Show SERGEANT BALLINTINE He is Interviewed on the Mormon Question The following is an interview had with Sergeant Ballintine by a Dsn Tribune reporter In the relations between the imperial im-perial government and the interior State he said to a Tribune reporter yesterday it is not intended that domestic affairs shall become the subject for legislative reform or direction di-rection Such a law as the one recently re-cently passed could not ba applied in a state and that lact being admitted ad-mitted by your host constitutional authorities what sufficient reason is there for its application in a territory ter-ritory There is none What is exemption for a major action should also be protection for a minor part The territory should be as free from unconstitutional restraint as the state and you will find that the Ed munds law cannot be enforced in Utah when it comes to the test If polygamy is a wrong or an evil it can only be eradicated by provisional legislation of your constitutional fathers You are not armed with this instrument and per consequence conse-quence you can only treat the subject sub-ject with social discussion and social influence It is beyond your power under the undemental principles prin-ciples of universal liberties and independence in-dependence and under the recognized recog-nized freedom of domestic customs throughout the world to suppress polygamy by class legialation which the Edmunds bill most assuredly is One of the discriminating injus tices of the bill was particularly brought to my notice continued the Sergeant thatis the disenfranchisement disenfran-chisement of the Mormon women and by the way it is the cause of a OVdO ttmng ugiuuau me government govern-ment Mrs Smith a venerable lady of 80 and odd years and a widow of one of the prophets who is the owner of a large estate lamented the loss of her suffrage bitterly Here I am she said an old woman wo-man who has always lived an honest hon-est and pure life I am a large property prop-erty holder but this law denies me the privilege of voting in behalf of my interests while yonder female the keeper of a brothel flaunts by me to the polls and is allowed to cast a ballot Now is that just government gov-ernment While I believe that a woman is best employed at home I and is deserving of no recognition at the polls I had to agree that this was drawing a line of public right without regar for either public policy or public justice The Mormons have good and strong arguments in support of their religion practices and organization he said to which full hearing should be given by those who seek to correct them They are really accomplishing what the people in England aim to do in fighting what we call the social evil The diseases of dissipation aud licentious practices prac-tices are unknown among them They are a clean pure and healthy community It is a mistake to hold that the faith fosters lust On the contrary it is founded on a principle of religion which combats lustfulness A plurality of wives is the primary element of the Mormon religion And the i reason in the custuiu or faith or whatever you choose to term it is found in the scriptural advices ad-vices which alms to protect the wife against the approaches of the I husband after the period of conception concep-tion I have heard this separation of man and wife after the period stated urged as a decency and as being otherwise beneficial from the pulpit of the High Church of England Eng-land The plurality of wives morally mor-ally saves the husband and physically physi-cally protects the mother The Mormons adhere strictly to this provision pro-vision of their religion as drawn from the Bible and severely punish the one who dare disregard it It is the maintaining belief and practice of Mormonism and they universally protect it as such Then as the means of peopling a new country I polygamy is deserving of commendation commen-dation and encouragement The increase I in-crease in population is rapid and I find there is no deterioration in race or decadence in the health or I strength of the augmented generation genera-tion tionDid Did you find any phase of evil in Mormonism None that was not counterbalanced counterbal-anced by good 1 did not investigate investi-gate to any depth the question of imperium in emgirie or separate government within the imperial rule and would not feel secure in expressing an opinion on it It may be dangerous to some extent but I could not see that evil had resulted in Utah The fact is recurring to the subject of polygamous repression repres-sion I dont believe it was purely the organization of our legislators le-gislators who must have known that their determination on the EdI i munds bill had an unconstitutional result The opposition to the Mormons Mor-mons you will find is a religious one that has taken the form of the historical persecution As in the precedented cases the persecution I will result ultimately in an expansion expan-sion of sympathy and an enlargement enlarge-ment of the Mormon church If I polygamy must be wiped out to1 satiety the religious denominations < I that war against it means other I than unconstitutional legislation I will have to a be devised I |