Show ALARMING LOGIC THIS chief liberal organ of february 14 contained this editorial paragraph the news newa last evening mie misstated stAted GOV WEST 8 a argument u m ant and then jeered at it what wha t the boier governor nor claimed was that residence was a matter of intention if a man in denver had fixed his business to settle infalt lake and had left denver to come here his residence here had begun began even as the date of a foreigners residence here begins when he sails from his native country to make this country his home in the early days of california men crossing the plains to go there the courts decided that their residence began C incident coincident 61 with the date they left home for the purpose of settling in california here is what the NEWS said about governor bests argument being the paragraph to which the foregoing refers so far as we know it is only paralleled in point of clearness by the alleged legal argument made today by mr caleb W west before judge in which the learned gentleman contended that a mans residence in a place is coeval with his intention to locate in it consequently that a person living in denver who conceived an intention in june to reside in salt lake was a resident of this city from that time although he did net hot reach heie have till augus angus P if we misstated governor jests position the paper which offers the soft impeachment is in the same box the intelligent reader will see that the definition of the argument given by the NEWS is identical with that given by our muddled worse than all it endorses the idiotic legal absurdity so the date of a foreigners residence here begins when he be sails from his native country to make this country his home hoine well now this is too much logically then the naturalization law means that an alien can declare his bis intention to become a citizen of the united states on OD the date of his departure from the port of liverpool Liver poel and not after he sets foot on american soil even if he should be detained six months on the coast of newfoundland found land not only this but carrying the theory forward in its legitimate channel the alien would be a full fledged citizen from the date of his declaration of intention we emphatically dispute the existence of the alleged california decision claimed to establish the residence of a person in that state from the hour he made up his mind to take up his abode there and began the journey over the plains at the rear end of the swift footed ox even in those days of western judicial crudity we doubt if a pronounced imbecile or haggling bigot ever occupied the bench in the golden state to produce such a legal enormity we doubt if a lawyer or newspaper outside of utah could be found to advance or endorse it if it exists let the parody on legal sense be produced and held up to the public gaze as a 1 melancholy outgrowth of judicial incapacity in connection with the statement of the NEWS already quoted we said just let a person apply this theory to the general affairs of life and then calculate the character of the bolt he makes line of the commonest kind of common sense that the intention to do anything of any character whatever constitutes the contemplated act an accomplished complis hed fact is the acme of absurdity with as much logic as in the matter of residence it could be held that a man and woman were married from the time they formed an intention to enter that relationship with each other the application of such a theory would beyond dispute lead to the most embarrassing situations and results it remained for a political party to formulate this monstrous theory la in order to stuff staff the ballot boxes with the votes of persons who were not qualified electors and to consummate the infamy ty taking it as a basis in the defense of their tools who were arrested for breaking the law how can they escape the odium attached to a well founded charge of eps creinis cr ninis let every man answer the question according to his liking |