Show IT WILL GO SLOW It has been rumored and published that being disappointed by the outfcome of the Brigham City election the Utah Commission contemplates the framing of another oath which it is hoped the Mormons will be unable to take The rumor lacks confirmation and probably had its birth in the mind pf some fanatic fan-atic Loyal Leaguer who tees no prospect under the present arrangement of getting get-ting any returns Jfrom bis fiftycentsa month investment On a pre ious occasion oc-casion the Commission magnified its powers and set out to pr vent Mormons from voting who had the right to vote I It took a little time for the matter to be adjusted and the Commission reduced toils legitimate size but the adjustment adjust-ment and reduction came in an emphatic em-phatic humbling of the gentlemen by the United States Suprrme Court After its unpleasant experience the Commis sten will be aptto exercise more caution tokeep within tae line of its duty and the letter of the law In the oath that has been formulated the Commission has gone quite as far as it can go without running afoul of breakers indeed it is not clear that the oath does not cross the danger line but this will be learned and decided in proper manner The section of he law prescribing the oath is one of the clearest clear-est in the act and the easiest to be understood un-derstood As condition precedent to his right to register or vote the male citizen twenty one years of age shall take an oath that satisfies the Territorial Terri-torial statutory reqpirements as to re sidence and citizenship and further state in such oath or affirmation his full name with his age place of business his status whether single or married and if married the name of his lawful wife and that he will support the Constitution Con-stitution of the United States and will faithfully obey the laws thereof and especially will obey the Edmunds act of 1882 and the EdmundsTucker act of 1887 in respect of the crimes in said act defined and forbidden and that he will not directly or indirectly aid or abet counselor counsel-or advise any other i erBo to commit any of said crimes The crimes defined de-fined and forbidden are polygamy bigamy unlawful cohabitation adultery adul-tery fornication and incest Having provided an oath covering the points as above the Commission must stop however how-ever keen it may be to go ahead and prevent Mormons from voting The Commission Cannot legally even ask a man as to his belief much less make belief a matter of refusal of the right to vote A man may believe it is his right or the right of anybody else to marry anew i a-new wife every Monday morning without with-out going through the formality of a I divorce from those previously married and the Commission will be powerless in the performance of its legitimate and lawful duties to deny Mm the right to take the oath to register and to vote The condition precedent to the right to register and to vote is the promise under oath or affirmation to do certain things and to refrain from doing certain cer-tain other things all of which are clearly set out in the law and can neither be enlarged nor diminished by the Utah Commission I Every attempt to add to the clearly defined law wtU be met and overcome as was done a few years ago when the Commissioners came here with very exalted ideis of their powers and duties only to learn that they were required to do only what assessors and county clerks had been doing all along We are aware that it is annoying to the Commission that any Mormons can vote and also that if it were in the power of the Commission the Mormons Mor-mons would bedisfranchised and the government turned over to the tender mercies of an insignificent and unprincipled un-principled minority but we also know that even Commissioners have to heed the laws and we do not apprehend any material departure from the satute in the matter of the oath |