| Show aa 0 1 jam T F 1 I 1 1 THE NORMON QUESTION beara A lockwood treats the subject A conable nr concerning the religion and actions of the majority keople the following article appeared in the louisville on feb 13 it having been written for that pa pot by belva A juet at this time ailion the bof utah now comprising more than 0 hundred thousand souls is knocking at the doors of the united states congress for admission as a state the mormon question becomes a very important one not only to the people of that territory but to the the history of the people is a romance in real life te resting than the often farfetched far fetched conceit of tile novelist and in sonia instances has been tile distorted conceptions of tile theat r stage foreign nations as look e r s 0 n u a t 0 u r trea 1 ment of a question within tile last few years become of so much legislative consideration and in which the federal government has ap 0 o a rod not only as the conserva tor of t E 0 morals of that territory but a S tile a of what alq religious creed ought to bei and filially m tile trustee or comm atee of all 0 I 1 the available property of the M ormon church tile government has imitated the typical guardian in this in stance and tile proceeds of the I 1 avo been virtually confiscated 00 that the morman people are today to day abing aying into the hands of government trustees per month for the privilege of worshipping shipping wor in their nacre and mccu py i n g t li e I 1 r 0 wn pa ago and other c b u r ch buildings built by their 0 w n m 0 n e y IL n d b y t tle i r own or lf h e G 0 n M cl t erl n 0 this with the mormon church it will not take any greater stretch of fauth rity to contis cite in the same way tile 0 perty of the catholic church alie ay of the chinaman or the magnificent edifices of the metho utah we a organized as a territory moro seven years ago and for more than a quarter of a century the federal government tolerated po gamy in her midst until it became a fact an institution received nd swore in as delegates to represent the T rr t 0 7 a voaid and t han a sudden spasm of clr tue commenced an attack upon the bysted A war of extermination which for virulence and bitterle bitterne s for misrepresentation and oppression exceeded the horrors of coercion ana eviction in ireland about which our IM e ethics have been so ex greatly it not only forbade p ural marriages and disfranchised dis all mists but punished men for living with pluvial aves to whom they ila I 1 been married for scores of years an d vi be with their infant children A ere dependent upon them for support the ex of the law went beyond the letter find made tho casual recognition of afie former wife appear as tile continuance of the marriage relation and punished the parties ac cor dingi one judge declaring from the bench daring my sojourn in tile territory that the of tile edmunds object law was not or the niculea tion of morality but for the sion of religion tile bov under the ed munde tucker act then chased not only all polygamous cormons mormons of the male persuasion but all women of whatever creed or condition whether believing in the mon or christian religion or nox believers although these women had been peaceably ably and orderly casting their teace allots a for twenty cars haa not been arged with or convicted of crime and no intimation had ever been made that any one of these women had or desired to have more than one husband no absolute des could have more fully infringed upon the rights of american citizens than did the government upon these mormon women but they bore it all uncomplainingly took up their own burden of vi ork banded themselves together for krotec lection tec tion sang and prayed together believing that out of trials v coine blessings even as blessings had come in the early days of their tribulations until their places of worship were seized and a portion of the burden of rent came upon them by a vigorous execution of the edmun ds law polygamy was suppressed but not more than tavo per cent of the number of the mor were ever tactical rac poly but th is am number out ests ced to throw the territory into such d uto that the whole christian borit throw up its hands in holy horror until as a rule no christian man or woman believed that he or he were wholly absolved from sin until a lie ila I 1 publicly I 1 denounced those horrid cormons mormons Mor mons it was also a noticeable fact that those members of congress most urgent for the enactment of stringent laws tile cormons mormons were those whose moral character was far from being a bove reproach but the edmunds law was far reaching in its application and ex to all the territories it in eluded the district of columbia a territory exclusively under the con troi of tile united states congress where no law had previously been enacted to punish the most flagrant offenses charged against these rebel hong cormons mormons Mor mons the district attorney wal nat slow to discover tile application of tile law and already a score of calles under up before our police court judge but perhaps the most amusing thing in connection aith the enforcement of the jaw in tile of columbia Is the remark of J randolph tucker of virginia a prominent member of the alouse its passage wh 1 ha ex an 9 it bon t the crawford case a test case appealed to the district supreme court 1 I never dreamed of that law being ap to the district of columbia I 1 ua had I 1 would not have voted for it that law was intended for the mons I 1 then came kate field with her mormon 11 to thrill excited audiences and angie nedam with a am ahlet which she was paid for pub fishing and distributing among the members of the united states congress with stories as wild and unreliable as that of gladdins Alad dins lamp in th 11 arabian nights th ople di C not investigate but acce on sia the wildest vagaries at moat harrowing tale 4 about tile cormons mormons Mor mons the facts that these people nd have been an al that they lia no sa loons or brothels in their midst until instituted by afie so called gentiles and sustained by the federal courts that they had their operative cooperative CO stores mills and manufactories manu factories that gave em to the unemployed that they had their public school into which their children were gather ed open to all alike that their cliff dren were well born well brod and well educated and the women as well informed ana cultured as the masses of american women that the men to not swear drink intoxicants or me k 0 a ro wallowed u r P ag yg 0 mr L now 0 b 1 v 1 po a M Y to tb I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 j 5 f 0 I 1 V i sq T I 1 I 1 Z I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 1 1 h b t ido belleto in humanity d i so and property in th sanctity and freedom of religious con actions of every human being tinder v the sun and their protection from co esclon intrusion or undue influence now ill 11 ac has boon sup pre iv 1 11 polygamous niale P u u 0 of utah comprising four alfs 0 f her present voters having called a convention in due cafin formulates 4 and adopted a lion I 1 have presented to tile states C 0 e a and forthe pith cum aro asking admission as a state and in this constitution have incorporated as follos art XV see 12 11 and being consid arod incompatible with a it publican form of government each allvin hereby or bidden and misdemeanor kny person who shall violate this sect loi shall on conviction thereof lie by a fluent than and imprisoned for a term not s thin six nor more than three cars in the discretion of the court provided Pro tided that section 12 of artl cro XV shall not bo amended re or in any way changed until all y amendment ret kion or chabre a any tion to tile requirements to thi pro of this article be re portel t 0 I 1 the congress Con giess of the U n i ted B t ate P and shall lie by co ng m s s aal 0 0 and and such ap and be proclaimed by the i president of tile and if not wi wa ditled wild proclaimed paid i section r emain perpetual it I 1 woula eem teem t as though con had in this in ut not 0 n I 1 y to batis fy tb 0 unita states C 0 n gre s t p 0 pular clabor cla but n 0 cv the cry k by the news p il press cheso cormons mormons insincere are alid yet insincerity in the paa his not been a feature in tile mormon character either p talus to their or their busin e ess relations in the latter ei specially tharo lija ever been manifested a marked probity and reliability in my opinion if there IS any aub reason why the fortieth congress should not admit utah as a s tt i t e iti s a f aeeti i a t tl i e t a mely aub m i t t e ll 11 t 0 t 1 d i i tr a n c yli i ament rm ent of their women stid have entirely left them out of their now state constitution |
