| Show TUE commission MINORITY abey disapprove of further anti polygamy legislation following is the full text of the report of judge A B carlton and general john A mcclemans Clemand Mc the minor ity of the utah commission to the secretary of the interior CHICAGO ILLINOIS sept SIB t former reports of this commission have been so full and elaborate as supersede supercede super cede the necessity of jany particularity of detail at this time it may be stated generally that the reform in utah is progressing favorably far beyond our most sanguine anticipations when we first entered upon our official duties utah is forging to the front among the rocky mountain states and territories and may be compared favorably with any of them in the enterprise of her citizens the fertility of her valleys the richness of her mines and the flourishing condition of her cities and towns A great deal of capital is being invested in utah by non cormons mormons in city lots farming lands and mining property such investments are as safe there as in any other state or territory that is to say there is not the slightest danger of insurrections nor in our opinion is there any danger of adverse legislation that will jeopardize personal security or property rights apart from sexual of fences which are decidedly on the decrease the mormon people of utah will compare favora ly with other communities for peace order sobriety honesty and in astry in this respect we concur in the opinion of our three associates of the utah commission as expressed in of september of the cormons mormons are a kindly and hospitable people they possess many traits of character which are well worthy of emulation by others in their local affairs they strive to suppress the vices which are common to settled communities in matters of religion they are intensely devotional rendering a cheerful obedience to their church rules and requirements they possess many of the elements which under a wise leadership would make them a useful and prosperous people either the wise leadership hore invoked or the voluntary action of the people appears to have been asserted within the last eighteen months in ways that are commendable within that time the mass of the mormon voters have taken the registration oaths swearing that they will not go into polygamy and 95 per cent of them voted in august of last year for the adoption of the constitution prohibiting hi and punishing the offense subsequently the legislative assembly of utah composed of thirty one cormons mormons and five non cormons mormons on march 8 1888 passed a very well considered and efficient marriage I 1 law providing among other things severe penalties against clerks who issue licenses for plural marriages and officers priests or preachers who solemnize such unlawful marriages the act also declares all polygamous marriages null and void the same legislature also adopted a resolution in relation to polygamy and other sexual af fences under the law of congress that this assembly are in favor of a just humane and impartial enforcement of said laws of the united states in the manner that other criminal laws are enforced under the constitution and laws of our country to the end that such of fences may be effectually prohibited Is the city of salt lake one of the most beautiful and flourishing cities in the bocky mountain region the non cormons mormons constitute about one third of the population among them are many strong energetic and prosperous citizens formerly under the law the aldermen men were elected by the voters at large of the whole city the result was that the cormons mormons Mor mons being in the majority elected all their candidates but at the election of this in february the cormons mormons proposed to the gentiles that they select four of their bast men as candidates to put on a ticket with ten cormons mormons Mor mons for aldermen and councilmen this proposition was accepted by a portion of the non cormons mormons and this fusion ticket was elected by a large majority in this connection it is proper to add that the last legislative assembly enacted a law for the election of members of the city governments by wards the import of these facts is emphasized pha sized in a remarkable manner by what is now transpiring in the courts in utah within a few days past a number of cormons mormons Mor mons charged ayin with sexual of fences and who had been evading trial came into open court waived trial voluntarily pleaded guilty to the indictments and received sentence of fine and imprisonment among the number BO doing were one or more leading men we report that this example is in our opinion pregnant with significance and that it will be followed by other like examples that the hindrance which has hitherto im ceded the course of law and justice is giving away as a raft before the steady and increasing current of the rif liny streamlet stream lt is hardly posed that these and other men in the same category would voluntarily take such steps with the purposes to repeat and continue to repeat them on the contrary naturally they conduct to a different conclusion namely a disposition dispo on the part of the cormons mormons to abandon the commission of sexual of fences and to yield obedience to the law yet the laws should continue to ba vigilantly and strictly enforced against all violating them no step backward in this regard should be sanctioned let the laws be executed the facts above set forth with others that have fallen under our observation confirm the opinion that a great majority of the cormons mormons have wisely resolved that the practice of polygamy should be abandoned our view that polygamy is on the decline in the territory is supported by published tae statement of an eminent methodist minister who for many years has been in charge of the methodist mission in utah and has mingled with the people in all parts of the territory he is credibly reported as having stated in conference at cincinnati early in this month that notwithstanding reports given out by the press in general polygamy is on the decline and that in a foar more years it will be driven out of utah the ex chief justice of the territory hon C S zane over a year ago expressed the opinion that tho existing law diligently and strictly enforced might be reasonably relied on to work a cessation of polygamy as a practice and about the same time the hon william G bowman surveyor general of utah stated that the change in mormon sentiments in the last year has been marked and encouraging on the question of the suppression and abandonment of polygamy the statement of the gentlemen quoted above suggests the remark that on account of the peculiar institutions of a portion of the people of utah the reports given out by the press are nob only at present but for many years past have been of a sensational and highly colored character that the condition of affairs has been improving in utah for many years is evidenced by the following statement made about five years ago by the leading anti mor mon newspaper of utah salt lake city is so changed from the utah of ten years ago that could the old tyle of affairs be returned for a week the old slavery the old tyranny and the restrictions the mormon people themselves would rise tip in rebellion there are forces at work which are all powerful and which no artifice or restrictions no fal shooda and no superstitions can the forces at work at that time have been supplemented by addition al congressional legislation and such a vigorous enforcement of the laws that there can be no reasonable doubt of a successful result in the near future there is considerable gentile imi migration into utah and this is to be an important factor in the solution of the problem utah haa a mild and equable climate and those who contemplate sojourning sojo or for health pi business need not be deterred by sensational newspaper reports of mormon outrages much that is said con coming an nn copular ani heated leopla should be received cum grano for it is easy as well agreeable for many persons to deal largely in hyperbole and fiction against those whom it is the fashion to despise it is obvious that the laws of congress and of the territorial legislature the officers in charge of the execution of the federal statutes the people of utah including the gentiles and the monogamous cormons mormons Mor mons with many other beneficent influences such as railroads telegraphs schools colleges and the invincible progress of civilization are rapidly and surely working out a reformation of the inhibited sexual of fences in utah and there does not now seem to any or propriety for farther legislation restrictive of political rights in that territory we are thoroughly satisfied that the work of reformation in utah is progressing rapidly and that it will soon result in a successful is sue without a resort to legislation that is prescriptive of religious opinion our view may be epitomized in a few words punish criminal actions but religious creeds never the present laws of congress appertaining to utah are very stringent and they will accomplish all that can be reasonably ason ably required of legal coercion we are therefore unwilling to advise any further abridgment of local self government in that territory without going into tedious details the general result shows gratifying progress in the enforcement of the laws in utah and the officers of the federal government judicial executive administrative have performed their duties ably and efficiently all poly have been excluded from voting and holding office and the laws for the punishment of polygamy and other have been ably and vigorously enforced which fully appears by the following table prepared from information furnished by tho united states district attorney in pursuance of a resolution of the house of representatives in congress OF FOB POLYGAMY UNLAWFUL cohabitation ETC under the acts of of 1862 1882 and 1887 in the territory of utah with the amount of fines etc LAWS OF 1862 1882 POLYGAMY 1875 1879 1 1884 3 1885 2 1886 4 1887 4 1888 1 total 16 LAW or cohabitation prior tol 0 1885 convictions 39 1885 fines collected 00 1885 costa collected OC total 5 1886 number of convictions fines collected 1800 00 1886 costs collected 1685 30 total amount collected 30 1887 number of convictions 1887 fines collected 00 1887 costs collected 60 total amount collected 60 number of convictions 1888 fines collected 00 costs collected 40 total amount collected 40 UNDER LAW OF 1887 1887 number of convictions 4 1888 4 1888 fines collected 2500 1888 costs 2190 1887 number of convictions G fines collected k costs 1888 number 0 convictions 2 the deputy registration officers of the whole territory having been requested to report the names of all persons who they had reason to believe had gone into polygamy in their respective precincts during the year subsequent to the june revision of 1887 gave the names in the aggregate of twenty nine men who in their opinion had entered into that relation during the year whether these opinions were based on evidence or mere conjecture we cannot say but allowing that they had good grounds for their opinions this is a poor showing compared com with former tunes and it is a noteworthy note worthy fact that according to these reports no cases of polygamy within the year had occurred in the more populous and enlightened portions of the territory such as the precincts of salt lake city logan city ogden city provo city fillmore city beaver city and others this is another confirmation of our views that polygamy cannot stand up before modem we will not call in question the good faith of the deputy registrars who reported the twenty nine cases of supposed polygamy but it is somewhat strange that there has been only one indictment found up to this time for a polygamous marriage alleged to have occurred since the ad of march 1887 this information we have of filially fici ally from the clerks of the first and third district courts which districts comprise about three fourths of the population of utah from the district we have no satisfactory report in consequence of the recarda having been destroyed by fire this year in the real estate excitement in xetah commonly called a boom the cormons mormons freely sold their city lots and other real estate to gentiles as well as others and this notwithstanding the general understanding der standing that the mormon church leaders for many years have deprecated and demonstrated against their people selling their land to gentiles this is another strong evidence of the spirit of independence among the monogamous cormons mormons Mor mons that is influencing young ana of the genial disposition to repudiate the authority of the church leaders in secular and civil affairs bust ness is business and it has a wonderfully der fully cosmopolitan effect upon all classes of men the jew and the gentile the saint and the sinner the catholic and tho puritan this po factor of civilization toleration and liberal thought has induced the hitherto opposing element to unite in the institution of a chamber of commerce in salt lake city which is in a very flourishing condition where cormons mormons and gentiles are wo king together for the common good this too was accomplished by the people notwithstanding considerable opposition or reluctance on the part of extreme men of both factors on the ath of july of this year as well as last year tho gentiles and the cormons mormons cordially united in the celebration of independence day and on each occasion there was a procession patriotic speeches by gentiles and mor mons from the foregoing statement of conr views it will readily be seen why we cannot concur in the report of our associates for us to sign such a report would be wholly inconsistent with the principles and opinions avowed by us in our annual report of a year ago in which we have been confirmed by subsequent events we there stated that the conclusion is that the present laws of congress are working successfully that there is no necessity of resorting to American un plana of government and that if as we apprehend the object of the government is to reform and not to destroy the mormon people they should be encouraged and not in their efforts for the abrogation of polygamy and tor reform the commission has repeatedly announced the purposes of the government ID the report of november it laid the legislation of congress as wa understand it is not enacted against the religion of any portion of the people of this territory the law under which we are acting is directed against the crime of polygamy on october it aard by abstaining from the relation chev the cormons mormons Mor mons aiu enjoy all the political rights of american citizens in our report of september 1887 the following language was employed after such assurances have been held oat to tha mormon people by the supreme court of the united states by those eminent statesmen i who championed the anti polygamy i legislation in congress and by the page continue V from First Page commission respecting no party or faction bul the government of the united states now while the great mass of the mormon people are making an effort for the abandonment of the practice of polygamy we are asked to recommend further legislation of a hostile and aggressive character almost if not entirely destructive of local self government thereby inflicting punishment on the innocent as well as the guilty our answer is we cannot do BO if we should concur in the report of our associates we would seem to be entirely ona new departure a crusade against the church and a raid for the destruction of political rights we do not understand that we have any for such purposes we renew the recommendation men dation made by us in our last reports considering the importance ortance of continuing the power of congress over the subject of polygamy and of relieving the power from any |
