| Show FREE constitution the house having under consideration n the bill bilah H B R to provide the admission of the state of idaho into the union mr chipman said mr speaker I 1 agree entirely arith the gentleman from arizona 2 amr mr smith that it would have been better ater if all four of the terril territories orles mentioned by h him im had been put into one bill and submitted to our consideration I 1 can see no reason I 1 never have since I 1 have been in congress seen any reason why either new mexico or arizona shmid hould not be admitted to the sisterhood glister of states As compared with the tee territory of wyoming and with tine the territory of idaho they have all the tee elements which entitle them to admission minion ad if there Js is any objection to new mexico it is an objection which oh applies to it in common es it would seem mom with the territory of idaho what has been urged against new mexico is the character of her population if the extraordinary provision concerning suffrage age in the irth sixth article of the constitution now before us is justified by the facts it hows own that there thera to is an improper population in idaho a population rn in numbers so great as to be a menace to the prosperity of the state a PO population 0 o which upon the hy hypothec hypothesis I 1 of f this clause in the constitution to is hostile to our institutions and unfit to take part in the government this is the argument that has been urged against new mexico it is the only argument which I 1 have ever heard against it and it now stands if I 1 am correctly informed as a barrier a against 20 a 1 dinst a bill being reported to the house u se for the admission of that territory but sir air I 1 would not upon any political ground oppose the admission of any territory into the union my political brethren will bear me witness that in the last congress I 1 was an advocate for the admission of all the territories and that in our party councils I 1 asserted what I 1 now repeat that it is impossible to exact any pledge of party fealty from a state prior to its admission not only impossible but wron wrong wg and unpatriotic in every everyday way in which ich you can view it I 1 believe that it is best best beat for the country to get rid of these territorial governments ern ments and it is infinitely best for the people of a territory themselves to enjoy the rights and privileges leges of statehood yet while I 1 feel in this way I 1 can not forget that the constitution of the united states imposes upon us the duty of guarantying guaran tying a republican form of government to the states which constitute the members of the union what is a republican form of government would open a wide range of discussion there are republics and there are republics republics which in our view utterly fall short of the true definition of a commonwealth of that nature and our own republic even in the estimation of many of the beat beal thinkers ali inkers does not contain freedom constitutes the ideal of a truly democratic state but I 1 think I 1 may say safely that no government Is republican in form which makes oppressive distinctions between the citizens of a state A government which in its policy in its ito constitutions and laws distinguishes oppressively against one class class of citizens and in favor of another falls far short of the model which was set before us as the true one of republican institutions this is especially true of distinctions which impair in anyway any way a proper enjoyment of the elective franchise that franchise is the very breath of republican institutions manhood suffrage is the very body of liberty the american people have adopted this as a faith and though nowhere expressed in so many words in any of our constitutions I 1 think I 1 am fully justified in saying that it may be considered as a sort of natural right because it to is the only method which the world has baa yet discovered by which a full and perfect liberty may be maintained for the people the report of the majority on this bill seems to treat manhood suffrage as a mere political right it undoubtedly is such a right but it bears bean the same relation to freedom as the right to pray and to tol preach hears bears to the full exercise of the roll religion ton in which we believe and jual just so far as men are unjustly de barred from exercising it just so fax far are they de barred from a full enjoyment of self government I 1 admit mr speaker that there ought to be disabilities to vote atlis it Is not wise to permit every one to exercise arcise this great right I 1 know of no state in the union I 1 can conceive of no civilized state state which would allow every one to exercise it I 1 certainly have no particular objection to the qualifications disqualifications dis prescribed in section 3 of article 6 of this constitution proposed for the state of idaho almost all the states in the union have disabilities of this kind but in almost every one of them they are clearly defined and not only are they clearly defined but the method of ascertaining them and of applying them as a barrier to the exercise of the elective franchise is explicitly set forth this constitution prescribes two classes of disabilities and in my judgment it prescribes two different ways of ascertaining whether a citizen is subject to them first there are those disabilities which arise from conviction in a court of justice and the ascertainment of such a disability is by the very nature of the language referred to tire th e action of a court making it dependent upon the prior action of a judicial tribunal as in the case of persons under guardianship and persons convicted of certain offenses offen see As to the second class clas sno no method of ascertainment is prescribed eo nomine but the matter is plainly left to tho discretion of the legislature and the election officers this class e idiots insane per sona per sils in prison every person 4 who hu to 18 a biga bigamist inist or polygamist or is living in patriarchal spiritual or plural marriage and aad so on the last clause of the provision supposed to refer to the mormons cormons embraces persons who are excluded because they belong to an organization which teaches and sand and advises that the laws of the tate state prescribing rules of civil conduct are not dot the supreme su aerne law an fn in this second class clam of disabilities no reference is made to convictions whatever there is nothing in the proposed ro a constitution on that subject act Lvery everything thing is left in this important por tant in this most precious matter to the citizen to the will of the legislator rhe che provision in regard to membership ot of organizations which teach or advise that the laws prescribing rules of civil conduct are not the supreme law of the land is of a very grave nature I 1 do not say that it is intended to trench upon religion I 1 do not say sav it ix in meant to interfere between a man and his bis god but I 1 do say that it has a broad latigu le je a latitude so great that in times of rhular popular passion it may embrace wit within in its fold many and many an organization spiritual or temporal which today we have no idea can be subject to it wrong ideas grow it Is not the prerogative of good lone alone to thrive why mr speaker it is only a few years ago that that great and beneficent order the masonic body was wag attacked from one end of the country to the other as being hostile to the freedom of the country and as setting itself above courts and above the laws themselves there is another body a church venerable with years noted for its learning for the great good it has done in the world and for buttressing civilization against paganism against which this very reproach is made a church which like the masonic body denies the truth of that reproach and denounces it as a calumny invented by its enemies and yet I 1 can imagine and any man on this floor can im imagine agibe in times of high excitement especially of high religious excitement excitement the most unreasonable the most vindictive to which the human mind can be subject I 1 can imagine that in such times men might become so frenzied by prejudice and fear that even the very convent fires brea which were the shame of boston may be re lighted and sectarian hate rule men with savage power why even the savior of mankind was accused of setting up and teaching a religion which claimed to be su superior bior to the state the histories 0 your yo ur race and the histories of all religions are crowded with thumbscrews thumb screws racks scaffolds and the fires in which men have been tortured or destroyed because accused aused of making this very claim mentho men who we now see in the clear calm light of history were put to death unjustly as they were treated cruelly and barbarously while liv ing while error is multiform its essence is the same add it to is only just to say of this mormon church that it denies the imputation that it essays to overturn the law shall it be honored with the carss or at the stake shall its adherents deluded though they are be robbed of the bearing in the courts we give to every class of criminals shall their rights as citizens be determined by less solemn methods than your rights and mine shall a more mere election board have power to ostracise ostra cise to disfranchise a citizen and their fl finding of the facts be conclusive on the bhe courts this may be done under the constitution and mr struble Is it within the recollection olle ol cdon of the gentleman that any court in this land has ever held a to either of these societies or to any except the mormon church that it was a criminal organization mr chipman no sir air I 1 do da not remember anything of that kind but I 1 do not see the of the question mr struble la Is not the gentleman aware that one court in utah and another in idaho have held to that effect as to the mormon church mr chipman now what else do you want to ask ask your question and then sit down mr struble are you not aware of such a decision having been rendered by judges of your own party parly mr clipman party what do I 1 care for party applause we are discussing the rights of the people we are discussing a grave question of elemental right but the gentleman talks of party parts it is party when you try to pension sol diere it is party when you essay to give any laws to the people it is party when we seek to protect the sanctity of the franchise applause I 1 think nothing of party I 1 care nothing for party in this discussion I 1 am making no attack on your party I 1 am making no attack on you and you will please pit down and let me go on mr struble rose mr chipman take your seat but lot let us go another step mr speaker what have these decisions to do with the controversy which is pending here if the gentleman is no better lawyer than his question implies if he be has no more idea of the force of authority than his question illustrates I 1 feel very sorry for him indeed laughter what I 1 am not t that tm lift courts have not daw deed 1890 it nor that polygamy is not a crime but that the constitution you bring here silences the courts the true refuge of all al our rights and the only certain mylum asylum against oppression and corruption that to is my contention but the gentleman answers me that somewhere in the country somewhere else the very thing has been done which I 1 contend ought to be done under this instrument which you bring here and ask us to vote for I 1 on suppose appose the answer will berthat be that this clause of the constitution does not execute itself that it cannot execute itself although I 1 am not entirely certain cofar ohp the thet t ia a true I 1 am certain that sn in one sense it does execute itself its att i one sense it prohibits bits the I 1 e td t the covats i it dovi that not dot only hy asit t it but by what it doyet ay it provide sifi what w t hall go too to the courts rud and it provision by which a person pet son having a certain belief or doing a certain act shall without the intervention of a dourt court b ba dis franchised in tho eme ease of guardian guard larish ievin the case of conviction of crime other provisions apply in those vases the courts are invoked but in the case of insanity which to is a condition conditto condi tio of body mid and also in the case 01 of indians and mongolians Mongo lians and of the mormons cormons Mor mons it expressly strikes at the interpose tion of the courts I 1 lave looked at the provisions of this constitution in t regard to the jurisdiction of the supreme court and in my judgment unless a law is passed very ed the entire decision of the facts will rest or may rest with the boards of election officers and so strip the courts of all real jurisdiction I 1 believe the gentlemen say this will not dot be done but how bow do you know it will not bedone how do you know k DOW that the strong tide of passion which grafted engrafted en un this constitution so dangerous a provision will not dot induce the people to lass laws to carry it out in the most severe and obnoxious manner possible you say it will not be done I 1 say liberty the ahe rights of the citizens public safety demand that you shall confer no power give no opportunity to inflict an oppressive rule upon the citizen mr baker will the gentleman yield for a suggestion in the shape of a question mr chipman yes sir air with great pleasure 0 mr baker has the gentleman overlooked the provision in the baya ution which meets mee the point lit h makes 1 mr chipman 2 W what hat is ft mr baker that a person claiming a right rl ht to vote may purge himself of this lis t disqualification cation by taking the oath mr springer Wh where ereis is it mr mansur it is not in the constitution ution i mr baker the test oath mr chipman 1 I have not found it mr mansur you can answer answerl it by saying that it is net in the atit ution mr chipman 1 I have not such a provision rj I 1 have observed ob arved though I 1 will state to the gentl gentleman emain from new york mr baker in the majority report of the committee ometha 1 which they roll as a sweet mora under their tongue and beating about the same relation aad potency pot eticy as authority to the matter at issue as the question of the over there a short time ugo ago but which is cited by the committee coMmit teeL te conclusive in the ease case of ft mr davis da vis against a sheriff suit WAS brought broughlin tin in idaho involving thala bality of a test oath die deetion with mormonism Mormon iBm and the supreme court held that the oath WAS pi oper a and nd a constitutional requirement I 1 have no doubt of it no one doubts it autho but how do we know that the leg nature 0 m idaho will proscribe prescribe a test oath in this case and so give a an u opportunity of purgation you ou say that they probably will I 1 say that they ought to but is there no doubt that thley they wui will do so there to is none that it should be done but where to is the authority that compels it where is the warrant the surety where is the assurance that they will not leave this entire matter to the kind of ge men iam I 1 will not undertake to th ize here the men who may compose election boards the low politicians politician ethe the huckster public life the seekers for the little offices tle the hangers on of great reat men 9 the mean implements of of base ambitions bi bit ions the general doers of dirty work throughout the nation row how do we know I 1 aska ask that it will not b be left entirely to these men in vain is it to say it will not pro probably ably be left to them it may be and an w e there is I 1 s an opportunity for corruption or where in the mad delirium dell lu and loose morals of politics there is an opportunity for oppression you may be as sure that they will ill appear promptly at that time when they can do the most good or the most harm that can be done as that |
