Show IS ea E 30 M 44 ean am ph 1 l OF or I 1 10 N W 11 II 1 HOOPER an 7 OF UTAH jh the house of representatives january 2818 TJ mr sir speaker the delegate sroni from montana territory has seen lit fit to signalize the close othie brief career in this house by an attack upon the people of utah as ungenerous as it is uncalled led for fors as in lit statement as it is disingenuous in deduction the motive for tor this elaborate ela eia lorato attack I 1 will not now pause to question but I 1 should bo be unfaithful to the tho trust of 0 my constituents did I 1 permit his bis remarks to pass without some brief reply lie ile tells the house that freedom of speech of the tho press and of 0 public worship are arc unknown in utah and that a government of the people by the people for tho the people does not exist there his first charge is utterly baseless his bis second is unfortunately to somo some extent true not through the disposition but in ili consequence of the misfortunes of my constituents u ants there aro arc six fix si daily papers published in lit utah of this number three are arc hostile to t lie mormons cormons Mor mons and their columns are arc con with and abid denunciation of that people and of all who attempt t hei r defence tim pait palt lake tribune and corinne ibe myrter jrr irr are arc constant evidences ot of the unbridled liberty of the press As iq I q a rule public meetings have havo been free tree from interruption once or twice tivice audiences audience composed nine tenths of mormons cormons Mor mons haro havo have hare neglected to listen patiently to insulting assaults upon their religious faith falth and avo have ave shown hown their disapprobation by voice loice but never by but there has lias been less disturbance of this character than can be ima found in the hl history tory of every town of equal population in lit the united states tho the presbyterian an episcopal methodist and cat t boilo hollo ilij ral fal t s havo have church organization organizations edifices an and d schools at various places in utah thermo there is no instance on r rord record ord of any interference with public worship and the pulpit of the mormon ormon tabernacle hag haff ever been open to and klebs times ben ban filled by distinguished clergymen of other othe faiths a liberality which ilaa liaa 1 never been reciprocated it tho misa missionaries iona lona ries rles have failed to convert my constituents it lias has certainly not been tor for lack either of opportunity or audiences the gentleman referred with somo some feeling and eloquence to the fact that the utah laws laurs provide for identification of ballots my answer is that this is the tho means my I 1 n le adopted to maintain ho the pu purity r of the tho he haliot ballot ballot and to anid for purring purging t the ha list t of illegal I 1 in mo event ut ta a contested election the pioneers of utah lived in illinois before they marched into the wilderness the piali plan they adopted was copied froin the laws of that I 1 t state stator where it if I 1 am lot not misinformed the system still prevails the statement that tho the nauvoo legion under which name the militia of 0 the territory is organized ever marched through the streets of salt lake city or any an other place laco lace in lit utah and took possession of the polls is as utterly without truth or basis of truth as is the other statement that tha ten thousand miners or ten miners were wore ever excluded from tho the privilege of jot suffrage ethe facts concerning the nauvoo legion are aro these A governor who was sent to utah about three years ago gave an echi bl dionot his authority while there bv by the issuance of an extraordinary proclamation forbidding the assembling of the legion A federal judge was as found who wiio sent bent the officers of a company of mi miltia atia otia to prison at camp camis douglas because forsooth lor sooth on the reception of a new set of instrument instruments a by their band they met as ho he ruled in violation of that proclamations so stringently has that proclamation been enforced as law that my constituents have been threatened with arlous various pains and penalties if in lit the capacity of militia they should assemble to take part in the celebration of the anniversary of their count rys independence the representative from montana must have been bat partially formed informed iu or he would never have hanc hazarded the assertion that the church of jesus christ of latter day saints has been clothed with such power by the territorial legislative assembly that it has been enabled not only to cutoff apostates acosta teb tes from the church but to pursue such ap apostates estates with the rigors of the law lair despoil them of their substance or to expel them and their wives and children from utah I 1 could cite many instances to the contrary instances of men who have been brou brought glit to utah by the generous help of her pioneers who have accumulated fortunes from her people who have taken ua unto ito themselves wives from her daughters who nho have apostatized and who haye have been cut off from froin association certainly but who still enjoy in utah not only their fortunes but the society and ministrations trat ions of the extra wives wires with which they provided themselves immediately before their apostasy apo stacy the Mor mon mormon mony mons mr speaker possesses and exercises no llo greater corporate powers or privileges than are arc enjoyed by every considerable religious body in this country and visits upon its recusa recusant t members only those spiritual penalty penalties I 1 which elsewhere follow apostasy apo stacy the law since repealed repeal edy edg whose object was ivas to simplify and purify tho the practice tice of law in utah seems to have specially excited the indignation of the representative from crommon montana my people are experimentalists in social science in minore minoro more moro way was s than one female suffrage has been adopted and in the constitution of tho the proposed state of deseret minority representation and three fourths verdicts in civil cases are aro all provided tor for I 1 L a apprehend that our pioneers thought it well weil to dl discourage i courage lawyer sor at least to endeavor to induce them to tell felt the truth they seem to have aban abandoned donO the effort tou rou tor for the law is repealed can wo we marvel at the feelings of the gentleman from montana on this subject when we learn that he resided for a while at salt lake city and his shining legal abilities were permitted to remain unnoticed was it then that his dislike of the people ix ople and the laws of utah was ivas born was it then that this law against tho the labye lawyers loomed up to him as tho the causo cause of his A nonsuccess oil oll much has bc b cai eyl saki about largo grants of lands and franchises of roads roada by tho the legislative assembly of utah with respect to the first let me say say sav that with the exception of one or two tracts of land which have been proffered and are arc held for the purpose of conducting an experiment experimenting in agricultural operation cooperation co thero id 14 not a pei pet person pelson son association or corporation in ili utan utah owning one thousand acres of land while winie the tho bulk of the tho land is held in lu small smail tracts a farm of eighty acres being an exceptionally largo one conein in that country and ninety per cent centon of the householders of utah are aro freeholders living on their own premises when thia is contrasted with the thirty and forty and fifty thousand acre ranches of california and the private principalities of nevada idaho and montana the answer ia Is all clent we arc told too about franchises why i mr speaker there is not to my knowledge a toll road in lit utah while the lagis legis lazurca of montana of idaho and of nevada when nevada was a territory and the tiie gentleman from montana tana was as I 1 understand a member of her territorial assembly granted toll road francl franci franchises liscs ilses and canal and railroad and water and gas eriv privileges until a map of th the tho 0 toll roads of nevada territory resembled a picture of an immense centipede with a leg le sprawled up every canyon and anti on boti hoti imin loin i bides sides of every stream the land has liaa icen been open at salt sait lake city over two there arc are hundreds deeds of thousands of acrea of unclaimed I land anti open to preemption pre emption and homestead entry and those who wish to till the soll boll may do EO so unmolested but the ipie people who according to the gentle gentleman igan jAnn from montana are nrc treated eo so badly arc are not moral monal agriculturists they thes hey bey prefer to mine for the precious metals or prospect for federal the ilic truth IF mr speaker that nelv new countries need bis sIs special celal local legisla legislation tiou in order to induce capital to embark in public improvements there was a brood deal of this class of legislation in lit all the territories until congress intervened and prohibited it but there was far less of it in utah than in any of tiie the other territories the gentleman complains that tiie tile probate I 1 m coulta have hate had chancery aud common law jurl juri giten given therin them by territorial enactment weil well what whitt of it the territories of nevada nerada and idaho under organic acts ot of similar phraseology se gave gaye their thein probate courts divorce jurisdiction common law jurisdiction to the extent of chancery jurisdiction ion lon to the same amount made the judges masters in chancery for the district courts and I 1 till think pave gave a vc them limited criminal jurisdiction i neither the policy nor non the authority of this legislation was ever eter questioned in the other territories it Is true that a utah territorial district judee has decided that the legislature of the territory had no power to grant this jurisdiction but the question Is on appeal to the united states supreme court and pending its it a decision I 1 can only say bay that the rulings of the united states supreme court heretofore on the decisions of utah ll 11 h t territorial e ari jurists have not been of a e character lit tit a m et e r to td orial encourage the idea that they rank among the great jurists of the country but mr speaker my imperfect ilca lica hearing which prevented my distinguishing all his bis remarks with my imperfect memory of that which I 1 did hear of the vent gent lemans speech which is not in the globe tod today to d day a 1 but beems seems to have been withheld for rev revision 1 will not permit penult me to follow him further the people of utah arc are neither disloyal to the government of the united states nor disregardful disregard fui ful of its rights but thet they do bot not deserve to be condemned for their endeavors to obtain officers and judges of their own choosing ilc the federal officers and judges sent to the territories ri have not usually men who could achieve public confidence at home borne there are honorable exceptions but as a ruie rule it is the debris of the legal profess profession lon lou and the discarded of political conventions who are appointed to fo territorial office cle clo the tho territories have been recognized dumping grounds tor for political garbage and utah has had her share her people have heard ot of the decisions of T merai meral judges in a neighboring territory being eing bought and sold with scarcely a decent cover to the corruption they have known a federal judge to open court in a condition of inebriety with a harlot seated by hi side on the bench they have known a federal judge to sell his appointment for a years salary and his bis successor agree to pay the price and trust to luck to support his family in the interim and they naturally prefer judges who whey it if they are not learned lawyers are at least honest men the laws of utah which the tilo gentleman from montana demands shall be revised may not be perfect there is probably room for improvement but certainly these laws have never impeded the public progress nor diminished private wealth them there is no territory er ry in this union ahem taxation is so light 19 t or private to rights more secure there i is s no territory er ry in this union where capital embarks embar wi with h more confidence and freedom railroads are built without subsidies of money moncy or land manufactures tarlia thrive without public blie bile bounties and there is not one dollar opt oft of public indebtedness of any character either territorial or local county or city mr speaker utah is no longer aa an unknown country the great overland road runs rims through it and th the e pulses ulses of trade throb to its utmost con n nes neg es Y from the assault ot of the gentleman from montana iap lap aap peal to the house and the country and I 1 appeal with confidence for many honorable gentlemen upon this ficor ioor have visited utah within the last two years I 1 ask them who it itla Is that complains of mormon laws and usages Is it the capitalists and business busin ess men and milin mill a d furnace and mine mille owners or is it a little knot muot of emigrant political adventurers and their satellites twenty millions of capital from the atlantic states and europe have during the last two years heen been cen een invested in industrial enterprises in utah from theme those who represent depre ent and manago itsou it you shall hear no word of censure or complaint it is the lazzaro lazzaroni nl alone whose voices beat tho air airia in loud denunciations of the mormons cormons Mor mons and even they can find no present material for ammunition even hey acy they are compelled to go back from six to sixteen years and grope in tho the tivilia twilight gliton of table for causes of complaint mr speaker I 1 shall present no combar ison lson son of the tho relative e claims of utah and colorado to self seif government t I 1 offered the amendment utah as a state because I 1 thought that it the house should feel inclined to be ren gen generous erous orous to colorado it might at tho the same fame time bo be disposed to be bc just to utah I 1 attempted to withdraw my amendment because I 1 iivo was threatened that unless edid idid I 1 did so the tiie gentleman from montana who was loaded for the contingency woula would bo be discharged at my constituents I 1 ho hoped bt by the withdrawal to placate tho the a assailant nt of my people but it seemed that dispi ece eco h bad had to be bes spoken mr speaker I 1 would not now withdraw t be the amendment if I 1 boum and aind I 1 hope that helio the tho hello house hoube use ube will suffer a vote to bo be taken upon it I 1 expect to live to seo fee utah an honored and equal commonwealth in lit the american union it not now there will come a day when her people will iiii bo accorded tho the equal manhood citizenship which they crave of all tho the plans pro proposed for solving the so called mormon Momi orl oil problem it has hag not to yet A been suggested that the lip ija is to treat the people of utah exactly as you ten would treat honest hon people anywhere it there ten tea Is a social problem to silv c it Is either helow below or above the reach roach of political legislation it there Is a religious anomaly to be harmonized it is bt not tobo tobe to bo reached to packed juries or judicial operators there are arc one hundred and thirty thousand industrious earnest earnesti thriving progressive gres sive people in utah each month mouth month adda adds to their theiu numb number ers cra they are resident residents si and not rn meme mere ro deniz denizens Cna of the tho land they thet are reclaiming the waste desert land they are building canals and railroads they are constructing ting factories and milis mills opening itil 1111 mines nes and felling forests and making the |