Show Polygamy Bill Vetoed Tho actIOn of Gov Wells of Ulah In vetoing Iho bill to put obstacles In tho way of enforcing the laws against polygamy polyg-amy will It Is I hoped put an end to what had the appearance of an attdmpt to rc cstnbllph polygamy Under the provisions of tIre bill which passed tho Legislature a few days ago It would be practically Impossible to bring a polygamy case Into court unless by the action of one of tho parties dIrectly Involved The alleged object Is to prevent pre-vent vexatious prosecutions while professedly pro-fessedly allowing a woman who Is tired of polygamous l to prosecute I her own behalf Tho practical effect would be to nullify the law against polygamy polyg-amy which was parsed In accordance with tho compact by which Utah was permitted permit-ted organize as a State and enter the Union Warning was given at the lime that when Utah entered Statehood that compact com-pact could be broken with Impunity and I before long It would be This warning was regarded as an aspersion on the character of the people for the Mormon 1 I church had solemnly repudiated for tire future the doctrine and pracllco of polygamy polyg-amy and tho representatives of the people peo-ple had pledged the faith of the community com-munity that polygamy should never again be sanctioned The passage of the Evans bill was on Its face a Justification of the warning Gov Wells In vetoing the bill pointed out that It Is so regarded and that the good faith of the Stale Is already Injuriously Injuri-ously affected In public opinion < by It Moro effccllvo probably with tire supporters sup-porters of the measure Is tire argument he uses that If I tho bill goes upon the statute book It will unquestionably give Impetus to the movement for Federal Interference i In-terference by l an anilpolygamy amendment amend-ment lo the Constitution It Is by nome no-me certain lhat the veto will arretft that movement Now lint It has been shown how Utah regards tho pledge mado In Its behalf as a precedent to the grant of Statehood the other States wlll be Justified In protecting themselves from tire spread of tire evil to their own borders bor-ders by crushing Il out thoroughly In Utah which can only be done through a constitutional provision with the whole strength of tho Union at Its back Cleveland Cleve-land Plain Dealer A Mormon Vetoes a Mormon Bill Oho of the mosl remarkable vetoes In history is that of Coy Wells of Utah of the Evans bill concerning prosecullons arising from complaints of the plural marriage n > stcm The bill provided In brief Ural no prosecution pros-ecution should be entertained unless the complainant I was directly concerned In tho result of the trial It simply meant lhat so lone as the women who Inhabit the bee hives did not complain thorcst of tho community should keep Us hands I off It wan purely a Mormon mcosurd and was carried only after hard fight I Gov Wells himself a Mormon surprised I sur-prised the faithful by disapproving Lire measure Ho was not opposed lo It because be-cause It sought lo protect and further polygamous marriages but because he thoughl It would be tire means of putting a stop lo them altogether The fear of the National Government which has been lenient hcrotofoie was what prompted him to his action In liEs veto nicesauo ho say In my opinion nothing can be clearcc limn that this bill 1C passed would be welcomed and employed as a moL effective weapon against the very classes whtee condition It Is Intended to ameliorate Furthermore I have reason to believe Its enactment would bo tho sIgnal for a general demand de-mand upon tire National Congress forL constitutional amendment directed against certain social conditions here a demand whlah under the present circumstances circum-stances would surely bo compiled with Thus the Mormons lost a hard won victory vic-tory and tho Gentiles found their Jewel In tileS toads head of defeat Tho Governor Gov-ernor while a trlllo lax on tIre marriage law question haM a very long head on him when It comes to figuring on probabilities I proba-bilities Ho Is rightly of tho opinion thai should the Mormon majoiltv pass a low making It virtually Impossible to prosc rote for polygamy they would Boon adopt nn amendment that would place everyman every-man who had two or more wlvc without the pale of tire law Let well enough alono ouRht to be tho motto of his admInistratIon ad-mInistratIon Kansas City World |