| Show A DEFENSE OP OF THE RIGHTS OP OF LATTER DAY SAINTS THE yan ban bernardino weekly times edited and published by john joha igaac who iwas tonce a resident of this city has the following to say upon the past and prospective anu anti 1 I legislation and the probable effect of the same anything in the defense ot of the rights of the latter day saints from an outside source is so rare at the present time that such manly sentiments as are here expressed by one who has no sympathy for our creed but has the courage to stand up for principle are doubly appreciable the annual anti mormon agitation is once more under ander lull headway head way and congress is dealing at the present time with a most remarkable for the haedl handling in of this question th the e edmunds bifi biu is the most moat outrageous med measure sure that was ever attempted to pass congress for arty aay purpose whatever it a man be guilty of breaking break ing the laws whether mormon or otherwise he should pay the penalty but this only after a fair trial and conviction but bat our lawa and rules of evidence are all reversed in ia order to reach this peculiar people and to punish them because they are peculiar an anti polygamy law is in force which is being vigorously but not content with punishing the luen inen who have been guilty of violating the law it is I 1 now sought to punish tile the whole people tor for this belief a belief too tor for which the bible gives ample authority A man has the god given right to lo be lieve in anything if he e may believe in polygamy bery murder or any other statute crime and so long as he be does not attempt to put the belief into practice he be cannot be punished it w would have been a strange thing had we in california hanged kearney because he believed in and advocated the murder of certain men he was not only allowed the freedom f of his belief but the liberty to mouth mou thit it butau but an effort is making to punish the mor mons mona not for what they have done but for apat they believe i etisa it is a theory of our common law thata that a man shall be considered inno cent until he is proven guilty and that the burden ot proof Is id thrown upon his accuser A law it is now in force in utah which reverses this and assumes that a mormon snail shall oe de considered guilty guilt yand and the burden of proof af of innocence is thrown upon him ye is punished by disfranchisement until by bv oath before a commission he establishes tab tib lishes Ms his innocence suppose the same game rule applied to california and that every man before he was allowed to vote had to prove that he had never been guilty of highway robbery com committed witted burglary or other crime yet the one i case is fair as theother the other tile thy edmunds bill is ex post fac facto factora toia yia that it if provide tor for punishing mormons cormons for offenses committed before were there way was auy any law applicable to them aud ia is of course 1 special legislation as aa it IL it is designed lesi gued to crush crash them out beca because nse i ahe hey are unpopular It provides to lo a u c committee to take cl 4 i xi aw affairs of the mormon chart char 11 lud idia laister them apply the same rul to every church in the land if fair in one instance it is fair in all it i ro vides for a committee to wind up the affairs of the immigration frid rid ad appropriate prop its means A te same rule to every in corpA 10 lo io in the united states it p 0 i 1 11 it at husband or wife can be p i 1 d I toti the witness stand and aix ni i i testify against the other let le t L luc le e balue ule rale a apply ply y in every court in the country ve we believe that even a mormon has some rights that should be respected especially when an infringement of those ra rights itts may establish a precedent that wil will if some mag day ay be turned against ourselves let congress appoint a committee to take charge of the mormon church and california ma may follow suit and take charge of of the catholic or the methodist or any other church and rob them of their pro property erty as it is now proposed to do with wit sl the e mormons cormons Mor mons if congress has this power over a church in the territories then each state has the same authority within its domain the mormon question is one that is not generally understood these people are not being opposed simply because they are disobeying the laws of the union for the number of polye artists amista among the mormons cormons is very small in proportion to their membership ber ship but the trouble is a political one embittered by reli religious vie ons prejudices and aided by the d double on government territorial and federal the mormons cormons Mor mons beina being Is largely r galy in the ma majority ori of course fill all the territorial territorial offices the gentiles axe are much in the minority want them and to this end cad are working to disfranchise the entire mormon people the federal office are filled by gentiles and here is a leverage for persecution given them there Is s perpetual conflict between the two in which copt continual inual incursions and reprisals on each other occur A feeling of bitterness ter ness more intense than can be found elsewhere in america Aia encA his has been tile the result and nothing that will tend to 10 bring them into disfavor in the nation nato is omitted the mormon question has hence become more odorous OU on account of this continued ferment than it would have been and has assumed false proportions tie best way to handle it is to strictly enforce the he laws jaws now in forchand force and leave the cormons mormons i in the enjoyment of the rights af other american citizens for it is au an outrage tol to attempt other and the measures proposed by the i are such as threaten very every other sect and corad ration in our land |
