Show OUR CHICAGO LETTER at last the mormon question begins to grow interesting the treatment of it in the newspapers is assuming the character of discussion but the unique feature of the discussion Is the immense ignorance of the situation as it really is which prevails I 1 cannot do better than submit in full a few articles or editorials from various journals first wo we have from michigan this view TRIM MORMONS AND V U 8 A vermont member of congress hao intro dured a bill into the house of representatives to exclude mormons cormons from voting at any elect elections lons and from citizenship sucha such a bill can be passed into law only on the legal presumption that all mormons cormons are polygamists mists but it appears that some mem members Ir ere of the mormon sect are not po poleg iya would it not be better to confine the operations of the proposed law to such members ot of the sect as in other words exclude from the rights and privileges of citizenship only such mormons cormons allive as live in violation of the laws regarding marriage the non polygamous mormons cormons might be discovered for the purpose of the act either by conviction on trial by the ordinary forma of law orby or by interrogatories on application to vote or for naturalization the united states should be careful not to appear to persecute even the mormons cormons ton for mere religious religions opinion evidently this michigan man mall thinks polygamists are still voting and holding offices in utah the second is an editorial from the cath ol 01 ic home of chicago february 15 1890 here it is LIMITS OP OF religious LIBERTY the crime of polygamy which the mor mono sought to shelter under the cover ot oi a religious tonet tenet is described in the late decision of the supreme 4 as a crime pernicious to the best beat interests of society tending to destroy th the purity ot of t the he marriage relt relation tion to disturb the peace of families to degrade woman and to debase man to call such itch a crime a tenet ot et religion 11 says the supreme court Is IB to offend the common sense of mankind how could a crime against civilization a imide per bilious to the best beat interests of society be made a tenet of religion the pretext is of course transparent and the chief value of the supreme court decision consists in strai ping this crime of its disguise and exposing its etue true character chara ter to declare that this crime deserves dei erves punishment and that no cloak of so called I 1 le ligion can exempt it from the penalty penal ty of t the he law is no interference with religious I 1 liberty T to see in this decision of our highest court a limit of religious liberty as an anti catholic bourski of this city does is to see what has no where no religious rights are involved there can of course be no limit or restriction of religious I 1 ious liberty I 1 er thie e is a precisely r aw what a the e supreme dupre e court oust delldee decides that there diere is no question of rel religious Us It liberty Lerty at all to call t the e advocacy advona of such a crime a tenet of religion says the court 11 is to offend the common sense of mankind not content with distorting this deo decision ision into a limit of religious religions liberty the anti catholic tribune rejoices at what it is pleased to regard as a blow at religious 11 scruples of and ali religions one liberty it rejoices b because matthe ause it sees in this righteous decision of the supreme courtlin courtin condemnation of a crime a weapon which in the hands of illogical and unscrupulous partisans like its itself W may be turned against the parental rights ith the scruples of conscience and the I 1 religious rights of the lutherans Luth erans and indeed of all those who send their children to parochial or private schools in its iti blind hatred of religious equality and the claim of parents to give their children a religious I 1 education it would hail any law no matter how unjust and tyrannical that would declare such parental rights u crime against the state happily for the civil and religious rights of the community the tribune sophist must wait a long time before the american public will see in the decision of if the supreme court a limit of religious liberty or admit that the arnht of Chri christian Atlan parents to give g ive their children a christian education is a crime pernicious to the best interests interest of society the tribune wants to know what ex explanation I 1 the editor of the go some will make wile when he appears ears before bedfor e peter to answer for his bis I 1 lies and false accusations 11 neither the editor of the cowf brober tribune nor any other aatlo expects that it is st peter who will be his A judge sectarian sabbath school books are a poor guide in regard to the tenets of catholicism the third clipping is an editorial from the chicago tribune of feb 17 1890 1891 in reply partly to the above and to similar other editorials which appeared in the catholic home in recent issues the hovia home and the tribune are mortal foes and the tribune has come out openly as an anti roman organ here is the editorial referred to A concussion the catholic bame ff of this city a paper which claims to be an exponent of f sound roman komai catholic doctrines approves of the decision deci aion of the supreme court sustaining the M mormon rmon test oath in this there is nothing surprising for no religious journal could even indirectly array itself on the side of polygamy but it goes further than might no be expected further perhaps than its spiritual teachers pastors and masters may approve of when it heartily endorses endorsee i the sentiment of the court that to eal call I 1 the I 1 advocacy of sueh such a crime as aa polygamy a tenet of is to off offend nd the commode co mitoi sense of mank mankind ifil i 1 i not that this is untrue but it makes mak dai the common sense of mankind the arbiter of the soundness of a religious dogma do ao it is though it us to strange to hear a fiaman catholic organ or gau saying so polygamy ie a martof part of the mormon ornon religion or imposture it is a martof part of the religion ioa of the prophet or impostor mohammed yet the supreme i court says it cannot be tolerated because the common sense seabe of mankind h has con degoed it that same aka has hai ralrh decreed 44 that some of the tenets of alii confession of faith must go therom the common sense of mankind rather than logic denies that non elect infants jon gaffer in chell through the unending years it ARO also denies that roman catholics are idolaters idol aters lor or that the pope whose virtues vl ruea dav af at number his faults is antichrist were there ever to come before the supreme court a case which tha question no diction of papal infallibility i bowd say sap float t at the doctrine offended the common sense ense s of mankind the pope says in his bis lagest encyclical I 1 if the laws of the state are in open con coa of the divine law of bets the judge I 1 it if they contain anything maelu 1 R dacial tot to the e church or are hostile to I 1 the duties imposed by religion or violate IU ta the person lof of the supreme pontiff the sae authority of jesus christ then indeed iffie it im a dim duty Y to resist them a and nd a crime to obey them ithem I 1 if an american citizen were to the len enforcement of one ot the laws of this wun caun try on en the ground that the pope has must not be obeyed and the ppe pope was waa infallible the supreme bourt or any li y other 0 ther court would make short work afi f ri him m mid and his reiso redson iny even though the defendant might protest that religious liberty M being assailed 1 it a parent under the cloak of any religion tries to have his child grow up in ign ignorance otance or to rear it so that it wilt will be a stranger to the ithe language laws and nd traditions of this country 0 making the boy a bad citizen au and a mentally crippled man the cocito coats will say to 1 0 call the advocacy of such a erime crime a tenet of religion is to offend the ecomman comman sense of mankind mau kind I 1 it ap appears pearis to me that themida the main point in in this idaho paw case has been entirely nt irely lost sight bight of both jtb by abe supreme reme court and by the newspapers ers 1 k I 1 have au an idea that this idaho man was an ex member of the Mar mormon mony church but that sincerity questioned u estion ed by the Idaho judges the I 1 NEWS should give a clear I 1 synopsis of this case as it first appeared in the baho courts and send a marked copy of he be pa these newspapers here mentioned I 1 if f polygamy is the odious crime that the supreme court specifies IV iff is surely that august body ouge not to dignify it into a religious tenet by dis franchising a man who entertains only a hay daiy religious opinion about it polygamy as it did exist in utah was no more tho polygamy that ibi is interpreted interpret yd Nd by we tb courts and the newspapers than is the transubstantiation of the catholic 11 cannibalism As to common sense being made an arbit arbiter erit is ie rather unsafe in som cases prohibition is not a bid bad the maintains that the common sense of wank mankind ikid is ii against it there has not been an improvement in mechanics or inart in art or in science that the common sense muse of the period did not pronounce tince absurd and oti criminal minal properly speaking polygamy should hareno have BO place in the Mormon question of today there are an laws enacted against practical I 1 tactical rac polygamists and thew these laws laws are rigorously enforced if it is 18 a crime apply the legitimate criminal procedure to it this is common bense e but to hunt bunt me and brand mei me as criminal beca because useI I 1 entertain beliefs or opinions not in harmony with my beig neighbors ebors or part of them is common diabolism jumus |