Show iI i i iDAHO a TEST OATH LAW 5 a 2 t t 1 tt s 1 The 4 Ef tii71W8tl1S has a special telegram h f tele-gram from Blackfoot Idaho announcing 1 announc-ing that the Test Qath Act of the late I t Legislature has been pronounced valid and constitutional by Ciref Justice Hays The law ret ° rred to declares that r before anyone can vote at an election S in that Territory he must take the following fol-lowing oath I You do solemnly swear or affirm that t p you are a male citizen of the United States over the age of twentyone years that you have actually resided in this ier itoryfor four months last past and in this county l thirty days that you are not a bigamist or p polygami that you are not a member of any order organization or association which 1 teaches advises counsels or eneourags its t members devotees or any other person to ° I commit the crime of bigamy or polygamy f e i or any other crime defined bylaw as a duty = arising or resultng from membership in i i k such order organization or association or i which practices bigamy or polygamy or 1 plural or celestial marriage as a doctrinal t j rite of such organization That you do not l i f either publicly or privately or in any mane man-e ner whatever teach advise counsel enl 1 en-l p 1 courage any person to commit the crime of t t bigamy or polygamy or any other crime defined S I de-fined by law either as a religious autyor I I otherwise that you regard the Co stitutlon I of the Unitd States and the Ian thereof I rc and of this Territory interpreted by the I If i courts as the supreme law of the land the j teachings of any order organization or association t t as-sociation to the contrary notwithstanding a and that you have not previously voted at this electioH So help Tour God it t We doubt if anybody expected or ° dared hope that Hays would rule otherwise i J f other-wise than he has done The office of Federal Judge in a Territory is as com ri pletely political in its nature as any i office in the gift of the President i Judge Hays is a fairly intelligent lawyer 1 law-yer and hence knows that the act mentioned men-tioned is not only not constitutional but that the Constitution expressly prohibits or forbids the enactment of i such bill under + sU9h a yet Judge Hays 1 stands that to have decided according It to his knowledge of the law would have I r been equivalent to a tender of his resignation S re-signation Both political parties in 1 0 t Idaho took part in the passage of the 4L > bill both are committed to its indorse I ment and the two candidates for Delegate W Dele-gate to Congress have pronounced in t J favor of sustaining the law Under the i circumstances all Hays had to do was 5 i 1 l to find some plausible excuse for declaring de-claring the law a valid enactment and 11 I f thus put himself beyond the political I f reach of those who rule or may rule in t 1 the Territory The election will occur in two weeks i JI I before which event there will be neither t I time nor opportunity to change the ruling I l rul-ing just made The result will be that J i < between 1800 and 2000 Mormons in Idaho trill be deprived of their right to vote This fact will make no real difference dif-ference to the candidates lor Congress I I as neither would have received any Mormon votes but it wiJ result in placing all local offices in the hands of SfctiMormons though in some districts and counties it will be difficult to find enough Gentiles to fill the places |