| Show DiSFRANCHISEMENT Delegate Cane Denounces lie Fro posed GBtraJe HE MILS GOV UNOK THOMAS DnlwU Statements About Ex COT crnor Wet anti tl > e Hrtsnrc Washington April 23At the opening of the meeting the House committee on territories tills morning morn-ing Delegate Dubols opposed the proposition to give Belecate Calm of Utah and Judge 1 Wilson Uth Judg WIIn an op iwrtunlty of being beard In oppoM Con to the Mormon disfranchisement disfranchise-ment bill Dubois raid that this matter and thin whole Mormon question had been fully argued b fore the committee both this year I and lat and they the committee had all the facts and comprehcndci the whole matter Delegate CMne said ho had never been heard on the dIsfranchIsement proposition I a thief attempted to rob him of a few dollars be could g to a cur of ju tice and get al the time he wanted to convict the thief but here was a proposition t depnven quarter of a million Am rlcan citizens of their rights and liberties and this widcmlndec statesman would refuse their r pn entative an opportunity to con vlct the robber On motion the committee granted Jlr Caine the time dccired Mr Caine thereupon in substance sub-stance said The bill under consideration con-sideration Is intended to disfran cisise all Uie members of the Church Jesus Chrut of LatterJay Saints commonly called the Mormon church for disguise It as you may this I the aim and oblect of the measure I i useless to say tat no each law heretofore has been proposed t Congress in regard t any religious body Itisun American Ameri-can and subveislve of those rights of representative Rorcrnmint which the author orthe Declaration of Independence In-dependence declared t b of meet niable worth t them and formidable formid-able to Prom colonial t tyrants Frm clonil days down to the Present time rovirn meuts the people by thcpeopleand for the people express the American idea of republican government With the majority of a community r h ll disfranchised such a government Is impossible The government then of a minority gler distorted to men a government of people It is such au extraordinary thing to > rupe > e the total disfranchisement of a whole poof6 that I am amazed that any man claiming to bean American citizen that any man claiming tc be a Republican or a I Democrat could b found to advocate advo-cate uch a monstrous proposition tbhschcnieshould Leenacted into law the large majority of the l la majoriy peoplp of the territory of Utah would b disfranchised theIr property their Joniestc institutions the entire machinery of their local government would be at the mercy of the minority minor-ity In many town nt settlements throuKhojtthe territory men could not b found not members of the Mormon church to hold the local offices Allchil government would therefore be destroyed and anarchy run riot roL He sid carpetbaggers n ou Id have to b imported to ill the offices IQ itical floaters men without occupation occupa-tion tempted by the prospect of plunder a herd of unemployed poll iclans would descend lke theOoths and Vandals to become petty t rants and enrich themselves l tillage I of lie public treasuries Are such men fit to hold important local offices to collect and disburse the peoples taxes tax-es issue bonds and borrow money The Mormon people were the pioneers pio-neers of the Rocky Mountain Tern tories tolIr Mr uamc rccitea tie circum stances under which they went to I Utah anti what they had accoru pushed here and added The history I tory of mankind docs net afford another an-other such cxampL of a people tripped of all their poesions sue I rp essfully accoraplihing s marvelous marvel-ous an undertaking Thom who have made the journey across the I great plains over thellocky Mountains I Mount-ains and through the great ale In I palace r and seen the wonders wrought by their persistence heir InJutry nud their thrift can iive only the faintest Idea of what the transformation has coot the 11 vie horn this bill deliberately proposes tests to diprive of all thtir political rights Are these people t be din franchised because they opened the great transcontinental highway for lie immigration of the natloiu iiccaufe SK 0 of their number helped 10 conquer the territory they now occupy a well a that embraced em-braced in the State of California Because their pioneers took possession pos-session cf the Salt Lake basin and raisvd on the mountain peaks the American flag Ilecause hey have by industry and cooperation coope-ration in labor redeemed the desert and made it blossom a a garden Becju they have established a great eommonweaUh the wonder of all who have seen it Beeiu their ieoile are frugal industrious and honest Because in the commercial commer-cial world their promises to pay are worth one hundred cents an thin doll bit because of these and many other commendable works and quaite they are to be disfran ehla This bill Is a new departure in ant Mormon legislation and I pal ably in conflict with the lOwe views of tho e members of the Senate and Hoe of Representatives who advocated the formeranti polygamy act All the objections t those measures on the ground of their violation either In litter or spirit of lf the funtlamentahfresdomof religious opinion and worship Invariably met with the emphatic declaration that they did not interfere with liberty of conscience that the actions of men and not their opinions or religious ligious creeds wen the proper subjects sub-jects of legal animadversion But the spirit of persecution likejeal ousy grows by what it feeds on and at length has assumed such monstrous mon-strous proportions that would have appalled Its projectors at the beginning begin-ning M that according t the bard of XcwfteaJ Honest and devout Christians have burnt each other quite persuaded the apostle would liax e done as they did J l Calnu quoted largely from the I I supreme court decisions statements made by Senators and Representatives Representa-tives in Congress and from ofllcial reports of the Utah Commission to show that the legislation of Congress 8 not enacted against the religion of the Mormon people but solely for the suppression of polygamy and argued that there was no necessity f for such a palpable departure from former methods iihere Is no rebellion In Utah Mr Caine said no Insurrection the people are orderly peaceable In dustrous and honest I has been shown by official reports that during the last two jean or more polygamous polyga-mous marriages have been as rare in Utah as bigamous marriages in any other state but It would seem the nearer the people approach to com pllancewlth the J o ort law the more they arc to b liar rassed distressed and persecuted Istnlsjusl Is It compatible with the character of a great nnd magnan gCt imous nation to trample on the weak vu = N We might reasonably expect from Eme of the agiatl ahd adventurers of the far west who have rhinocer ous hide and India rubber con ci cocoa who think that the Mormons have no right other a bound t respect should at upon the principle 1 te prn ciple of the doggrel poet The Mormon people are quite appalllnf Knock them down and lick then la fan tag But It I t b hoped that on hop lightened statesmen will be I Igbtned Uen wi h governed gov-erned by higher more geierousapd magnanimous le5 Consider what kind of I republican formb government you will Have In Utah with IhrcbfoUrUis of the men oleo ihd children disfranchised The autocracy Russia the despotism despot-ism c European states would deserve de-serve the name of a republican as well ouch government BVerrlng to thin enfranchIsement of the slaves of the South Mr Caine sId I Is a gad commentary commen-tary upon the spirit of cur times to note Ule fact that on Weductdaj loot w bile the colored people of this district eC celebrating their emancipation from slavery tills committee was gravely considering a measure which would condemn t political slavery without n hearing without conviction a quarter of I million white American citizens most of whom arc not even accused ac-cused of any ciimc This kind of suasion has been tried upon people pple by the BrItish government for centuries cen-turies and we nil Inow the result attempted and it will fall wherever may b attpt Mr Caine referred to the 1lr Cne lefer leglsla tlve commission scheme of years ago and quoted Senator Edmunds views upon it as published in the = Y i New York Jrdtpendentaud claimed tut they ere equally applicable to the bill now beforetho committee lie quoted from the debates in then the-n during the passage of the EdmundsTucker bill and cited I senator Edmund as saying iitiiat upon a universally recognized principle prin-ciple 5cc would not undertake Jr interfere in-terfere with anybodys faith doc trine and worship and added Now will any person presume to say t me that I am not interfered with when I am disfranchised b cause I a a member of a certain mem order organizatlohfiirlBsocIaUon ore olnlzUotid iUon I think not I amiiet aJawycr but I bold such Interference to ben violation of the Constitution becailHs prohibiting the free exercise religion A who disfranchised Igloo man is dbfrnch is not free In the exercise of any thing The speaker then referred t the efforts made by the non polj gamous Mormons to place themselves in harmony with thereat of the nation He showed that the constitutional convention of Utah had placed an autlpolyamy clause in the constitution anUplymy cus cn tution which the people ratified The marriage law passed tJ the leg islature and the resolution of the same body favoring the enforcement enforce-ment of the anti polygamy laws as other laws arc enforced and that all such offenses be prohltltej He quoted statistics which showed that only six convictions for polygamy or bigamy had occurred in the whole territory of Utah during the year 1SS9 which included non Ior mon bigamists as well as polyca Llgml el plYg mil and this too notwithstanding notwithstand-ing the fact that the juries a especially charged t use great diligence in making inquiry into the oflenses of polygamy and unlawful cohabitation Thus United Slates marshals and their depute resort to all means legal and illegal to hunt up Mormons suspected of polygamous ofTensc Many arrests of Innocent jicople are mae and though thin n hal f1 1 to secure convlctionsthey ncverdil to secure thin fees Of course deputy marshals must live and Mormons bale no rights and they have few friends E they become an easy prey to the fee fiend i Gentlemen the speaker said tear from this proposition the vail of iten5e I is not to punish ly imlsts for every such offense sullen log all the lu penalties and disabilities dis-abilities intended to b Inflicted b > his measure The only persons af ecied by i are those who have I obeyed every law of their country who have subscribed to every n luired tet who have given and are rrdl daily giving evidences of their love for this government The title of germent 1t his bill should be changed to read A W to punish lc loyalty for it seeks to condemn to perpetual serfdom serf-dom a class of citizens who have transgressed no law and whose political fault If any has been trust ulncss in the national government Vhen this era of prescription for Utah commenced the ldtlnl claimed Intention was to bring the oungcr generation IntoaccorU with bcgovcrnment In good faith they accepted the governments regulations regula-tions They subscribed to the oaths and obeyed the laws and UUlran cblfment I the proposed reward I is breaking faith without the poor I excuse doing evil lint the good may come Mormon prboncrewhen before the courts charged with po ygamous offenses have e tJ been told c the judges that all the government requested was that they should promise to obey the law that the government did not desire to wreak vengeance upon them but to correct their rIt tlI if they would promise t obey the law in future they would escape with a nominal punishment liow different differ-ent the spirit of Uie measure under consideration Not only arc men 10 be disfranchised who have never broken any law but who he regfa ered an oath they would not do so hereafter An astonishing element in thl > matter is tat the measure Is seeking enactment without the endorsement of any party in Utah or the other pry want such legislation legis-lation Who asks for it Xo one who has any direct Interest In this question A few days ago I enquiod of the governor of Utah who I head he-ad he glernor emphatically that lie was taking no part and would not do 8 one way or another Prominent men here from Utah equally are reUctnt At this point Delegate Dubois In erruptcd the speaker and said that Governor Thomas exGovernor West and numbers of the Utah commission com-mission who were her all favored the bill and thought I should b come a law that Governor Thomas had made such a statement before two or three members of the committee com-mittee mlUl Caine replied he would only repeat what Governor Thomas had sold to him tat he Thomas had talked the matter over and had decided de-cided to take no ort either lor or against the bill and then remarked The committee have now boll statements before them and can Judge what kind of a man Governor I I Tom iii have heard this bill originated with a certain Utah Liberalwh hatred for the people of that Terri tory has doubtless been Increased because his own party now partial 1 y in power there has seen fit to Igor him I l said that he contemplates con-templates leaving tLih and wants to fire this jolsoned arrow that he may be remembered This Dan r presents no other but himself He has been recognized for years as a bitter blgoteciand fanatical enemy of the Mormon people I this a proper source from which t r prp inspiration for legislation would you strike down I whole people at the suggestion of their most pronounced and bitterest enemy ene-my For over forty years thin pee pie of Utah Jiave enjoyed popular elfgovernment Uill it not prove a great damage to thin Territory to emasculate the bone and sinew of its inhabitants To deprive a man of the franchise dries up his aspira tons he has little left to excite i ambition he becomes I political eunuchs Can a State the majority of whose people are in a relation of serfdom expect to achieve any irilllant future AH lost experience answers no During the delivery of his argument meat Mr Caine was asked by the I chairman Mr Struble If the Mormon Mor-mon Church had not been declared by Judicial decision in Utah to b a criminal organization remarking tat It was not because of their n iglous belief that It was now pr osd t disfranchise the Mormons but because they were members of a criminal organization the time Mr Caine answered that allowed him would not permit him explain then circumstances which ed t that socalled decision I was char that while passing through the Mormon endowment ceremonies certain oaths were taken against the United States and disloyalty to the government was inculcated in the endowment ceremonial He said ho lad been through the endowment ceremonies and could testify a a man of honorand truth that no such oaths or teachings of the character represented were Included In the ceremonial and that the decision was founded upon a bails of false fodnd1 W hood and rendered for political purposes He presented the officli declaration recently Issued by bled b-led log authorities 01 the Mormon Church from which he read extracts ex-tracts bog upon the points raised I by the chairman In conclusion he said I cannot believe tint any gentleman ot this committee who is honest and honorable In alt the relations lations of life who would shrink with horror from a proposition to participate in the robbery of any mans money or property who would spurn as I dog the mm who dared make such I suggestion I cannot believe thai you will condescend conde-scend To rob a IUple of that which I far more j recious to them than gold or sliver thelrlllwrty Mr Caine spoke abut an hour and was listened to with a lbte wl marked attention Even l hidebound a republican as Mr Dorse y of Nebraska Ne-braska characterized the speech a a strong 1d able presentation of the t case and aided tint tie proposed bill was far too sweeping In t provisions visions The hearing was continued con-tinued till Saturday when Judge Wilson will make an argument against tie bill Herald |
