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Show REPORT OX THfc WISFRAJiCHkE-MEAT WISFRAJiCHkE-MEAT BILL. Foil purposes of Jilstory we Jicre prvserve the following material in relation to the Struble bill,nowpeiiJ-iu bill,nowpeiiJ-iu in Congress, the object of which is to disfranchise the Iattcr-day Saints. Wo do this that it may be known, in the days when confusion shall sweep over our now fair and prosperous country, what were tho names and personality of the men whose wicked conspiracies bore fruit so disastrous.. Follow Ing is the report proper of the House Committee on Territories, on the bill. Mr. Struble, from the Committee on Territories, submitted the following follow-ing report: (To accompany II. R. tXi.) Tho Committee on Territories, bav-rofr bav-rofr under consideration IIone bill Z"o. 9265, aaieading an act entitled, "An act to amend section 5352 of the Revised Statutes of the United btates in reference to bigamy, and for other purpose, approved March 22, 1S2," respectfully report the samo back to tho House and recomrnond .Its passage pas-sage The act of March 3, IS37, amending section 533.: of tho Rev iscd Statutes of the United States, commonly kaovu as the "Edmunds-Tucker" act, provided pro-vided that an oith should bo taken as a condition precedent to tho right to ygio or hold office iu Utah Territory. In accordance with the law, the Utah Commission prepared tho following form of italh to bo taken by intending voters viz.: "I, ....... ......... being duty sworn or affirmed), depce and say thai I am orcr twenty-one yean of age, that I bate resided re-sided in the Territory of Utah (or fix xaeeiha lut ra&t, and ihii precinct lor one mhntn immediately preceding the dstc hereof, that I am a naure bci n or na.c-al Ud (u the cito may be)itizen of the Lntte! states, that my lull name t .... . , that lam ..... years of ace, that my place of balnc4iil ........; that X am afrlngeor married mix, thai the name of my iiTfal wife U and that I will support the CoatUtauon ot the United Slate . and will f auhfnUy obey the laws thereof, and especially wilt obey the act At ConsreM approred March S2. 1S92, eatuledAn act to amend eccttoa 3332 ot the l-ensed statntes of IheUnited Sutes In ref crence to biaay, and for other purposes," and that I will also obey the act of Congress ot March 3. l&7,enUUed "An act to amend an act entitled An act to amend section iSKof the Rented Sutates ot ike bnired States la reference to b-glmy. and for ether porpotes, approTCd March ti, 1&-2.,M in respect ot the crimes In said actdcaned and forbidden, and that Ijnlliiot, direetfyior indirccUr, aid or aoet,connel or advise. any other person to corns.! anyxl jaid crimes draned by act ot Congress as poly gamy, bigamy, unlawful ohabitauon. In cest, adaltery and f omicajon I!yrefemng to the law It will bo seen that it was the Intention of Congress Con-gress to bind the voter to an observance observ-ance of thelawa jiossed for tho suppression sup-pression of polygamy. At the timo the la was enacted tho opinion was entertained bv many persons that no Mormon would tako 6uch an oath without having formed a clear intention inten-tion to obey it,and doubtless this opinion opin-ion had a controhng effect iu tho pas-sageof pas-sageof the law. Tho People's rarty(Mormon) issued an address to tbevote with respect to the oath, its effect, meaning, etc, using the following language: The question that intending voters need therefore, ak themselves, are these Are wo guilty ot the crimes In said act, or, hat ewe the present intention of committing commit-ting theso crime, or of aiding, abetting, causing, or advising any other person to commit them? Male citliens who un answer these questions in the negaUTe can quality under tae existing laws as voters and office holders. Probably no language could have been used more misleading than the above. The very pjrpose of Congress in passinc the law, and the plain letter of the Ian , contemplates that thereaf. ter tho voters and office-holders of Utah Territory should give tuo laws for the suppression of polygamy a firm and loval support, jet tho Mormon voters were initructed by their leaders that unions at the timo of registration tboy f hen and there tad a present tnten-Xwi tnten-Xwi to violate said law they were eligible elig-ible for registration under ltand quail-n quail-n d to take the proscribed oath. It cannot can-not bo successfully denied thai it was tho purposo and intention of the law that those who should register, hold offices, or act at jurors under it should havo a formed purposo to thereafter obey iti requirements, rtuttbe result of tho registration under tho advico given bt tho Mormon leaders rendered rend-ered the law absolutely nugatorj In accomplishing tho purpose for which it was enacted. The fact is, that with respect to tho purpose and intention of the Mormon voters concerning polygamy, polyg-amy, tho law has had no effect, and la todav a dead letter. An cxtra-t from the report of tho Utah Commission, for the year 1SS7, relating to this subject, marked cxhibil"B,"is hereto annexod. It will, therefore, be seen that additional addi-tional Jegi"lation Is nece'saij iugle full form and effect to tho existing laws. The bill reported by your com-mltteo com-mltteo will, in thelroplnlon, incct the difficulty. Similar provisions havo been successfully suc-cessfully enforced In the Territory of Idaho, and tho Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed its validity, Iu tho case of Dav is vs. Reason, a copy of which opinion Is hereto annexed, marked exhibit "A." 3b religions right is invaded, and no Constitutional Constitution-al objection can be urged to as passage. pas-sage. It wRl close the door to the evasions which have made the present laws inoperative, and will, in the opinion opin-ion of your committee, be effectual in the extirpation of polygamy. We also append extracts from the reports of the gov ernors of Utah Tcr-rltoo Tcr-rltoo for tho yoara 1SS7, lSS,and ISSP.andof tho Utah Commission for the years 16S7 and 1SS9, which fully explain the condition of affairs In the Territory. Attached to the report are appendices ap-pendices A and B. The former Is the opinion of the Supremo Court of the United States in the caso of Satnuil D. Davis ts. H,.G. Season, sherifl of Oneida County, Idaho Territory, appealed from the Third Judicial District of the Territory of Idaho, commonly known as the Idaho test oath case. A synopsis of .this decision lias heretofore been given In Uie Xmi8,and it is not necessary to givo.it here. For historical his-torical purposes, however, it w 111 ha preservedntlre in tho DtSEr.EX. WU3CX.V. Appendix B Is comprised of extracts ex-tracts from reports rendered to the Interior Department by the Utah Commission and Governors West andThomns The, account of tho registration and election of 1SS7, as given in the majority report that year of tho Utah Commission, Is reproduced, re-produced, as is a portion of. tle ma-, jority re-port of the same body for ISS9, which almsto convey tho impression im-pression that tho Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an organized or-ganized conspiracy against thu laws andiustitutionsof Uiecuuntry. That portion of Governor West's report forlS", which gives an account of the corri-sj-onJcnco relative to the constitutional convention of ISST, which took place between John R. Wbijs!er,ehairman of the People's Territorial Central Committee, and J. B. Rosborougb, chairman of the Central Committee of tho Democratic Demo-cratic Party of Utah, the chairman and members of tho Territorial Republican Re-publican Commiltec, and J. L. Rawlins, chairman of the Democratic Demo-cratic Club, is also reproduced. All this appeared in the Nru s at the time. A lengthy extract from the rejwrt of Governor Wat, for tho year 1SSS is given. This report re-port was published, we believe, by only one newepat.r iu the Territory! Terri-tory! the chief ' 'Liberal" organ. It was so full of misrepresentation and falsehood as to be appropriately suited to the columns of that sheet. In tho portion quoted by the congressional committee Is contalued tho statement that tho charter of Z. C. M. I. provided, as a condition to become a stocs holder, membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints. The false and absurd character of this assertion was shown iu theso columns. A long extract from the report of Gov crnnr Thomas for 1Ss9, the most Important portions of which were given in the News, closes Appendix B, and the aggregation aggre-gation of material presented by tho cotnmittcu in surport of favorable action on lliu disfranchisement bill. It would be a long and w eary task to ittcmpt to scparato the small amount of truth contained in the conglomerate mass of falsehood, misrepresentation and absurdity with which a majority of the House Committee on Territories has sought to bolster up its report It has o-tenslbly tried to show what sort of people tho "Mormons" are, and in the clljrt has outraged the rules of right and logic which ought to gov crn in such a proceeding, proceed-ing, by gathering information exclusively ex-clusively from their enemies. Tho members of the Utah Commission Com-mission who signed the majority reports re-ports quoted from by the congressional congres-sional comnultre, and the lucum-benU lucum-benU of the gubernatorial seat in Utah, who hivu furuhhed aid to the disfranchisement scheme, cannot can-not ecape the responsibility it hich contemporaries and posterity will attach to the efforts madu by them to destroy religious liberty upon the American continent, nor for the consequences which may attend those efforts. |