| Show I HERE IS THE GEM Judge Andersons Opinion Denying r Deny-ing Mormons Citizenship THE PUERILE REASONS HE GIVES He Eehaqhes Old and Exploded Yarns and is Chuck Full of Regrets Etc Etc Etc BEAVEK Utah Dec 4Special correspondences corres-pondences of THE HEHAIVD Herewith I send you full text of Judge Andersons latest opinion denying citizenship to members mem-bers of the Mormon church THE OPINION IN FULL The application of these persons to beCome be-come citizens will be disposed of in one opinion as substantially the same facts are shown in each case I regret I have not been able to reduce the opinion to writing but the reporter can take it down The testimony of the witnesses in each case Is to the etYect that each of the applicants has resided within the United States for more than five years last past and within the territory of Utah for more than one year last past and that each of the applicants 1 a man of Rood moral character attached to the principles of the constitution of the United States and well disposed to the goon oraer ana napplness or the same These facts not having been disputed would entitle each of the applicants to be admitted to citizenship but for the further fact that each of the applicants has stated under oath that he is a member in good standing of the church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints commonly called and known the Mormon church A little over one year ago while sitting in the Third district court at Salt Lake city John E Moore and others made application to be admittea to citizenship Objection was made because they were members of the Mormon church which it was claimed by the objectors was a TUEASONABLE ORGANIZATION and a very elaborate and extended hearing was had as to whether tho fact of membership member-ship in that organization should debar the applicant from citizenship As a result of that investigation the court held that those applicants were not entitled to become citizens citi-zens The evidence in that hearing established estab-lished that tho Mormon church required that its members on receiving their endow ment in the endowment house should take an oath that they would avenge the blood of the prophets Joseph and Hyrum Smith upon the government and people of the United States and that they would enjoin this obligation upou their descendants until the third and fourth generation and that would obey the priesthood of the church in all things temporal as well as spiritual I was shown also by the evidence which however was also a matter of general knowledge that the church had systematIcally ically and with all the power and resources at its command oppose all the laws pbcsed by Congress against polygamy and other kindred offenses down to that time and that that opposition consisted of everything that was possible except open warfare against tho government I a member of tbe church was convicted of any of the offenses named in the antipo lygamy laws and sentenced to prison it was a common practice for the other members mem-bers to give him a banquet before starting to prison and a reception on his return Under instructions from the leaders of the church those convicted of polygamous offenses almost invariably refused to promise prom-ise t OBEY TIE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES even when the court would offer to suspend sus-pend sentence or impose light punishment i they would make such promise and this too when the Mormon leaders were proclaiming pro-claiming as at present that they teach their followers obedience t the law I was also shown that a church fund had been raised for a number of years for the purpose of aiding those who violated the laws to escape punishment and this is now practiced and whenever a member of the church is indicted in this or any other court of the territory for a violation of the antipolygumy laws he is defended by attorneys at-torneys employed and paid by the church I was further mown at that heating that there was a system of courts within the church for the determination of controversies contro-versies between the members which assumed sumed to exercise judicial functions even i t the extent of rendering money judgments judg-ments and annulling or modifying judgments judg-ments rendered by the civil courts I It was held in that case that an alien who came to this conntry and joins this church Iln organization whose whole history was i one of opposition to the enforcement of I the laws of Congress and of defiance of the government was not a fit person t be made a citizen of tho United States and I the applications were denied This rule was followed by the courts of the territory f down to within the last month or six f weeks On the 24th day of September last Wllford Woodruff president of the church r issued a manifesto in which he denied there had been any polygamus marriages celebrated f cele-brated in this territory as had been ref re-f ported by the Utah commission and denied I J that he or the teachers or ethers of the I church were teaching polygamy or encouraging I I encour-aging members of the church to contract polygamus marriages and stated that his advice to the Latter Day Saints was to re l I I train from contracting any marriages forbidden i for-bidden by the law of the land i UPON THE STRENGTH OF THIS MANIFESTO I I am advised that the courts in the First I and Third districts of this territory have since it was issued admitted members of the Mormon church to citizenship I ro gret very much that upon a careful study of this manifesto I cannot agree with this holding of those courts I am unable to see that it removes the grounds of the objection objec-tion which for the past year have been deemed sufficient to exclude alien members of this church from citizenship The manifesto man-ifesto only advises the members not to contract con-tract in the future any marriages forbidden forbid-den by the law of the land It does not even advise those members who are now living in polygamy to stop their polygamous polyga-mous practicesand live within the law It announces no change in the doctrine or Le lief of the church as to the rightfulness of polygamy nor does It advise or order the discontinuance of the disloyal oaths administered admin-istered in the endowment house By Barlow Ferguson Your honor does not the ratification in the conference say that they will obey the laws of the land By Court No the ratification could not extend any further than the thin gratified grati-fied It was simply vote lathe confer once by a large asBemoiy 01 me memoers endorsing the manifesto But even in endorsing en-dorsing the manifesto Mr George Q Cannon Can-non one of the great leaders of the church and the principal spokesman on that occasion oc-casion was reported in the public press assaying as-saying in his address in substance that while he endorsed it himself under the circumstances yet he referred to the fact that some of the members who HAD NOT LIVED IN POLYGAMY would rejoice that the manifesto had been issued while others who had lived up to their belief would have a feeling of sorrow sor-row and that for his part ho thought the j conduct of those who hud lived up to their faith was more to be commended than the I I I those who had not or in other words I those who had violated the law as he himself him-self had done were more to be commended than those who had obeyed it By Mr Ferguson Only one or two of these applicants stated that they had gone through the endowment house By court Yes and some of them testified testi-fied that they did not believe in polygamy I and others one or two said they aid but 1 that they had not practiced it and did not i intend toBy I to-By Ferguson Do you think those who have not been through the endowment I house should bo refused their naturali nation Court I think that a man who belongs > o a church that requires him to take an oath of hostility to the government of vhich ho seeks to become a citizen although al-though ho has notyet taken the oath stands m the same footing as those who have He i tught to give up his church membership tir his attempt to obtain THE PRIVILEGES OF CITIZENSHIP fa the evidence taken in the cases referred i Fi SIt S-It S to in Salt Lake showed that ono is incompatible incom-patible with the other I have no doubt there aro many members of the Mormon church who if they could be free from the restraints Tvhluh the church places around them would give expression to a feeling of loyalty to the government but outside of a few places in the territory whore the uoaMormon element is strong they cannot can-not afford to do anything not sanctioned by the church The socalled manifesto is very artfully worded The members are advised to refrain re-frain from contracting any marriages forbidden for-bidden by the luw > of the land The only law of the land forbidding polygamous marriages in this territory is in the acts of Congress If Utah should become a state these acts of Congress would no longer be in force here and polygamous marriage would not bo con trjry to the law of the land as far as Utah is concerned unless the Latterday Saints should pass such a law which their past history shows they would not likely do and then the advice of Wilford Woodruff against polygamous marriages would no longer apply I think this manifesto bea son s-on its face conclusive evidence that it was only intended to serve a temporary purpose pur-pose Wilford Woodruff and other loaders of the church as well as the more tumble j members have in the past bhoivn a persist i anco in disobeying the laws and in defying the government unparallelled in this country coun-try Brigham Young lived and died a most flagrant violator of the laws of his country His successor John Taylor died while under indictment for violatiOn of the laws and while in hiding from the officers who were trying to arrest him His sac enamor WILFOPD WOODILFF was a polygamist and in 1877 at the dcd cation of the temple at St George prated in the most ostentatious manner before a large audience for the destruction of the government George Q Cannon one of his associates in the presidency at the present pre-sent time was a polygamist and has served a term in tho penitentiary for a violation of the laws of his country and Joseph F Smith at this time one of the presidency of the church is now under indictment and hiding from the officers while tae lives and conduct of the other high officials of the church have been of a similar character charac-ter A slight concession to the supremacy of the laws of the government has atlast been made but it is of such a character and was wade in such a way that in view of the past history of the cnurch and its leaders lead-ers not much importance should be attached at-tached to it until time has demonstrated the sincerity of those who made it and the willingness of those to whom it was given to obey it I am of the opinion that an alien who comes to this country and joins an organization organi-zation which has given the government so much trouble in the enforcement of its laws as the Mormoh church has done and which requires him to take an oath and perform acts inconsistent with good clti zensbip would not be permitted to become a citizen of the United States as long us he continues a member of such organization The application of thesa parties to be admitted to citizenship is theretore denied de-nied |
