Show 111DCATE UTAII BUIden of Evanss Defense of I Polygamy BilL I I HE OFFERED A SUBSTITUTE I I 1 Provides Bill Agninst Prosecution Prosecu-tion for Unlawful Cohabitation wad 1 Adultery Shall Not Interfere With Law Against Polygamy Abel John I Talked for an Hour and Admitted j I That Personally He Did Not Favor r I Any Prosecution for Unlawful Cohabitation i Co-habitation ton I Abel John Evans descended yesterday yester-day from the Presidents chair In the I Senate and talked for fifty minutes In I defense of his bill to limit or rather prevent prosecution for I adultery and I unlawful cohabitation In this State Ills effort showed careful preparation ant diligent research commensurate with the Importance of the question and with the admitted purpose of re llevlng from the operation of law all I Mormon polygamists who still maintain i their polygamous relations Abel John j i rose to the pinnacle of his own peculiar I style of oratory As his words hurtled through the atmosphere of the Sonata I chamber and tumbled Into the nooks I nnd crannies of the committee rooms I the great portrait of BrIgham Young shook In its frame Abel John went Into i I tho requirements of thc enabling act and the proceedings of the Constitutional Constitu-tional convention for pegs upon which to hang justification of his position and he quoted copiously from the laws of other States and applied them to the government of these peculiar people and their peculiar system When Evans was through the others wanted to rest and the debate will be resumed today There was only one test vote i the adverse report of the Committee on Judiciary was rejected by 13 to 5 the minority being Allison Klesel Lawrence Love und Sherman I EVANS STARTS The bill known as Senate bill No 19 I was reported upon adversely by three members of the Committee on judiciary Ju-diciary The report was mado a special I spe-cial order for 3 oclock yesterday Evans I was the first to speak and In order to get the question before the Senate 1 moved that the report be rejected In support of the motion he gold he desired de-sired to submit some matters In order that he and his motives might bo properly I prop-erly understood Ho desired to offer a substitute to his original bill and ho read It I provided that no prosecutions prosecu-tions for adultery should bo made except ex-cept on complaint of the husband or 1 wife oc the accused or the person with whom the alleged act was committed I and no prosecution for unlawful cohabitation co-habitation should be made except upon complaint of the legal wife or the aT I leged plural wives of the accused The act should not be held to apply to cas6i under section 120S defining and punishing I punish-ing polygamous marriages He read the section referred to In order or-der to show that a line had been drawn between polygamy and adultery and unlawful cohabitation and he wanted It understood that his bill would not Interfere with the law Just read h A VITAL QUESTION rt0lj He said that the question was one of vital Importance and was before the people The bill had been Introduced weeks ago and The Tribune had published pub-lished four editorials denouncing it < from the papers standpoint Ife concluded con-cluded that the articles were written by Judge C C Goodwin For that reason the people had been fully advised ad-vised oc the purpose of the measure Evans said that he appreciated in His advocacy of the measure that some of his dearest friends In the State would take Issue with him because thqy were fearful that it would create trouble raise furore in the I rlso a Nation i and peradvcnture produce 0 Constltu I tional amendment the United States If this bill becomes a law he said there will be no State In the Union I that has on its statute books Q law so severe as tho one 1 sought to Intrq I duce I want to say that no longer shall this State be branded as requiring a more stringent law on morale than Other States Our morals are aa good as those of any State in the Union I am not willing that we shall rest under tho suspicion that ve require such stringent laws I RECITED ANCIENT HISTORY I Then the speaker recited the history and contents of the enabling act described de-scribed the organization oc the Constitutional Consti-tutional convention and quoted liberally liberal-ly l from Its proceedings He said that the people who founded the commonwealth common-wealth were a peculiar people and were practicing I system not practiced by others Whether It was true or otherwise other-wise they believed it to be true Congress Con-gress enacted laws on the question and they were put Into operation by Federal officers He said Idont desire de-sire to recount tie misery and trouble they underwent They tested the law to Its extremity and took It to the Supreme Su-preme court of the United Stales The history was fraught with many startling start-ling events They believed that the law wa made in contravention of the Constitution of the United States and they kept J contending until the court of last resort decided that they were wrong Then he who had the right Issued an edict that the system should cease but he wan powerless as was the court of the United States to rectify the conditions then existing There had ben contracts and compacts entered into which mus6 be carried out without violating the sacred honor which every man created In the Imago of God feels when he vows to care for and protect those with whom he has allied al-lied his fortunes sickness and health I remained for the Government which believed that the declaration of the Mormon church had been made In good good faith to formulate the enabling nct QUIZZED BY ALLISON Evans then pointed out In the enabling en-abling act and the Constitution the purts which he considered indicated 1 that the people had done what they promised to do The Constitutional convention had for rca some ulterior motive would be cljarged to the people Incorporated in the Constitution the very language of the enabling act on the question of polygamy I stand here he said If necesary to advocate advo-cate will all the power and vehemence of my soul the defense oc this provision provis-ion of the law Allison interrupted him Didnt you vote to strike out a provision against unlawful cohabitatiOn nra Evans replied vehemently Some of the members of tho convention proposed to reenact the EdmundsTucker law Which Congress In Its gencroslly had wiped oft lu J books I did vote against that and I would do It now Allison You arc not In favor of any prosecution for unlawful cohabitation at all Evans Personally no But this bill permits prosecution under certain conditions con-ditions Dont you know that Charles Mostyn Owen if this bill becomes a law cannot prosecute any person In this State for this offense Dont you know that he can do I now MATTER OF GOOD FAITH Evang then talking on the indent of tho Constitutional convention to pass I nothing except what It intended should be In good faith quoted In full the speech of Judge Goodwin with regard to amendment of the subject under discussion and charged that every utterance and every sentence of It wUAto the effect that It made no difference as to faith or sincerity what was adopted that the only thing to do was to adopt a Constitution that would deceive the President LAWS OF OTT1ER STATES Evans then quoted at length from tho laws of other States and gave tho following summary There Is no penalty for adultery In the following Suites Arkansas Cal fornia Nevada New Mexico New York North Carolina Tennessee But It Is a cause for divorce In Nevada Ne-vada New Mexico New 1ork and Tennessee No prosecution for adultery shall be commenced hut on the complaint of ihp husband or wife In the following folOlng States Michigan Minnesota North Dakota Oregon Iowa Minnesota makes an exception Incase In-case of the Insanity of the husband or tIle wife vVilultery Is mado a misdemeanor In the following Stales I with penalties from 10 to 100 Maryland Missouri iNC c i-NC Jersey Texua Virginia Wyoming West Virginia i The statutes of some of the Slates I have not been examined because they were not In the library nome of them F were reported as being In use by the legislators TO VINDICATE UTAH In conclusion he said There Is not a State In the Union for those who oppose op-pose this bill to stand on they must I stand here alone on their own ideas Turn down the report and permit us I to introduce a Jaw more stringent and morn powerful than any of these and I as I stand here before you God being my witness It will be more vigilantly I executed than are these laws of other States Utah will no longer be branded I as disloyal to the Union and rte will I cut off the heads of those cravens who i creep around seekingto find Imaginary wrongs Consider those who Intend I In-tend to keep on living with those 1 women whom they vowed to love and I say whether you wH force them out j i Into exile from society Toln with me and vindicate Utah and In n short time the old relations will have censed and We will move on happily In this galaxy I of Slates Smoot complained that he had not been permitted to attend the meeting of the Committee on Judiciary and was opposed to the report Neither had Thomas who is 0 member been present pres-ent when the bill was considered In view of these complaints BennIon who signed the report said he would vote r against its adoption The report was rejected by the vole of 13 to 6 and con I until slderati6n today of the substitute went S over |