| Show REPORT OF the THI utan UTAH commission OFFICE OF TILE tiie UTAH co commission salt lake city Utah November IS M olit since our last report of date april 29 1884 two important elections have been held heid in this territory the general election for county and pre cint omm off meers officers held on the of august gustand and the election for territorial delegate to the forty ninth cong conw congress gr ess on november 4 both these elections were receded preceded by revisions of the regi rexi registration n lists under our supervision and direction by which it Is believed that all poly were were excluded the tiie offices allied ailed in the several counties of tile the territory at tile the august election included among others those of probate j judge edgeco county anty clerk selectman sheriff recorder treasurer surveyor coroner prosecuting attorney county superintendent of district schools j justices of the peace constables c at the same time a number of municipal officers were elected in several of the cities of the officers so elected nearly all are mormons cormons who are not in fact living in polygamy the only exceptions are a few officers cers cens who are gentiles or non mormons cormons the vote polled at the august election was comparatively light out of registered gist ered votes there were only 20 votes cast tile the vote was so light light in salt lake city that if the gentries Gent ries rhes or non mormons cormons had all voted they would have elected several officers at the election for delegate to congress out of registered voters the total number ot of votes cast was 23 al 01 of these john johnt T came caine the candidate of the peoples or mormon party received votes and itans ford smith the candidate of the liberal or non mormon party received 2215 votes and scattering 20 26 votes john T calne caine having received a majority of all the votes cast was declared elected the delegate elect Is a mormon but he be does not now and never has lived in polygamy and therefore is eligible under the law we think we may properly say that the duties imposed upon us nave have been faithfully and successfully performed with the result at the late election as well as those formerly hoid heid under our supervision that all polygamists have been excluded from botin voting 1 I and holding holdim office after more than two years I 1 labor and experience here it becomes our duty to advise the government and the country that although the law has been successfully administered in respect of the disfranchisement of poly ga mists the effect of the same upon the preaching and practice of poly gamy has not been to improve tile uhe tone of 0 the former or materially diminish the latter eor tor a jear year or more after the effort to enforce thu law was initiated poly damic mamic teachings from the pulpit were very rarely heard and there were indications that the practice of polygamy might be expected to at least measurably decline but during the present year there appears to have been a revival the institution institutions is boldly defiantly defended and commended by the tiie spiritual teachers and plural marriages are reported to have increased in number in order to ascertain whether these reports as to the increase of plural marriages were well founded circulars were i issued s sued some months ago directed to our registration officers requesting ulleta twin to give tile the names of persons innie i la le and female in their respective ts who as they might have ga gui gul oo 00 reason to believe believe belleve had entered inlo into the relation since the passage ot of tn eEdmunds act our returns to these enquiries are imperfect there inere being six counties in which the population is exclusively ciu clu mormon and from which we have received no re poris reports these reports indicate that males and females have entered p polygamy since the passage of the law above referred to there is 19 possibly some significance in the tile fact that this reported increase in plural marriages seems to be coincident with the tile the mormon tei tel temple tempie at logan the most prominent and influential city in the northern section of the territory the dedication of this temple was attended with great pomp and ceremony A large concourse of people assembled there many of them from a great distance mormon mordou fanaticism was blown into a flame and andee we have information that pol rol gaible marriages at that time received received an additional Ip impetus pettis and although we have no official data upon which to base a statement because the record of mormon marriages if there is one in this territory is a sealed book to all the world it is undoubtedly true that an unusual number num berof berot of plural marriages followed this event there are four mormon on temples in utah at salt lake city mantl adanti logan city and saint george on only lythe the last two being finished these buildings have been erected at grest great cost the tile ex expenditure n d iture of the temple at salt L lake e C city i tv having reached nearly two tivo million dollars and although it was begun thirty one years ago irwill it will require five years more to complete it these temples are regarded by the mormon people with extraordinary reverence veralice ver ve rence blice their ordinary religious meetings are held in tabernacles or meeting I 1 houses iu in all the cities or settlements but the temples are intended for the celebration of certain ordinances din ances I 1 covenants and nays rays mysteries teries among others baptism for the dead and marriage ceremonies these ordinances din ances and ceremonies are supposed i by tile trie mormons cormons to have a peculiar efficacy and solemnity when they hey t are celebrated in one of these temples three fourths or more of the mormon adults male and female have nei i ver vcr entered into the mic relation yet every orthodox mormon i every member in good stand standing dg I 1 in the church believes in polygamy as a divine revelation this article of faith is as much an essential and substantial part of their creed as their belief in baptism repentance for the forgiveness of sins and the like there is however in utah and several of the states a sect styling themselves the reorganized church of jesus Chri christ christod ot latter day saints saint commonly called ja josephites who discard polygamy as a spurious revelation but who give mii uli mil mii faith and credit to al i the other so called revelations given to the I 1 prophet joseph I 1 these josephites are comparatively few in number in utah and are regarded by bythe the i orthodox church beaded by john johnjay tay lor as and hut but little better than apostates and infidels As an illustration of the of faith among the mormons cormons in regard to polygamy as well as their peculiar view of the higher law we call at j to an important polygamy case recently tried here the United States j vs judg rudger e r clawson T the e charge in i the indictment indi ciment was that on the day of august 1882 the defendant married florence aun xun dinwoodey with v I 1 t h whom he is still living as his wife from whom j 1 he has nut not been divorce df dand and that I 1 afterwards on the first day of june 1883 he be married lydia spencer the second count of the indictment charged char ed unlawful cohabitation under the glad ed munds act the members of this commission E were present and witnessed this trial i there were several features ot of the ce edings that made a strong imbres j sion upon our minds the biry diry had been selected under an act of congress i applicable applicable only to utah which would or ordinarily result in the em paneling of a jury approximately composed ot of half mormons cormons and half gentiles provided r there were no challenges but in this t case in pursuance of a provision of the edmunds act each furor was j asked do you believe it right for a 1 man to have more than one living and wife at the same time each and e every ve mormon in the box a few with citation Mi hesitation tation but nearly nearly all with promptness answered I 1 yes sir all such were successfully chal longed for cause the list of jurors drawn under udder the act of congress for toi 1 the year 1884 1 having been exhausted by these challenges and there being less than twelve remaining an open venire was issued so the pa panel nel nei was ed consisting of twelve all bein being non mormons cormons Mor mons this part of the proceedings affords strong confirmation of the opinion we have before expressed that all orthodox mormons cormons believe polygamy to be right and that it Is an essential part of their creed i the dury jury having been sworn a tra cad trial ensued resulting in a disi agreement of the jury at this trial the second wife e W was a S not i present as a d witness A new nent trial was I 1 begun on the succeeding day at which i the attendance of the second wife as a witness was secured this trial resulted in a verdict oi of guilty on both counts of the indictment the sentence was a fine of soo SW and four years imprisonment in the penitentiary the trial of this case has caused a profound sensation throughout this territory the defendant and his cwb wives together with many of the wit nesses belong to the better classow class of mormon society lie he is a young oung man the son of a bishop the lather married among other wives two daught erlof tile the late bri brigham hal bal n young it isa is a remarkable u stance that thai although althou I 1 11 this pol poi lc marriage had been no tor to lous ious in the community for many mally months there was no direct evidence of the iset until it was disclosed by the second wife who at first refused to testify but finally consented after submitting to imprisonment in the penitentiary one night for contempt of court incredible as it may appear amon among all the witnesses examined and there ther e were many including the immediate relatives relative of thep the parties artles arties the president and other high officers of the church every one except the last witness the thet second wife disclaimed all knowledge of the marriage when we remember that mormon plural marriages aret solemnized only in the temples and endowment houses which are in charge of high officers of the church that this particular marriage was proven by ad mission of the second wife to have occurred in this city and that all the relatives of both parties to the marriage reside here and were in dally daily adocia i tion with them it Is indeed strange tram ge that none of them should have been beeh i able to testify as to the truth or falsity of the charge before pronouncing judgment on the verdict judge zane propounded the usual question have you yon any further legal cause to show shown why judgment should not be pronounced against you yon the defendant your honor lii onor since tho the jury ury that rece recently aly sat on my case have seen proper to nind find a a 6 verdict of guilty I 1 have only his this to say why judgment should not be pro bounced against me I 1 may much regret that hat the laws of 0 my country should be in conflict with the laws of bf gadbut God but whenever they do I 1 shall invariably choose the latter it I 1 did not so express myself I 1 should feel myself unworthy of the cause that I 1 sent bent the constitution ot of the united state expressly C 71 al ersly states that congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of re to ligion or prohibiting the tree free exercise thereof enof th it cannot be denied that marriage when attended and sanctioned by religious rites and ceremonies Is ia the establishment of religion the law of and the edmunds bill were expressly designed to 0 operate 2 erate erato against marriage as practiced and be believed Z eved in by the latter day saints they are therefore eq unconstitutional and cannot command tile the same respect that a constitutional tut ional law would that is all I 1 desire to say bay saymour your honor the court the constitution of the united states as construed by the supreme court and by the authors of that instrument does not protect any person in the practice ot of polygamy while all men have a right to worship god according to tot the he dictates dictate sot ot their own consciences and to entertain any religious belief that their conscience reason aud and a judgment 3 u g e t dictate the they have not the ri night right t to e engage g ge in a practice which hie tile the A american erl eri people e ae through the t e laws of their country coun r declare cc are to 0 be unlawful a ul and injurious t to s society let iet the view v i ew expressed by clawson is in conformity with the uniform sentiments of the mormon people but while this is their creed it is evident that many mormons cormons are reluctant to enter into the relation and it would be strange if the trial and conviction of rudger endrei clawson should not have a restraining influence upon the young toung mormons cormons Mor mons before passing from this subject we wish to bear testimony to the marked ability with which this cause was prosecuted by the united states al district strict attorney and his assistants following this trial there was another conviction for polygamy in the case of joseph bevans HE H evans vans on the evidence of nis his second wife who wilo was a willing witness against bilm him he lie was sentenced to a tine line of and imprisonment in in the penitentiary f for or three and a half years in another case lately tried in the same court that of john connelly there was an acquittal upon evidence e tending to show that the prosecution was barred by the statute of limitations 0 wo we advert to these for the purpose of giving information of current events in the 1 territory I errit ory as well as to give dive confirmation to a statement made in our report submitted april 29 90 1884 as follows in regard to those provisions of the act of congress relating to the punishment of the crime of polygamy which appertains to the courts of justice and not to this commission we beg leave to suggest that a vigorous enforcement of those provisions ought to go with the exe execution ution of those provisions that come under the authority of this board and we tik a ae e assured that by vigorous and elarge energetic id action the guilty parties call cail be brought to justice in many cases we have more than once in our former reports suggested that as the gov eminent has to deal here with a people who are wonderfully superstitious and fanatically devoted to their system oi of lell leil xion gion ion lon the fhe public should not expect as te the immediate result of the present laws of congress nor indeed of any legislation however radical the sudden overthrow of polygamy and we now repeat that the most thalean that can be predicated upon such legislation is that it will if no step backward is taken soon ameliorate the harder harderson con editions of and hasten the dav for i s final extinction we ve have understood and believed that the edmunds law when enacted was considered and offered by congress as a tentative measure so to speak with the intention on their part of going further in the same direction al if the information to be furnished by tile the agency appointed to administer the law should warrant accordingly from time to time as we have been able to perfect our judgment as to the requirements of the case we vre have by reports to the president advised additional legislation in tile the nature of amendments to the original act such recommended amendments have been embodied in senate lull uail no na which was passed py by the senate at its last session ana and is is now pending in tile the house of representatives senta tives if these should pass into law they would greatly strengthen the hands both of the commission and the courts but the invests investigation atlon and the |
