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Show ENFORCE LAW AT HOME. The Deserofc News continues its loud insistence that the law should bo on-forced on-forced in Virginia. It has a good deal of complaint to make about; the acquittal of Loving, tho slayer of Estes, and claims that this acquittal wa3 subversive of justice and "a gross misapplication of these legal justifications justifica-tions for homicide'-' that are often urged in extenuation of such acts as Loving committed. Now, we have no objection to the enforcement en-forcement of the laws in Virginia, nor do wc make any particular criticism upon the way the Virginians enforce their laws, and particularly as to this case wc do not feel called upon to make any remonstrance against the result. And Tho Tribune is a law-abiding news-papor, news-papor, too. Its insistence is that tho laws shall be obeyed and enforced all over the Republic; but our particular insistence and demand is that the laws shall be enforced in Utah. That is precisely pre-cisely where The Tribune appears to be at odds with the News. The News is fierce and vigorous for tho enforcement enforce-ment of the laws in Virginia, but extremely ex-tremely lax, not to say scaudalously opposed, to the enforcement of iihe laws in Utah. Until the News can come to the front with a demand for tho enforcement en-forcement of the'laws in Utah, wc do not see how it has a very firm foundation founda-tion to proceed upon. It seems to us that the News in this, as in a good many other matters, sees the moto in the other man's eye, and ignores the beam in its own eye. A paper which demands immunity from punishment for criminals in its own neighborhood is in no condition to lecture the people in other communities because they do not enforce the law of their State in its fullness and rigor. The Tribune is willing to take tho enforcement of the Virginia laws as the Virginia, courts conBtruc them and enforce them. It is not particularly concerned that some Virginia man shall be hanged because he shot tho ravish-cr ravish-cr of his daughter. There is- a whole sale ravishment going on in Utah by a lecherous priesthood which calls for punishment far more loudly than could possibl be in tho Virginia case under consideration, in any way it maj' be looked upon. The courts in Utah, however, how-ever, are so intimidated by the power of the chief criminals hero who are also in control of the masses of the people who belong to a cortain church organization, that the' are paralyzed when it comes to the enforcement of the law against those wlio commit tho favorite offenses that are enjoined by that- church 's lendors, and that are practiced by them so shamelessly. These leaders, besides being the exemplars ex-emplars in this law-breaking, claim to be , exemplars also in holiness. They not only paralyze the law so far as they themselves are concerned by the political po-litical advantage ihoir. control over the majority of the- population here gives them, but the' connive at tho violation of law by others, and protect others in that violation, while all the time pretending pre-tending that the church is not in any way blameworthy for the violations which they commit, At the snmo time the so-called revelation of tho church, the church doctrine, tho church commandments, com-mandments, and the church practice, form the only bnsis upon which these law-breakers proceed. It is quite impossible im-possible that this laW'breakinjsr should go on except; in the name of the church aud in -furtherance of its alleged creed and revelations. To say that the church is not responsible for such breaches of tho law, therefore, is to deny tho involutions invo-lutions of the church and to repudiate tho 'sanctity which the church itself hns in times past given to those revelations. revela-tions. That is to say, those who deny tho church authority for their new polygamous po-lygamous marriages cut tho ground out from under thoir own feet, and confess to shameless lechery, tho baldest form or! criminal polygamy and lascivious lawlessness. If tho church is not responsible re-sponsible for theso marriages, then there is no responsibility whatever for them anywhere; they are outlawed both by church rulo and by the civil statutes. It is in vain that such pleas aro made, bocauso thoy are self -contradictory, and they deny the very foundation upon which tho whole criminal superstructure superstruc-ture is built. Let us first cast tho beam out of Utah'H eye boforo wo quarrol with the moto in Virginia's eye. Let us lot Virginia Vir-ginia alone to deal with her own criminals crim-inals and enforce hor own criminal statutes. And lot thoso whom the church organ represents in its outcry for tho enforcement of tho laws in Virginia Vir-ginia tako thought unto tho Utah law, and come to tho support, of tho law-abiding law-abiding people hero and join with them in stating that they will foreswear all law-breaking from honcoforth, and will join with tho well-disposed, law-resepct-ing people hero and see that the laws are enforced in thoir fullness, first of all in Utah. Then when this happy result shall have been achieved, wc can proceed to quarrol at our leisure and to our full content with people of other States who may not be enforcing their statutes in the way that we believe-that believe-that thoy should. |