| Show LIBERAL MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS IN Is the report of the proceedings la the house of representatives on dec ath published in the congressional record we find the following mr haskell I 1 desire unanimous ous consent to present at this time a memorial from the non mormon people of utah and which I 1 ask in may ay be referred to the committee on territories and ordered to be printed in the record mr burrows of michigan I 1 think this memorial would more properly go to the committee on oil the judiciary mr haskell I 1 have no objection to that reference there being no objection the following memorial was referred to the committee on the judiciary and ordered to be printed in the record secord MEMORIAL OF TH THE tue NON mormon MOEMON PEOPLE OF UTAH to dis eis excellency the tand fand the congress of the united states the undersigned undersigner under signed your memorial lets the territorial central committee of the liberal party of utah territory respectfully represent repress nt that the condition of political affairs fairlin in utah is so anomalous that the political distinct distinctions lons fons which prevail elsewhere in the united states have no application here the organization which we represent comprises all those outside of and politically opposed to the mormon church party we are variously styled by our opponents gentiles and outsiders but the name liberals has been adopted by ourselves as a designation sufficiently distinctive for our purposes the hostility which is manifested toward us in the terms outsider and gentile applied to us and which arises from the fact that we acknowledge tho the supremacy of the national authority and refuse allegiance to the rule of the mormon church and priesthood and deny its right to control the citizen in his political social and business affairs compelled the formation of our organization with this preface as a reason for the manner of this memorial and speaking as the authorized eu daives ot of loyal american citizens in utah and who it Is estimated pay more than one third of its taxes we proceed to a statement of the grievances to which we ask attention on the ath day of november jot last we polled very nearly five thousand votes and would have had bad a somewhat larger vote hai ha haj i J there been a possibility of our success in the election oa the lith day of october last the liberals of utah held a territorial convention at salt lake city composed of representative citizens from all parts of the TerrItory most of whom are not only of the highest intelligence and respectability but of long residence and experience in the territory identified with its interests and devoted to its development and prosperity among other declarations of opinion made j by this convention it was anani resolved that 19 we arraign the mormon power in utah on the following grounds j it exalts the church above the state in matters of purely administrative and political concern it perverts the duty of the representative in official and legislative matters by I 1 demanding that the interests and wishes of that beet sect and of tue the priesthood shall be made paramount considerations it destroys the freedom of the citizen by assuming j the right to dictate his political action and control his ballot it teaches that defiance of the law of the land when counseled by its priesthood is a religious duty it j encourages jurors and witnesses when attempts are made in the or binary course of law jaw to punish the crime of polygamy ys to disregard their duties in order to protect defenders who are of their faith it discourages immigration and settle ment upon the public lands except by its own adherents and by intolerance and gross personal outrages on non mormon settlers drives them from tuo too common domain it re and business en ter prise by commanding its mem bers to deal only with houses of which it approves approve thui creating vast monopolies in trade in the he interest of a few men who engross the favor of its hierarchy and enjoy the income of its people it opples bes ees the people by taxation unequal and unjust and ana its officers neither mako make nor are they required to give any satisfactory account of the bur it taxes the people to build schoolhouses school houses and therein teaches the tenets toneta of the sect beet by teachers licensed only by its prest priesthood hood moat meat ot of whom are incompetent and unlearned except in mormon doctrines it fills the public offices with bigoted sectarians sect arians and servants without regard toA capacity for official station or public employment it divides the people into classes by religious distinction and falsely teaches its adherents that those not of their faith are their enemies thus sowing bowing I 1 suspicion and bigotry among the masses manses it confers on woman the suffrage and then forces her to use it under the lash iash of its priesthood to perpetuate their power and her own degradation it robs thousands of women of honorable wedlock and brands their children with dishonor so that they maybe may be forever deterred from any effort for relief from I 1 its ts grap gra r ap p ina lna in a word it hai mad made utah eUtah a land of loyalty disloyalty dia disaffection and hatred toward the government has retarded its growth prosperity and advancement set its people keople at vai val variance latice and discord with the 50 of people in the united states and made its history a re preach to the nation for these of tenses to which many more might be added we arraign the mormon power in utah and invoke against it and its rou roua pretensions and practices the considerate judgment of the citizen voter the statesman and the christian and ind humbly submit that our attitude toward it is not only justified but demanded by every consideration that ought to control the true american citi citizen zenin in the discharge of political duty s your youn memoria lists in the name of those who made these declarations here deliberately reaffirm their truth and could now it if necessary add others to these specifications we shall presume therefore that there are evils which demand positive treatment at your hands bands the law of july 1 1862 forbidding polygamy and annulling certain acts of the legislative assembly of utah the act of june 23 1874 in reference to the courts of this territory and the act of march 1882 all conclusively clu ciu prove that your honorable bodies have real realized zed the necessity of national legislation to suppress sup press i i the evils peculiar to this territory each of these succeeding acts was more stringent than its predecessor and while the tho last one popularly known as the edmunds bill indicates an Ju intention to strike at the vital the political power of the mormon church we are in truth compelled to say that in its ita practical i operation it has not effected and will not nol effect the desired reforms while from reliable data we estimate that it dist ranches not les leas le leb s thon thou persons persona who would otherwise be voters yet such is the of the followers foi Jol lowers of the priesthood that such disfranchise menthia ment men thas haa no practical effect on the remainder of the beet sect the local government Is still composed of the mormon church and the mormon church constitutes the local government to as full an anex anez extent tent as before the dis franchised portion dictates the courle of those who are not frAnchised disfranchised dis as completely and absolutely as before and there are no indications ot of any desire or intention on the part tf if the lat ter to assert themselves as against the dis franchised church superIor sab sAs proof of this we a table compiled from the official returns showing the results of the elections for the last twelve years yearb it will be perceived that the gentile or liberal ticket was in a majority in only one of the twenty three counties and this after the fullest discussion in the press and on the rostrum that was ever had in the territory wo we respectfully submit that the failure after years ot active earnest endeavor of the loyal element in utah to make inroads upon the mormon vote or to win by political agitation and discussion any considerable number of mormon voters from allegiance to the mormon priesthood to loyalty to the national authority demonstrates that the ordinary american methods alo are without force or effect in dealing with the ills and evila evils that afflict the body politic in utah the mormon people regard the past efforts of the national government aa as weak and futile and aa as in that the nation is not in earnest in its avowed intention of suppressing polygamy and priestly domination in civil affairs in utah the laws already enacted have nerved served only as a gentle ing log consolidated the people strengthened the control of the mormon priests over their follower followers and fail fall ed to diminish the celebration dt 1 polygamous marriages for the reason that they regard the church superior to the govern government ment when the nation demona demonstrates that it is thoroughly in earliest earnest and takes all political power from the mormon people then and not till then will the vexed problem be solved A legislative council of say bay nine eleven or thirteen members to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate with power to legislate for the territory in place of the the present legislature in the opinion of the liberals of utah presents the most feasible and effective plan that has been yet suggested 8 ug the present election commission Comm lEsion provided by the edmunds bill composed as it is of able and honorable gentlemen have faithfully discharged their duty dutye but with their limited powers they are as we believe they themselves realize able to do but little toward setting the troublesome utah question JI this opinion wa was embodied in the last liberal platform platforms as follows 16 6 that while the act of june 1874 commonly known as the po ro land bill the act of march 1882 commonly known as the edmunds bill with the hoar amendment of july julys 1832 have all given great relief to the non mormons cormons of utah and while for this legislation we express our sincere thanks to the senators and representatives who originated and passed it we here repeat the resolve of our last territorial convention that no attempted remedy which leaves the political power of the territory under the control of the mormon priesthood will ever be successful in reforming the evils we complain of and that the peaceful thorough and effective remedy will only be found by the adoption of a measure by which the legislative power of the territory shall be given to a council or commission appointed by and under the authority of the united states and answerable to it for the faithful performance of its duties on this the canvass was made and it rec received elved the endorsement indorsement Indor of the liberal voters at the lut last election an appeal being made to the mormon voters to break from the control of their ecclesiastical masters in political matters and not make buch such extreme measures nem we do not ask that the government of the territory be turned over to the minority of its people although that might be eminently proper where as in this case only the mino miLo minority rity acknowledge and in good faith yield allegiance to the national authority but we do ask that the nation itself resume its authority over utah take taka back t the a power delegated to and abused b by y the territory and by its chozen chosen agents and officers make laws for tor and govern its people if ic it be that such a com corn mission might make oppress al re ve laws it is to be answered that even if this were a reasonable suggestion con freas fress has power to annuli annul its enactments and it might be proper to limit the law power to laws that have been or may be enacted in other states or territories it if the question of expense be raised it may be answered by saying that if the members of the pro posed council have the same pay and allowances that are now made to members of the legislature the present expense by reason ot of diminished numbers will be lessened two thirds thus far the liberals of utah have on this picket line of civilization maintained the local struggle against overwhelming odds they have reached a point where discouragement must ensue unless your honorable bodies provide measures whereby the same laws may be made and enforced in utah as in other states and territories of the union we therefore must earnestly pray that his excellency the resi pesi lent will recommend and the honorable the congress of the united states i will enact such measures as we have herein indicated and your memorial memoria lists lats will ever pary for the non mormon people of utah JOHN R S L CO ELIJAH SELLS SELIA sit salt lake co M M KAIGHN salt lake co WM MCKAY salt lake co A D SHURTLIFF morgan co JAMES G brown brows bro WN tooele thoele co 1 EA E A littlefield weber co F A SHIELDS weber co E EP P ferby FERRY summit co WM war LOUDER summit co A L BUCKLAND davis co 0 0 GOODWIN GOOD WIN cache co J W CHRISTAIN beaver co P RYAN EYAN beaver co F M box elder co ALEX GRAHAM gra GnA IrAm juab co AG A G sutherland utah co JOHN E HILLS utah co ulah ulab territorial liberal central committee bait salt lake city nov 29 1882 |
