Show THE CHRISTIAN UNION AND THE LADIES MEMORIAL CERTAIN women ol of utah have presented re to the president and jon congress a memorial the f ull full text of which we find in the DESERET I 1 NEWS they are mormons cormons in religious faith and apparently believers in plural marriage they declare that the laws against the polygamists have been and unjustly employed that under them women have been been asked insulting questions and compelled either to answer them or to pay the penalty of refusal by confinement in the penitentiary they charge outrage upon the the united states marshals in forcing their way into rooms where women were in bed at night and they various specifications with dates and names in support of their charges and they finally respectfully fully ally ask for a full investigation of utah if affairs fairs and for suspension of the measures calculated to deprive us of our political rights and privileges and to harass destroy annoy and bring our people eople into bondage and distress until Y I 1 a commission duly and specially authorized to make full inquiry into the affairs of its territory giry have ave investigated and reported our readers reader need sneed no assurance that the christian union has no sympathy with polygamy or with the right claimed by polygamists to maintain plural marriages on american soil it if they want the doubtful luxury of a turkish harem they must go elsewhere to find it nor can we second a demand tor for the suspension of measures to enforce the law aw 0 of the e land a for any purpose whatever but the right rig t to a f full all not to be denied to any consi considerable erable body of citizens who believe themselves illegally and unjustly treated justice ought not to wear a bandage over her eyes if that is to prevent her from impartial inquiry into the truth and the united states government would be stronger in punishing those who are guilty of violating the law against polygamy if it simultaneously investigated charges of needless and therefore t lawless violations in the execution or under the pretense of executing the national law the foregoing is clipped f from rom the latest number of the christian union it expresses the views of many non mormons cormons Mor mons who are becoming a acquainted quain ted with the condition of affairs in utah the facts set forth in the ladies memorial to the president and congress of the united states are indisputable they are also inexcusable they are not such as are required in the execution of the law no matter how much the suppression of polygamy may be desired the outrages that have been perpetrated in utah under the name of the law are sufficient to cover the names of all who have engaged in and supported them with indelible inde liole infamy the christian union is not only a vigorous raa ral marriage but is an advocate of the legislative commission scheme urging political oppression as a means to destroy mormonism so it is not out of any sympathy for the system that its editors condemn the methods employed in the execution of the law but from that disgust that must arise in every well regulated mind when those methods come to be understood the 0 hristian christian union has to its denunciation of the treatment of utah by remarks upon the polygamy question lest it should be thou thought in sympathy with the practice in the remotest degree but we wish to inform the union that nobody in utah wishes to es establish anything like the doubtful luxury of a turkish harem oriental polygamy and mormon celestial marriage are as wide apart as the poles and the conditions which permit ol of asiatic harems hares do not exist in utah those who talk of both in connection do not understand the matter and are therefore not capable of passing judgment upon it the right claimed by the latter da day y saints to maintain plural marriages marriage s cannot be dismissed in one short sentence in the columns of the christian union the status of polygamy under certain conditions has been dee declared bared not criminal by the supreme court of the united states and therefore it may be maintained on american soil and we are of the opinion that such marriages are quite as worthy of countenance as that bastard kind of polygamy known as consecutive and which if is 4 maintained on en american soil by many pious people with whom the christian union is in church fellowship it is very prevalent throughout the new england states and is tolerated in so called christian society in every part of the union if the union will read the memorial a little more calef carefully ally it will find that I 1 the athe suspension of beasa measures res to enforce the law of the land for any purpose whatever is not asked for by the ladies who protest against the outrages of the laws minions so that paper is not asked to second or support any such demand the suspension I 1 asked for is 6 of the measures calculated to deprive us BS of our political rights and privileges legoll ete etc bills have been introduced in congress compress to deprive the women voters of the elective franchise on a false and groundless pretext others still more unjust propose the disfranchisement of all persona male and female who gelong belong to the mormon Mot mon church the name of the church is not deal designated bated because that th at would be a little IRK too glaring lar ag to suit some fastidious people I 1 but ut it is described with sufficient clearness to render the operations operation i of the proposed law exactly the same as though the church was named in full the scheme to effect eff act this is the work of scoundrels who support t the out rages which the christian chistian union cannot but condemn the ladies ask that these measures be suspended until a lull and impartial investigation is had i that can consists consistently con antly second all that the ladies ask for indeed the me closing remarks in the above excerpt are directly int iu that hatline line Allt all that hattlie the ladies demand is that justice which the union says ought not to be denied to any considerable body of citizens who believe themselves illegally and unjustly treated this however has hah been persistently denied to utah congress has been guided more by the clamors of the clergy and the thought less howlings bow lings of uninformed people than by a comprehension of the facts and of the situation in utah the edmunds law with its double action sentences cunningly framed to leave open to the interpretation of hostile courts that which ought to be strictly defined in terms was hustled through congress by just such pressure and without inquiry its intentionally ambiguous phrases have opened the way to many of the oppressions oppress ions to which the people of utah have been made subject and the same cratty crafty hand has been at work to bring about still f urther further mischief in the same direction at every attempt to press the people of utah into bondage the majority of it its citizens have pleaded for an investigation ti before act action on s should on be e taken this is what the ladies ask now but this is just what the enemies of utah do not want to see attempted they rely upon the strong prejudices of the preachers and the people against polygamy to blind the eyes of the country to the real purpose in view they expect as before to stifle inquiry but leading minds in this nation religious and secular are waking up to the idea that there are possibly two sides to this I 1 I 1 mormon I 1 question and like the christian union they admit the propriety P 0 biety of a thorough investigation we wish to assure them that in the measures against which we and the ladies who have memorialized congress protest polygamy does not appear as an actual issue this should be clearly understood we ask the christian union to examine the latest antl anti mormon I 1 movement and seo see for itself the scheme on foot is purely at political it is simply to take lake away all I 1 political power from the majority of the people of utah in order that the minority a very small one shall rule the chief plotters and workers in this conspiracy care not a straw for polygamy they are not friends of ef morality they support 8 up A or hobnob with the most degrading bralo n g forms and devotees of vice and corruption they the are also to a large degree infidel in their principles the religious journals and societies that give aid and comfort to these villains by backing their schemes imagine they are doing something to put down polygamy they are unknowingly sustaining infidels in fideli tevice ty vice corruption and monstrous wrong the elevation of a few brou political cal adventurers to the control of a built up and made capable of advancement to great wealth and boundless prosperity by the people who are now sought to be deprived of every right of citizenship for the enrichment rich ment of the rascals mitat that are hoodwinking the decent people of the country we believe that the memorial of the women of utah rutih who protest against the treatment to which their sex has been subjected will accomplish much towards bringing our wrongs before the attention of thinking people eople copies of it ought to be wi widely f e f y circulated and all friends to the cause of justice and equal rights will aid in promoting an impartial investigation into the affairs fairson of this territory Terri Lory |