Show REPORT OF THE UTAH utan commission TO TILE THE OF tiie THE INTERIOR A LENGTHY disquisition ON AFFAIRS IN UTAH IN WHICH THEY FLATTER themselves THAT TILE THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF ANTI antl MORMONS HAVE RESULTED IN AN INCIPIENT CONTEST WITHIN THE CHURCH 4 COMMEND THE FEDERAL OFFICIALS EXPLAIN WHAT TILE THE LAW WAS ENACTED FOR HOW MERCIFUL THE COURTS HAVE BEEN AND HOW THE legislature RECOMMEND additional legislation SOME outrageous suggestions submitted oct oot 1885 sir we have the honor to submit a brief history of the he transactions and proceedings orthis of this commission since our last report of nov kov 18 ism to secure certain heretofore made and to present others for additional LE in the nature of amendments amend ments meats to the existing laws for the suppress suppression lon lou of polygamy which a thorough contina ous otis and careful investigation has com corn mended blended to our judgment the usual annual revisions os cd the etah registration lists for the present year were duly and thoroughly made at the time and in the manner and f form orin prescribed in the local rec rep registration i law ey by offices appointed b by this board and the general gener all ali election f following ol lowing such revisions was held on the ad day of august last the principal officers chosen at the election were commissioners to locate university lands members of the Cor cot mogil rocil and house of representatives of the I 1 legislative assembly also county and precinct officers throughout the territory in a few election precincts votes were cast for the office of territorial superintendent of district schools but were not canvassed by the canvassing board because in the JUDGMENT OF THE commission confirmed by the opinion of the attorney general of the united states the baff 0 office ce can only be filled by appointment of the governor subject to confirmation confirma by the legislative council no person living ill in the practice of polygamy was allowed to re register reister 11 ister lster or vote 1 nor was any such person elected or commissioned to any office at this nor at any previous election held under the supervision of the commission this point therefore has been surely reached that th the e name of A polygamist CAN NOT NOW pow NOW mow BE FOUND upon the registration lists and none of this thi class are holding office nevertheless it Is true that nearly all the meers officers off omm chosen at the last election as in the others t to 0 which reference is made are mormons cormons who while ahil e they do not actually live in polygamy subscribe to the doctrine of polygamous marriages marriages as a divine reve lat lation ion ioa a law unto all higher and more binding upon the conscience than any an y human law local or national one very notable e exception mc eption however however to this general rule was furnished f in the last election in tho county of summit in this county the entire non mormon ticket was elected and among the cers thus chosen was a member of the house of representatives of the legis begis s dative assembly he is the first person not a member of the tho stormon church and opposed to their system who has been elected in many years in a former report we called attention to the fact that a number of SUITS FOR DAMAGES were instituted in 1882 against the commission by certain mormon citizens whose names had been excluded from registration and who are not permitted r to vote the district court decided these cases against the plain miffs tiffs and on appeal to the supreme court of the territory these decisions were affirmed an appeal having been ta kenby the plaintiffs to io the supreme courton the united states the decisions of the court below were sustained as to the members of the commission will while ae the opinion delivered by the supreme court in these cases somewhat restricted the number of those who were excluded from suffrage by the commission betit yet it proved to be a timely and valuable interpretation of the law affirming the constitutionality of the act and settling the meaning of several provisions which were of doubtful and difficult construction in our report f for or 1881 we stated that there llad had been an increase in the number of plural marriages during that year placing the aggregate number of males and fen fer females nales who had entered that relation as nearly as could be lie ascertained certa ined at Ac according cordin to the best information we have been lne able to obtain there have been VERY FEW polygamous MARRIAGES during aring the thie present year it would not however ow eVer eyer bp prudent pru ilent elent W consider this other ther than a 4 ti p eri evi of the practice tice resulting from irom 0 m the rigorous enforcement enle of the 0 le law in iq all its it parts party 40 and und not an actual surrender occasioned by a general and decider decide champ I 1 of sentiment regarding the dp carno ring its itself if indeed if all operations ohp irp lip present law by the commission and apol the he courts should at once cease or even if f ll 11 halting baiting policy should take the place of t the he rigorous in active f orceil forc eit is alt ait altogether ogeth likely that plural marrying would again become very general in utah the ranil attitude of the Gove government rume at t inland ful jul and energetic execution of the law the recommendations of ane cakmis Cam mis sam for additional legislation advancing step by step as the exigencies 0 o the vila case seemed to demand the f fear eari ess prosecutions of offenders in the c courts arts all sustained ana atia encouraged by an almost unanimous public sent senti ime trl tri t throughout the country have exert ed d in the past year A repressive UPON tub TUK MORMON M nople PEOPLE i i ne never neven ver ven r before experienced by thes theal since their establish establishment anent in utah th evidence of this comes to us in mauv many w ways S T the plea of guilty entered in seventeen cases of unla unia unlawful tf ul cohabitation with the assur assurance anc e to the court by many of the persons thus arraign arraigned em thattie that they would not thereafter offend against the he law lam themselves nor advise counsel aid norabel nor abet in auy any way its violation by others the constanti const anti antl dumber number of those in hiell standing and influence in the church who are now known to counsel full lull obedience to foiw laws affecting poly pois polygamy the vehement exhortations by the high priests of the ot of who whom in arenow are now fugitives from justice addressed to the faithful ul urging them to live their religion at whatever sacrifice the appeals of the newspaper organs oi of the church to the fanaticism of the radical elements of their f lowing following ol in which winch the officers of justice honestly and administering tile the lair laic are bitterly denounced noun ced while those of their o onn own oan an members who have declared their intentions ini i tent ions in the yie f future to obey the flaw are branded as traitors to their ch church wit bit land and their people f from rora whom all fd howship should effle I 1 d be withdrawn AH ALI these are EVIDENCES OF MUCH INTERNAL li AGITATION and show that independent thought and action among the people are com comi ins to assert themselves more mora and more this incipient contest within the church however feeble on tile the one sidel sides and corresponding V strong on the i other is an encouraging feature of the utah situation it is is the fear of this thit i which has inspired t ie threats of ostracism it so freely indulged in ill by the leaders of the chutela towards all who declare their Inteli intention tion to obey the laws it Is true that some soine who had offered and were ready and willii wil wll fiig when armig arraigned ned to give assurance to courts that they would henceforth rth yield suil lull obedience to the law afterwards succumbed to those assaults and went to prison rather than accept liberty at the expense ot of the withdrawal of all religious religions social and business fe fellowship but there will be more hereafter who will accept the law JAW and abide by it and fewer who will wiil prefer the penitentiary in order to escape the persecution a of the church as the vigor of the law is increased by additional I 1 legislation egl egi every step forward by the government will give more strength than and ano courage our to the men whose desire is to respect and obey the law A single step backward in legislation or in the tb administration of the present law lair if it nothing more shall be given in the way of legislation will help the church to crush out this growing spirit of opposition and perhaps lose lobe to the movement against polygamy all that ha ik been gained by the passage 1 of the edmunds act in the enforcement of this existing law the present off omm meers officers of the federal courts in utah are ENTITLED TO SPECIAL CO commendation the performance of the arduous and trying duties imposed upon them has been characterized by decided abille ability Y untiring nn tiring zeal and unprecedented success since the present prosecuting attorney whose appointment hwu two years ago was made upon the earnest request of the commission was wa 4 installed in his office 83 indictments have been found for polygamy and unlawful cohabitation them there have been 23 convictions and 43 cases are now awaiting trial A large larye proportion ro portion of ais mis this class of cases is in the court presided over by the chief justice of the territory at salt lake city the civil docket of this thia court asvery is very large but polygamy cases have been given precedence over all others the great increase iner easu easo of buti ness brought to this court by the active prosecution of offenders under the edmunds act has made it necess necessary tr that the appointment of an addi additional tiona tlona judge in that territory be authorized thorl zed ed by Con congress gres il it is nate at this time that trie remuneration for such services as havu have been rendered during the past two vears is so small that the prosecuting attorney and his assistant hive llave ir it necessary considering personal interests interest sto to TENDER THEIR resignations the very best talent coupled with the utmost integrity of ter Ls Is essential for success in this service and cheso are posses possessed ell eli vil hi in th the full e fist 1 desree degree by the present incumbents the loss of these thase efficient officers is much regret regretted cd b by every citizen of it utah regardless gard less ess of 17 party affiliations who deoro taa te e territory may bo ho relieved of polygamy the TO polygamy in Q ufah utah lay much stress upon the fact that the prosecutions under the edmunds act are directed solely against those who maintain cie te polygamous relations aged sexual dere fictions by lie persons who do not belong lor jor on church are not investigated and punished under tiie the edmunds my andi tuat therefore the execution of the law is partial but this Is an irron i thelah the law WAS NOT AT individual lascivious PRACTICES bit but against the assault made by the mo mormon normon moti moli church upon the most cherished d of our civilization th the e system the laws aws for the suppression of polygamy were ha apprehension that ft this practice should be oe even toler atef anywhere in the united states it I 1 might ate ight one day become a serious menace to the institution of monogamy which the world has com come e to consider the most potential factor for the advancement of civil leation everywhere it was against this danger that the law was alme aime dand accordingly the courts have held that the living with two or more wives at the same time in marital relationship I 1 lation ship and holding them out to the world as such ouch constitutes that kind of cohabitation which Is by its very nature an attack upon the system the sacred backed family association which Is the chief pride and strength of our social fabric and to do this Is the very verr offense f for or which the law provides i a pun punishment punishing ishin ent but in dealing with this clasa clash of offenders tiie tile COURTS HAVE llave BREN MERCIFUL the uniform rule has 1 as been to give all persons thus arraigned the opportunity by a full renunciation and a solemn promise to refrain henceforth from the practice to avoid the imprisonment part of the penalty for such offense in th this s connection it may be properly said that there is no local statute in iii utah against adulterous or lascivious practices and aud the thy responsibility for this is altogether with the mormons cormons themselves as such legislation in all the territories is always left by congress to the le legislatures by the provisions of the ninth sec see tion of the act of 1882 under which this I 1 commission was organized authority Is civen given to the legislative assembly of 0 f istah utah at or after the first meeting 19 thereof to make such laws conformable to the organic Orga act of sald said territory and not I 1 inconsistent neon intent with other laws of the united states as it t shall shail deem proper concerning tae filling rilling of the offices in said territory declared declared vacant by this act 19 the first tir lir it session of the legislative assembly held field thereafter was wan in january 1884 it was composed compo sedof of members in in both branche chosen entirely bj the church agen cles cief A bill wa was passed through both houses which f ailed to receive the approval of the governor because in his opinion it did not meet the requirements of the act and as the executive of that territory has AX AN ABSOLUTE VETO it failed to become t a t law th the tho e next keetin will occur in jan JaD january jannary ilary and an all other opportunity will then be presented represented I 1 agthe leg isla isia thai assembly to conf conform orm uhe the laws ut thee T antory lothe 10 the fedral crat erat cral ns in the respect it will indeed bt gratifying gratify macon con summation if this ulis could be well and laith faithfully fully done dune hut but ut judging of the future by liy the past action of jf the legislature and I 1 that all ail its members mem bens beom with a sil husie tn tle tie ile ie except exception io n were chosen as before there can call be 1 0 little hope or expectation that a safe and satisfactory atis factory result will be reached through its enactments at tile the coming session not the tiie least of the obstacles the government his hin to encounter in enforcing the lawn laws against yin spite of the most and sincere lucere efforts tn orrs orts of all the authorities charged with its extirpation atlon 14 the fact that the le legislative Is power of the territory in all its force and is arrayed against a a hist the desires desire ut of the people and ot t in fil this respect and from this thia power no helpful legislation can be expected although it is hup sup I 1 ported by the thy national treasury I 1 tiie tile therefore we consider it our duty io iree irce upon congress the earliest possible ible ibie attention to the subject of additional legislation we invite lavite attention to the suggestions I 1 made in our reports of oc october t ber SO 30 1883 and april 29 inn imm elsm h were substantially nasta bially embodied in lit senate bill 1283 reported from the judI judiciary ciary clary com of the senate and passed by that honorable body luring turing during the last lant congress bitt but which failed to pass the house of representatives we also call vail attention to recommendations imade bv us in our report tort torl of november rosember 18 ibm 1884 which have not ilot et received the attention of con krems kremy gre for convenience of reference we present the thy following summary of the recommendations made in the reports of the commis con cou slon up io to |