| Show asi WW A TRAVESTY ON JUSTICE DECi sroy nf LG in I 1 ha cases cp before him rendered last s too lengthy for publication athis issue occupying as it would some ten or bokn columns wo will however review such portions of it as aro worthy of our attention in the liesl place it 1 probably needless for us to say that the con cluston reached by in his opinion are what the people expected his rulings through the entire investigation showed which way wind blew and tho outcome in is not at all startling that was biased when ho framed his opinion is evidenced by tho fact that the evidence produced by the defence is practically excluded from the argument the whole attention of his honor having apparently been devoted to the material furnished by the objectors the liberal ring hence the decision is not just because it is a ono review 0 the whole testimony JUDGE whether knowingly or not we cannot say falls into error in certain parts of his decision after rehearsing the evidence given by tho liberal side that the endowment house ceremonies include the taking of an oath obligation or covenant by all who receive their endowments dow ments that they will avenge the blood of the prophets JOSEPH and SMITH upon the government of the united states and will enjoin this obligation upon their children until tho third and fourth generations he goes on to say that an undergarment a sort of combination of shirt and drawers called th endowment robe is then put anand is to be worn ever after on this robe near the throat and over the heart and in the region of the abdomen aro certain marks or designs intended to remind the wearer of the penalties tant will be inflicted in the aase of a violation of the oath obligation or covenant he or ahe has taken or made now not only is this untrue i but tha judge never heard such testimony given during the of the investigation there are no such designs as ho states and the object for which tho marks are placed thereon ure of a nature entirely different to what he asserts what right then has JUDGE to make such a statement ho certainly did not do so through auy mistake on his part judges aro not supposed to make mistakes of such an important nature further along in his honors decision h says on of the applicants fourteen witnesses testified concerning alie endowment ceremonies bat ill of them declined to state what oaths are taken or what obligations or covenants arc there entered into or what penalties are atta clied to their violation and these witnesses when asked for their reason for declining to answer stated that they did so on a point of honor the refusal of applicants witnesses to state specifically what oaths i obligations or covenants are taken or entered into in these ceremonies renders their testimony of but little value and tends to confirm rather than contradict the evidence on this point offered by the objectors this portion of the decisions decision is most unjust and will be so pronounced by all laws of equity were it applied tu the masonic fraternity as it is to the cormons mormons Mor mons in requiring them to reveal the obligations that they had agreed to keep secret what a howl there would be all through the land imagine a masons veracity being doubted by the bench simply because be cuse he refused on his honor to divulge the ceremonies and rituals ho had vowed to hold sacred there is more manhood in the makeup make up of the man who would suffer imprisonment rather than betray hia trust than there is in the individual who calls upon him to do so and so respectable laople will say all over the land says the judge in denying the rights of citizenship to the applicants simply because they had boan through the endowment house the evidence establishes beyond any reasonable reano dolbt that alie endowment ceremonies are inconsistent with the oath an applicant for citizenship is required to take and that the oath obligations or covenants there made or entered into are incompatible with the obligations and duties of citizens of the united states will his honor please refer us 10 the evidence that he says establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that the endowment ceremonies are inconsistent with the oath an applicant for citizenship is required to tak we followed abe testimony given by every witness examined in the case very carefully but wo certainly do not recollect anything of the kind we thought the evidence established a different theory entirely in fact the very evidence given by the witnesses for the liberal side corroborated the statement of the applicant that the covenants of the endowment ceremonies tended to make bettor citizens of who ket them inviolate BAYS the evidence also shows that blood atonement is one of the doctrines of the church under which for certain offen ces the offender shall suffer as alic only meana of atoning for his transgressions gres and eliat any member of the church lias the to shed ills blood to tho members of the mormon church without any exception this will be an extraordinary announcement no not only is each a doctrine not taught by tho leaders or officers of this religion but it never has been taught neither did the evidence adduced before his honor show that the mormon religion taught ahat any member ot tho church has iho to shed his I 1 the offenders blood al through his decision JUDGE ADER pok ha hahie hiu too profuse in conveying ideas that the witnesses did not express or enter laio plainly showing that his determination from the very first was to abo clumon oss of the liberal nna in closing opinion th budge says can men bs made true and loyal citizens liy such teachings tea chinga tir are they likely lo 10 remain so influences will men become attached to the principles of the constitution cf the united states when the gove i n i dd tyrannical and oppressive it would be as unreasonable to expect lucli a result as it would be to expect lo 10 gather crapes from thorns or figs from whistles thistles es it lias always beau and still is the policy of to encourage aliens who in good to reside in this country to become citizens but when a man of foreign birth comes here and joins an organization although professedly fes sedly religious which requires of ahn an alleri alle yi ace paramount to bis allegiance to the government an organization that impiously and blasphemously claims tn be alio of god to control its members under its immediate direction and yet teaches and i a system of morals shocking to christian people and under which the marriage of a man to two or more sisters or to a mother and daughter is sanctioned au organization that sanctions blood atonement as a means of grace and murder is a penalty for revealing the secrets of its ceremonies and which for nearly half a century has refused to acknowledge the supremacy ef the united stales or render obedience to its laws it is time for the courts to pause and inquire whether such an applicant should be admitted to citizenship the evidence in this case establishes unquestionably that he teas hinga practices and aims of the church are antagonistic to the government of the united states utterly subversive of good morals and the well being of society and that its members are animated by a feeling of hostility towards the government and its laws and therefore an alien who is a member of said church is not a fit person to be made a citizen of the united states |
