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Show x i : J SEEKING RELIEF. I : ' The Chicago Herald of Saturday last has the following on the Utah question : ; Congress will be assailed this winter by a powerful and persistent lobby in the interest ."; of the Mormons. The saints are "in funds," . ' and they know how to nse their corruption money in political circles bb well as the A ' agents of steamship or land grabbing com- ! -; ; panies do. For twenty years they have com- , : batted legislation calculated to affect them irguriously, and during all of that time they have been unsparing in the use of money. The power whioh they exert in business and politios is apt to be underestimated. The Mormon hierarchy has trade and financial connections which are not easily broken, ouu uj luooo LuvuuH m uuiiirois men wno are not suspected of affiliation with it in anything. any-thing. It is these influences which are more to be feared, perhaps, than the outspoken advooaoy of any politicians who may espouse the cause of the church. There are various ways in whioh the Ed-rounds Ed-rounds law might be rendered inoperative, but the one most likely to be tried is that of ' amendment.-This law has now stood the - ; test of all the courts, and,' if permitted to remain as it is it will answer every purpose. An amendment ostensibly in the interest of society as against the polygamists might be j so drawn as to weaken, if not to destroy, the entire act, and that is likely to be the nature ' ( ; of the movement that is now in contempla tion. Even if such an amendment did not Crirjrjle the Edmnnda low if. nrnlil nWwA ' ; . ; Rroand for farther appeals and delays which are not now to be tolerated. ' In view of the difficulty that has been ex- ; perienoed in getting a law 'under which these w offenders could be made to suffer for their misdeeds, any attempt oh the part of Sena-( Sena-( tors or Congressmen to tamper with the ! Edmunds act, no matter under what pretext, ' : will be open to suspicion and justly so. "Whether .or not the Mormons have used money to influence Congressional legislation legisla-tion we do not know. If they have, and have succeeded at various times in buy-, ing Congressmen, then they have proven that certain Congressmen are no better than common corruptioniste. The--at ;, tempt to purchase legislators is one that should be severely punjshed, but those i; 1 who buy are no worse than those who sell. U If the men who are sent to Washington as Senators and Representatives of the people are for sale, are they not as bad or worse than those who buy? If Mormons buy political influence at Washington, let the shame and disgrace dis-grace consequent thereon be divided between, be-tween, the vendor and purchaser, and not all be placed to the credit of the pur chaser. . We join with the Herald in hoping that nothing may be done at Washington this winter to in any way destroy the good work that has been done by the Edmunds law. - |