Show THE UTAH commission in the house of representatives report of the committee july the being under consideration on appropriations mr forney who had the ten minutes report in charge yielded to the delegate from utah to sp ak on the appropriation for the utah commis slonAs reported in the a al record he said mr speaker I 1 ha have taken no part jn in the discussion upon this proposition to abolish the utah commission but now that it is proposed to restore this body to myself and to my I 1 feel in justice constituents that I 1 should be heard fora for a few moments tr T r as 89 the me UMU buiu the board known mat makselon selon to which the paragraph under consideration refers was created toy by the act of congress of march 22 1882 commonly called the edmunds anti polygamy law li toe the eighth section of that act reads as fid follows lows that no polygamist bigamist or an any y than one with more cohabiting person cohabiting with woman and no woman any of the persons described as aforesaid other in this section in any territory or the united states have place over which shall be entitled exclusive jurisdiction held in any such to vote at any election territory or other place orb or be e eligible for to or be entitled election or appointment to hold any office or place of public trust for any honor or emolument such territory or place or under the united states the object aimed at b by y this provision to la clearly expressed in the language of the section it was to disfranchise all polygamists and prohibit them from voting and holding office in the territory of utah it was waa asserted at that time and generally believed 9 that many ot of the offices in utah were held by poleg am lets and in order that the law might be put into immediate effect the ninth section vacated all the election offices in the territory and provided bow they bey should be filled this in im the language of the section mr caine read the see section tiong of the edmunds act relating to the commission the board of five persons referred to in this section soon became becam e known know as I 1 their duties the utah commission were elearly clearly defined by law they were empowered ei to appoint all registration kad and election officers canvass the returns and control the entire lection machinery of the territory all elections municipal county and territorial were their direction whatever power in these regards the liw failed to give them they assumed until by a decision of the supreme court of the united states the assumed powers were declared illegal the whole purpose of the edmunds set act so far as it relates to elections was waa to prevent polygamists poly garisto from voting or holding office to put the entire government of the territory in the hands of the monogamists temporarily until the first session of the legislative AF assembly of the territory to authorize ize a nonresident non resident commission to ap polia point the registration boffl ers era nd election judges tte the Ihn language guage of the law which I 1 have ral makes it very clear that this board was not intended to be a permanent one but was merely an expedient to accomplish a certain object to oust all poly from the offices they held and f their places with non nod mists 9 a an encourage ment and inducement to the latter to continue to live within the law in short rt to 10 humiliate and debase the polygamists and to h annor nor and exalt the monogamists it ic was never in tended that this commission should ue te continued for any length of time much leal lea to become a permanent institution ution the law clearly contemplated that the commission should be superseded in the near future they were only to continue coati conti oue to ID office until the legislative assembly of said territory shall ahall make provision for filling said offices it is a matter of history that at every session of the legislature except one siepe the creat loft of the commission provision has been made for superseding this expensive unnecessary and un american board the assembly of 1884 composed entirely of monogamy ests passed an act in every way suitable and proper providing for conferring the powers exercised by the com mif ision in the appointment ot registration and election officers upon electors of the territory who could only be monogamists but the governor refused to approve the bill and as the governor of utah has the power of an absolute veto the bill could not become 4 law in 1880 1886 and 1890 similar bills were passed and met with like treatment from the governor the ses session irlon of the legislature which adjourned in march last passed a very comprehensive ele election ution law embracing the best features of the more recently enacted laws of the several states including what is known as the austral ian ballot system this bill made provision for supe superseding redIng the commission con co n mission by a territorial canvassing board to be appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the legislative council the board was waa to consist of five members not more than three of whom were to be of the same political party the bill like some of the others having the same object in view was honored with a pocket veto his excellency the governor did nut not even favor the representatives of the people with a statement of his objections ti one to the measure he probably could lind find no feasible objection to the bill aid thought it imprudent to place himself upon record now mr speaker I 1 submit that ap an the E amunds act was solely aimed at polygamy that as congress did not attempt thereby to legislate against but rather in favor of and to encourage the monogamists that as no polygamist has been able to take the oath required by congress and consequently has ban not been permitted to register vote or hold office since 1882 that ever since that time the law abiding citizens of utah of all classes and ana creeds have been unjustly deprived by the abao lute and arbitrary power of the governor of their right of local self government in the conduct of their elections A great deal of credit has been claimed for the utah commission for the wonderful service it has rendered the country by the suppression of polygamy in utah let me ask what these commissioners have done in this regard the lets in Uta hafter the passage of the edmunds law neither attempt edito register nor vote and there has not been a single conviction of one of thit class for illegal registration or illegal voting from that day to this As the commission had no duties to perform respecting polygamy outside of registration and election duties anti and as no polygamist ever cl aimel or attempted V tj exercise the right to register or vote I 1 fall fail fo see wherein the commission can claim any cred credit it for the suppression depression Dp of polygamy whatever external forces have brought about the discontinuance of that practice the utah commission played a very small part in its As a fair unprejudiced presentation of the existing status of aff affairs atris is in utah 1 I am permuted permitted to quote from a letter recently received by a distinguished member of this body from two prominent gentlemen gentiles so BO called one of whom was formerly a member on this floor and who has lived in utah ovet over twenty years yeara the other went there some years ago as a fede federal ral judge remained alter after his term expires expire ty and has become a permanent resident of the territory hear what they say six months after the issuance of the manifesto of the mormon church abandoning the practice of polygamy it became apparent to every fair minded citizen that the mormons cormons were sincere in their abandonment of the practice and ware were anxious to discontinue the un unpleasant plear and unprofitable fight which had so long kept the mormons cormons and non mor mons apart ions were made by leading non mormons cormons to prominent mormons cormons to come out from their political party the peoples people Is party dissolve it and join with them in organizing the two great national parties art ies tho the democratic democrat c and republican th throughout r the territory and thereafter r conduct the politics of the territory strictly atly on national party parly lines this proposition win was accepted by the mor mons and their old party was formally dissolved and disbanded in every vot voting ing precinct in the territory since then politics in utah have taken a radical change theold the old bitterness which existed between the two parties for so man many years has been entirely obliterated an and J pare cormons mormons armons and gentiles are now pulling and fighting together as harmoniously as no ever apart democratic societies and republican clubs have been organized in nearly every election precinct of the territory the last territorial election august 1891 was wRO the liveliest and most interesting political struggle in the history ot of the people of utah nothing but national issues were resented presented to the people and the great bulk of i them hem have already allied themselves with one or the other of the two great parties it is true however that a portion of the old liberal gentile party arty is ie opposing the adoption of national ea politics in utah but their fight is limited it is confined to but two or three counties and there it is maintained under the leadership of the salt lake tribune the newspaper which has fought the mormon people so leni angly for many years and is still determined that they shall not be permitted permitted ermit ted to surrender either conditionally or unconditionally or 0 to o ro dan anything thing else to close the war Theli their idea idea por for reasons well understood here is that the fight must be kept up and made as bitter as possible but few if any of the gentries gentiles ot of utah doubt the sincerity inc erity of the mormon people the great rest majority feel that days of peace 9 have ave come to stay and are anxious to meet the cormons mormons Mor mons hall ball way and do their part toward bringing to this mountain region a grand season of prosperity which can only be secured by united and energetic action speaking ot of the utah the writers say this body of men have long since demonstrated onA rated that they have outlived their usefulness as an election board from the day they first came to utah they have insisted upon exercising legislative judicial and executive powers which it was plain to any reasonable and candid mind congress never intended they should exercise when the board was first created by the act of march 22 1882 congress intended that it should remain in existence less than a year bulby the false and scandalous misrepresentations and personal lobbying of its members they have induced congress by act of march 3 1887 to fasten the commission upon the the territory as aa a permanency or until a abolished by bi congress they have persistently maligned the people e of utah without any cause ther for they have refused to recognize the formation of the national parties here and although the late domin dominant int party the peoples party had disbanded they declined to appoint auy any judge or judges of election from either the democratic or republican saig parly arty after being requested by each of said parties so to do chereb thereby violating the plain spirit and teller letter of t the ke ea election law ot of the territory 0 these commissioners annually send send out in their report to 10 the secretary of the interior and cause came to be published shameful and libelous attacks upon the people of the territory calculated to mislead the people ot oi the states and congress into the idea that the per petua tion of the commission and the pa ament of their salaries which alone insures their divine presence in utah during the heated tern when it is far pleasanter plea santer to spend a few days recreating in the tops of the mount mountains altif 3 and at t the h e shores of the famous lake so noted for i a salt bathing than it is to swelter in the heated cities and plains of the east is essential to keep the mormon people from making some serious which would endanger the life dathe or the nation these heroic commissioners are still anxious to sacrifice themselves tor for the good of the nation on the basis of making an annual three weeks trip to the mountains for each and their expenses we say of them that they now are and for many years have been doing their utmost to prevent a solution of the mormon ee to the they may be continued in office as long loae as possible possible os sible there Is ia no need for them here beere the people are competent to cast and count their own votes and if congress will only abolish the commission it will soon boon be manifest that the only fears entertained are by these thrifty and anxious cc loners now mr aker I 1 wish it to be distinctly understood that these are the expressions not of mormons cormons but of reputable non mormon citizens ol of utah who know whereof they speak but it may be claimed that this statement emanated from a demo cratic source permit me to give a republican view of the utah commission I 1 will read an extract from an editorial from the enquirer published at provo utah it to la a republican sheet mr caine reau read some extracts from that paper favoring the abolition of the utah commission mr henderson of lowa I 1 would like to ask the gentleman if any bill has passed the legislature of utah providing for elections in that territory and the discontinuance of the Cm commission mission which has been approved by the gover governor go vernoi DOI mr came no sir air this board has been rather an expensive luxury to the country the salaries of its members were fixed in the law at each per annum but it was feared that states men sufficiently patriotic enough could not be found to undertake fur for such euch a meagre salary the onerous duties of preventing the polygamous mormons cormons from voting and so the salaries were increased to a yr yer on an appropriation pria tion bill and have been continued at that ratta rate ever since by a statement recently furnished by the secretary of the treasury to the chairman chair manof of the house committee on territories we learn that the cost of this board to the general government from the time of its ito creation up to march 1 1892 la is as follows fol lowe salaries of commission 91 91 contingent expenses expense a I 1 W compensation con und and expenses of elee elec tion officers li I 1 total str any further appropriation for this commission is ie a needless need lees and extra va gant expense for the general govern gove U mont ment and one that is not asked or dei e sired by the people of utah there ig ia not 1000 worth yf ed work to be done by the entire commission and the whole service can be rendered under the territorial rit orial law for riot not to exceed for the entire territory whatever necessity for this board existed at the time of its formation it no longer exists polygamy has bee been a abolished the most pronounced opponents of the mormon system havar admitted that fact it was admitted not long r ince since by those who opposed the passage of what is known as the home rule bill before the hou house committee on the territories J that polygamy in utah was dead an and d could not be restored f further farther than this the governor anil and secretary of the territory the four federal judges and the utah corn COM mission have all declared that poleg amy is uraj and they have approved of the granting by the president of amnesty to the polygamists and the restoration of their civil rights such being the case and that the commission Commis eion was appointed to t aid in suppressing polygamy canther can theM be any further excuse for maintaining the commission Cummis Blon after the extinction of the practice of polygamy |