Taylor Tay-lor and Cannon makes more clear than ever the need of a Legislative Commission Commis-sion for Utah This must finally settle the for contem question a morning I porary has said so and who knows so well these things as this same morning contemporary And then again the morning contemporary says that the assertion that those who advocate a Commission desire only to destroy de-stroy a church is the carping of demagogues dema-gogues Will a contemporary tell us whether this carping of demagogues has anything to do in relation to the raising of German carp All who do not think mid speak after the manner of a morning morn-ing contemporary are termed demagogues dema-gogues while those who do think and speak after its manner are by it deemed demigods AVould a Legislative Commission make the people of this Territory who are not breaking any laws lose their sympathy for some who are and make them active alders of the officers Rather would it not have a contrary effect While the way in which many who are breaking the laws and running run-ning and hiding and denying their families is disgusting them more than anything else could and they I5bgin to feel that they are bearing the odiuu 5 which the others bring and they are beginning be-ginning to think of casting it off A Commission CornL mission would hut fasten and make solid L the bands which are beginning to loosen Yet a morning contemporary says it i b must not be forgotten that Utah is a Territory Ter-ritory and not a State It is not forgotten and it should not be forgotten that to shut the only avenue by which thc people may come to think and act for themselves them-selves is to make them still more alien 1 than a morning contemporary declare 3 they now are Utah is a Territory and asa as-a morning contemporary wishes to impress im-press that fact on all let us see whom it refers to as authorities for II I its Commission On March 31st 1885 it spoke of those good Democrats Dem-ocrats Stephen A Douglas and Frank P Blair as authorities for a Commission Stephen A Douglas having come suddenly sud-denly into favor as an authority with a morning contemporary it may be well 1 to know some of his views as to the right of Territories The views here quoted ar from Douglas article entitled Popular Sovereignty in Territories which appeared ap-peared in Harpers Magazine for September Septem-ber 1859 and were expressed after quoting quot-ing from Buchanans letter of acceptance The founders of our system of governmen subsequent to the Revolution regarded the people of the Territories and Colonies as pol tical Communities which were entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation In their Pro viucial legislatures where their representation could alone be preserved in all cases of taxation taxa-tion and Internal polity This right pertains to the people collectively as a lawabiding and peaceful community and not to the isolated Individuals In-dividuals who may wander upon the public domain do-main in violation of law These views of Douglas seem in favo of local government by the people and are as old as our government itself The one thing in Utah against which the laws of Congress have been aimed is i polygamy and a morning conten porary says We bojieve under that 1 fear that one of the crimes of the Mor f S mon creed is bound to go This crime I is polygamy is it not Have the read ing and study of a life time not told the editor of a morning contemporary that half if not threefourths of the legislation of Europe has been enacted to enforce an acceptance of right ideas and that such legislation has only retarded their acceptance accept-ance Is not this the very line which separates the domain of legislation from the domain of speculation the enforcement enforce-ment of the law and the enforcement of an acceptance of special ideas The way in which to inculcate right ideas or any ideas is by argument and illustration illustra-tion and not by forcing ideas to be accepted ac-cepted or rather seemingly accepted And why should the thus saith a morning contemporary be accepted as final and beyond controversy in preference to the thus saith I the Lord of the party to whom a morning morn-ing contemporary is so opposed not merely in its disobedience to the law but to its right to think or be Is not the one as much unAmerican as the other although al-though one is secular and the other claims to be oracular But a morning contemporary tells its readers there are other reasons why the government should vindicate its laws here speedily It would be a most gracious gra-cious thing if it would give some of its other reasons than the one it has always given which is only the famous argu mcnlum ad because The love of a morning morn-ing contemporary for liberty is so great that it wants it all for itself and thinks it can dispense it better than others can use it Mill has been considered the modern apostle of liberty and in speaking of the same system against which a morning contemporary is fighting said Let them send missionaries If they please to preach against It and let them by any fair means of which silencing the teachers is not one > oppose the progress of similar doctrines among their own people If civilization has got the better of barbarism when barbarism had the world to itself It Is too much to profess to be afraid lest barbarism after having been fairly got under should revive and conquer civilization civ-ilization A civilization that can thus succumb 4 to Its vanquished enemy must first become so degenerate that neither Its appointed priests and teachers nor anybody else not even a morning contemporary has the capacity or will take the trouble to stand up for it If this be so the sooner such a civilization receives re-ceives notice to quit the better Is a morning contemporary fearful lest barbarism shall triumph over civilization civil-ization unless civilization is guarded and upheld by a Legislative Commission How many truths have been discovered through the method of repressive legislation legisla-tion and how many through freedom of I discussion Did Athens gain anything by causing Socrates to drink the hemlock Repressive legislation has the same effect ef-fect on thought that darkness has upon the fairest flowers it causes them to become be-come rank and noxious and distorted or else they die It is sunshine and not darkness that gladdens the earth and in political affairs discussion is sunshine i |