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Show THE RECORD. Speaking of a recent article in the Northwestern Christian Advocate of Chicago, the Deseret News 3ays: Tho Advocato rofera to a "petition for amnesty," In which it declares "theso pledges voro made." We are of tho opinion opin-ion that the writer of tho articlo novor read that petition for amnesty, and therefore does not know that ho misquotes mis-quotes it both in language and intent. Further, ho must bo very Ignorant of tho praoceduro by which a now State Is admitted ad-mitted Into tho Union. Tho Govcrnmont makes no compacts or aKrcemcnts with nny church or body of cccleslasts in making ma-king terms for Statehood. That willfully falsifying News! The report of the House Committee on Territories, Ter-ritories, presented on the twenty-fourth day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-three under which report Utah's bill of admission was passed contained as one of its most significant signifi-cant documents the petition for amnesty am-nesty signed by the leaders of the Mormon Mor-mon church, and containing the following fol-lowing utterance: In September, 1800, tho present head of tho church, in anguish and prayer, cried to God for help for his llock, and received re-ceived the permission to advise tho members mem-bers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that tho law commanding command-ing polygamy was henceforth suspended. At the great semi-annual conference, which was held a few days. later, thl3 was submitted to tho people, numbering many thousands and representing every community of the peoplo in Utah, and was by thorn In tho most solemn manner accepted a tho futuro rulo of their lives. Havo they not tho right to ask for such elemenev as comes when tho claims of both law and Justice havo been fully llauldatcd? As shepherds of a patient and suffering peoplo wo ask amnesty for them and pledge our faith and honor for their fu- t nri And your petitioners will ever pray. That document also included the proclamation pro-clamation of amnesty Issued by President Presi-dent Benjamin Harrison, containing the following language: Therefore, I, Bonjamln Harrison, President Presi-dent of tho United States, by virtue of tho powers In mo vested, do hereby de-claro de-claro and grant a full amnesty and pardon par-don to all persons liable lo tho penalties of said act by reason of unlawful cohabitation cohab-itation under tho color of polygamous or plural marriage, who havo slnco November Novem-ber 1, 1SS0, abstained from such "unlawful cohabitation; button tho exprcsn condition condi-tion that they shall In future faithfully obey tho laws of the United States here-lnbeforo here-lnbeforo named, and not otherwise. That document contained a memorial from the Legislature of Utah, reciting tho abandonment of polygamy and the change In the aspect of Utah affairs, and contains the following language: Theso now conditions havo conio naturally, natu-rally, and for tho futuro are absolutely secure. A patriotic peoplo are pledged to their preservation. Retrogression, involving in-volving as It would dishonor and dlro misfortune, mis-fortune, Is impossible. , That document contained the following follow-ing declaration by the committee: "VhlIo your committee utterly condemn tho doctrine of Dolygamy, and hold that so long as tho Mormons constituted tho larger part of tho population of tho Territory Ter-ritory of Utah, and personally, or as a matter of faith, with or without tho practice, prac-tice, believed in tho doctrine of polygamy, then It was proper and right for tho Federal Fed-eral Government to use all of Us vast powers to secure tho overthrow and destruction de-struction of that pracllco; yet, In view of tho foregoing facts set forth In this report, re-port, as well as tho concurrent testimony of all parties interested In tho welfaro of Utah who havo appeared beforo your committee during tho Fiftieth Congress upon tho samo topics, compel your committees com-mittees to bolievo without doubt or hesitation hesi-tation that tho Institution of polygamy as taught by tho Mormon church, whether wheth-er of faith or of practice, Is now absolutely abso-lutely stamped out and exterminated. That document contained, as the final conclusion and recommendation of tho committee: All mouths Bhould bo hushed, and all opposition silenced, after tho President has amnestied all past offenses, After tho Mormon church, through all of Its head3 and officials, publicly, privately, and In every way posslbjo for mortals to do and proclaim, havo with bowed heads, If not In anguish, pledged their faith and honor that never moro in tho futuro shall polygamy within tho Mormon church bo either a doctrlno of faith or of practice thero certainly cana bo but ono sentiment, but one opinion among all Just-mlndcd legislators In Congress upon tho question of duty, and that Is to admit Utah as a Stato into tho Federal Union, Your committee recommend tho bill do pass. These were some of the pledges and agreements made. Fortunate, Indeed, It Is that they became in tho form of a report, a part of the eternal record of the compact by which Utah was admitted. ad-mitted. Tho summary, a part of which is comprised in tho last quoted paragraph para-graph from tho committee's report, shows clearly that except for the covenants cove-nants made by the Mormon church, no recommendation In Utah's favor would have emerged from the committee, but rather there would have been the persistent per-sistent refusal to grant Statehood which had been so often reiterated In tho past before the church had consented consent-ed to recede from its antagonism to the laws and institutions of the country. It is like the editor of the Desert News to deny that any compact was made. This is the same man who deliberately de-liberately declared through his newspaper news-paper that he had made no pledp;o to secure amnesty from the President for his own offenses, and who after that declaration, upon the witness stand nt Washington before the Smoot investigating investi-gating committee was compelled (because (be-cause of the known existence of tho record) to swear that he hud made a covenant not to continue his polygamous polygam-ous living in order to obtain the pardon par-don of President Cleveland, and to swear that he had broken that covenant. cove-nant. It Is like the Deseret News to deride the Northwestern Christian Advocate for Its criticisms of tho law-defying, pledge-breaking leaders of the Mormon church, and to sneer at the Advocate for making positive declarations without with-out affording voluminous proof. Because Be-cause of Its past successes by means of brazen effrontery, the News imagines that It can make its mendacity effectivo In this case. But tho country knows the facts as well as the people of Utah; and, wearisome as it may be to some particularly to the News and Its editor and owners Tho Trlbuno proposes to publish the truth on this subject overtime over-time that the unspeakable News pronounces pro-nounces Its despicable, ungrateful and treasonable falsehood. Nor are the utterances of the Congressional Con-gressional committee's report tho only Conditions of the compact There were many other documents, utterances and records of tho time, to which appeal can be made when necessity shall arise. |