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Show POLYGAMY IS THE WORD. So far as the crime itself is concerned con-cerned there is little difference an to whether tho Legislature shall call it "polygamy" or "bigamy." So fains fai-ns the criminals are concerned there can bo little difference because the high churchman who is a bigamist will escape es-cape just exactly as ho escapes while he is a polygamist; and the Gentile will In; punished equally as a bigamist, with as much severity as ho has been punished pun-ished as a polygamist. So Ihe changing of tho word will make no difference i" the crime in Utah. But the substitution of ono word for another will show some bad faith with the Natio::; for the Enabling Ai't, passed by Congress, contained this prnpohition: Sec. 5. Mooting of convention. Ordinance Ordi-nance to he Incorporated In constitution.! First. That perfect toleration of religious relig-ious sentiment shall be secured, and that no inhnhltant of suld Stale shall ever be molested In porson or properly on account of his or her mode of religious worship; Provided, That polygamous or plural marriages arc forever prohibited. The Congress of tho United States was well aware of the situation. The use of tho word "polygamy" was do- : liberate on the part of Congress. Any attempt to take that word from tho Enabling Act would have resulted in the defeat of tho Statehood bill. The people of the United Slates were not going to take any chances on some future- session of a Utah Legislature, which should conclude that for tho peace of community life or for the reputation repu-tation of the State it was necessary to use another word than polygamy to describe tho particular offenso of this particular community. So certain were the people of Utah that polygamy was the necessary word was the word meant by Congress and by the people of tho United States and was the word accepted by tho people of Utah, that, the constitution of Utah was made to contain a similar provision. That constitution was affirmatively voted upon by the people of this State, all of whom knew what, was meant by tho word "polygamy." To now substitute another word is to do what the makers of the constitution constitu-tion would not havo dared to attempt and is to show bad faith with the Nation. Na-tion. It was intended by Congress and intended by the people of Utah to niako a compact irrevocable, that polygamy should bo forever prohibited by name in the constitution "and statutes of this State of Utah. But there is something worse behind this movement than tho mere desire to exchange one word for another. The Mormon hierarchs are willing that their so-called sacred relation of plural marriage mar-riage shall be outwardly designated as bigamy for the time being; holdiug fast to their determination that in the uear future they will draw a line of segregation segre-gation between the bigaury on the statute, sta-tute, now proposed to be substituted for polygamy and the polygamy which they can claim is their sanctified practice. The first step toward that end is to strike out tho word " pobygamj' " from the statute books; the immediately attending at-tending step is to call all plural marriages mar-riages "bigamy;" and tho next step will bo to differentiate between Gentile bigamy and Mormon polygamy, with the hope on their part that they can secure public condonation of continuing contin-uing polygamy and public condemnation of sporadic cases of bigamy. There is no aspect of thiscase which docs not represent defiance of tho understanding un-derstanding had with tho Nation antecedent ante-cedent to the admission of Utah to her sovereignly. The substitution of "bigamy" "big-amy" for "polygamy" is a violation of the covenant on the words which should bo used. And underlying that is a more 'serious and flagrant annulment annul-ment of the pledge; for tho undercurrent undercur-rent of this movementis the desire of tho Mormon hierarchs to set all poly-gamisls poly-gamisls off in an immune class, privileged privi-leged to do what they will in the maintenance main-tenance of an Oriental system of conjugality con-jugality under the flag of the United Stales. |
