Show A SQUELCHER TIIE filibusters GET IT IN 1 I 1 III INECK mother lother drastic potion front from tire utah I 1 lah the scheme to disfranchise ajor won mon believer blob the chiefs of the langne have been hatching n up p gratuitously for the guidance of 0 the utah commissioners has at last tak en eil form following is IB a letter from chairman A B carlton which explains thid situation in in all its painful details bessis Ves sis 1 l ii y N baskin mn anda and T E dooly eq GENTLEMEN yesterday I 1 received from each of you a ma nu script form of a registration oath both forms forma be ing substantially th aba a same game r that bal which was furnished by mr Dour dooly ly is is given below the other has been mislaid millaid mi that I 1 will support the constitution of the united states and will faithfully obey the laws thereof i that I 1 will obey the he acts of congress pro polygamy bigamy unlawful cohabitation incest adultery and ma fornication that I 1 will not hereafter in any territory of the ad stotts at any time mile tit in obe obedience dence to any alleged brove tation lation or tv to any cornile counsel co unile advice or wi tom inand frow any source alever ai ever v under any circumstances enter cider into plural or polygamous polya moui marriage marria gs or to have or take more wire wm than one or cohabit with morn mora than one woman woman that I 1 will not at any tins tims hereafter directly or indirectly indirectly aid or abet counsel or advise any persan to have or take more wives thin than one or to cohabit with more than one woman or to commit cammi t incest adultery or fornication that I 1 am not cot a bigamist or polygamist that I 1 do not cohabit with persona of the other as sex x and that I 1 have not been convicted of any of if the offenses above mentioned mention ed 11 I 1 understand that the purpose for which these forms forma have been farm furnish sh ed ad is is to suggest to the utah commission mis aion the propriety of our changing the form of the registration oath heretofore prepared by the corn com r mission nis Bion by interpolating the words worda which I 1 have put in in italics besides other changes have been bug suggested in leeard n this nr fag tit I 1 t to say in t the a most respect respectful manner that 1 I carnot cannot see sea the necessity or pr propriety of making such change about bo U t a month ago the lorm form of the oath 1 alth was promulgated by the commission in a circular for the i of registration officers these 7 hese have long been transmitted to all the deputy registrars of the ter and oaths oatha to the h number br of have been distri buted all over the territory still this would not be an in insuperable obstacle to a change of the form if we should be satisfied that by mistake or imad inadvertence vertance we had bad violated the law after careful consideration we are thoroughly satisfied t that hat ill ID su sug 9 getting athis this form of 0 0 oath a t h we w a b have ave mado made no mistake in in other words that t the b a oath which we have forma is is in ii with the law I 1 believe that this is is conceded on all handa but the contention is la that wa we might go furt further herand and keep within tha law that there might be interjected into the oath certain ex expletives ives ad jec tives birc circumlocutions lions and within the limits of ill the law which might have the iffet effect af 9 pro pre venting certain classes of persons persona from r registering egi and vot voting irig ahe answer to this is is that if we wa fol follow lowthe the form and purs pursue the language an ga go of the taw law we tw ws we tire are right ll it wp wei depart from this rule we are ara then in in a labyrinth of conflicting opinions opi niona cpr it if the registrars are to depart from the language of the lawand iwand law and each ma man of the de depa a ties tiei ma iray prepare in an oath to suit hp him in self jell the result will lie ba that every mania mans right to vote vole a right hitherto held sacred in in all aidi american rican LOin t ties will 1 depend on an the arbi tary will j ca prica or prejudice of tha 1 regin registration si liceri who in this thia I 1 is 9 well as 18 obber communities are mostly littly or teolea no ahm in id ibe to t at to allo this would o b bo law and abad a bad precedent that would the condemnation 20 de in nation of the executive gov and 0 all enlightened ellid in U fists who took part i in n the passage of 0 this thia law similar s suggestions U have frequent I 1 ly v been made in Is to our both oral orally ly and in in writing by ragis front I 1 ram and election judges thin taits was the occasion camion ac of our insert inserting ipg in our oar circular to r registration egi officers 4 brief enumerating all the disa biliti bili ties cs of voters under the nw aw of congress adding the HIB following pa paragraph r the commission is is of th the 0 opinion i i U that the above include all the disabilities to which electors are on subject abject under the laws lawa of 0 con greas and that no DO opinions opi niona which they runy entertain upon questions of ligion or buirch pol polity lity should be re the subject of inquiry or excle exclusion sion of any elector the following bg 9 pee in elude all ali the disabilities to which voters voter in IQ utah are ara subject tinder huder the laws of no pol Y ga fisl b bigamist i or any ally P person erson c cohabiting 0 1 Is 1 biting with vit h in caora 0 ra t than ban one woman shall be entitled tto to re reg liter or vote fit at any election in this bis territory nor toy person who ha haa been convicted of the crime crime of incest wi lawful cohabitation adultery for mea meation tiou bigamy or polygamy nor any person lei sou who associates or cobabe I 1 ita ti with persons persona of the littier sex nor can any person rog regis wr or vote who has bad not taken and the oath prescribed by the 1 only fourth section of the act of congress of march nor can ully w woman 0 inan register or vote the cou converse veree of the proposition is la that hat conceding fill all tho the local statu tory qualifications RS aa to ago ag residence citizenship ac every male person is is aati entitled tied to register eister re and vote if he be is is not a bigamist or polygamist nor cohabiting with more than one ona woman does not associate or cohabit with persons persona of the other sex bex has not been convicted of incest fornication or adultery y and is is willing to and u 0 o the oath as prescribed by the twenty fourth section of the alt act of longress congress As to those in in polygamy or un lawful cohabitation they ar are a did dia qualified whether they have been con evicted or riot not the oath is is to be sub subscribed bed and therefore it is is to be ba a written or prints printed d affidavit and it should con tai tain P no more nor mor less than that which is provided in in the act the oath prescribed by congress as ai to its material parts parted is is entirely promissory in in tta its reference to hie flie future the affiant swearing not as to what he ha does daei or has done but what he be wv or mil ill not d do whether he is la willing or not to take lake the oath is is a matter ad addressed dress iid to his own conscience and is binding only in in faro aro ia the du da ties of the officer in in making the reak reg and administrating the oil oath th are purely ministerial in in their charo chalao ter and he be haa baa no right to I 1 in 11 quire into any mauls mans motives nor gor to catechise catechism cate chise him as to his opinions on matters of religion tithes or other church contributions or his church membership it was evidently the intention of congress to allow all male persons persona of proper age etc to vote it if they are not disqualified by poly polygamy garoy etc provided they are willing to take the prescribed oath an ali inquisitorial catechism of a metaphysical character by the registrar as to whether the party might some time in in the future change his bis mind und end go into polygamy or und r 1 u diblik a aai a 1 I tery is la in IB my opinion not authorized authorize I 1 I 1 by law the ibe same game remarks will a ap P ply to the registration officer on it a proceeding to strike off names on the registry list in such a proceeding lie ho may investigate the questions whether a party is under any of the disabilities provided by territorial law or the acts of congress these last are le Is he in in fact a polygamist pol la Is he be living in in unlawful Is he associating or cohn cohabiting biting poly ga with dersom of the other sex has he be been of bags bigamy poly polygamy a my unlawful cohabitation in ceat T ad adultery aitery or fornication lla has he taken the oath prescribed by the act of congress this enumeration n ax x haunts AU ALL mhd qualifications provided by congress Con grese further than this ex am capt asto as to local stath statutory tory qualifications tia n the registrar cannot go the s bame m principle cepl a will apply to judges of election 1 sti upon pon a challenge at tho the polls tho the law ot of congress provides that no person otherwise illi illegible illig gible ihla to vote to i shall be excluded from the polls on account of any opinion such person may entertain on the subject olt ol bigamy or polygamy the debates in in congress specially especially in in the senate plainly show that the ad vacates and champions of the bill regarded it as not interfering with with any mans religious opinion or church membership the duty of this commission and the registration and election officers is is not to make but to execute the law such law as congress has given u nn it we lve must maat execute it as it jj not as aa we e might mih it to be in conclusion it way may be deemed superfluous to say that thai our commini commini sion aion doea na naf claim authority to lia in ny boby as has bean I 1 0 asserted juat IJ U uma time j of OULA our abst ap api i paga ajia p ulah we wd have annually IB SUeda a circular cercal a i for iho information of registrars and another to the eleo sc tiou tion judges udger the nerios sity of thia his arosa aros from the tact fact that we have been and still are constantly receiving in in quillea from froin such guch officers and others 1 in a regard to botha interpretation af tho the I 1 law aw am aad athe the course of 0 proc procedure satire this thi course has heretofore been approved or acquiesced in in in the quarter from which objections now come wa submit that the propriety ot of giving such I 1 information is now more mora plainly demonstrated demonstrate a than at any previous time by reason of the exa exasperate ed ad condition of public feeling now ox existing in in utah very respectfully yours AB CARLTON chairman Cha irmam utah tah I 1 11 S sinca the foregoing was 1 writ 7 toD 1 n 1 it t has bad transpired that a corn com mettaa ita of gentlemen wish to have an interview with the commission touch ing the lorm form of oath etc eta I 1 wish to in detato tio that I 1 am open to conviction if good pod reasons can be shown and I 1 will further say that I 1 alone am responsible for this communication though I 1 have good renew for tb the opinion that if not all the corn com mis concur youra etc A 11 0 |