Show THE STRUBLE BILL IS unconstitutional IT is not improbable that the reason why the members of the mormon 9 church were not all franchised disfranchised dis long ago is because there existed ex istl no constitutional method of accomplish tug lug that result at frequent intervals during the last twenty years bills tending in that direction have been introduced in congress giving rise to long and thorough discussions of the questions involved in the struble bill but always with the same result american citizens cannot be franchised disfranchised dis nor can their rights as such be abridged because of opinion or church membership in vain have conspirators in utah and their workers coworkers co in congress during the last twenty years racked their brains in the effort to devise some means of reducing the mor mons to the situation of aliens so for far as the franchise to is concerned but every measure invented and every bill framed for that purpose have always been clearly shown to be in direct violation of certain inhibitions contained 1 in n the nations nation organic law when the El munds bill was under debate in the senate members of that body who voted for it emphatically stated that they would not favor any measure wb which sought to take from a man his bis rights as an american citizen on account of any opinions he might entertain and they sustained the dis franchising provision of that bill because it applied only to men who had bad performed certain acts that had been held by the supreme court of the united states to be in violation of peace and good order the struble bill is therefore con fes sedly unconstitutional under the precedents established by the decisions of congress when dealing with the Mor mormon question according to the declarations of the best constitutional lawyers who have ever discussed that question in that body according accord ing to the admissions of the ablest and most thoughtful journalists that have treated upon the subject it would be a flagrant and dangerous breach of the Aw american erleAn constitution to deny a man the privilege of the ballot because his religious views or associations were objectionable to the majority this proposition to Is elementary and any denial of its soundness must arise from sheer ignorance of the nature and intent of the provi rys which relate to the matter or from a reckless disregard of truth and consequences As this ignorance can hardly be attributed to the members of congress it follows that every one of them who may vote for the struble bill will do so for the reason that he prefers to break the organic law ot of the land rather than permit the mormons cormons Mor mons to possess and exercise the privileges of citizenship zen zens ship bip so go for far as has yet been developed ve loped the disfranchisement bill cannot be characterized as a party measure conspirators from utah have succeeded in winning to its support certain republican members of congress upon whom they have brought a strong and direct personal influence and to whom such tales have been told and representations made as only antl anti mor mon lobbyists hobbyists can tell and make but according to the best information in our possession the republican party in congress has not yet yer signified its intention as a party to support the struble bill in all probability the measure would not have made the headway it has had it not been for the efforts of the insidious hypocrites who u under n cover of a legitimate and nonpolitical mission to the capital have i made strenuous efforts to advance it the abandonment to all sense of honor and honesty which these agents have shown has hag few parallels in even the political b history of utah which is so replete with examples of liberal treachery and perfidy the moral turpitude of the men who have been lobbying for the dis fran chi of the mormons cormons Mor mons while using money contributed to some extent by the latter to tay pay for the food they were eating has been fully exposed in connection with recent developments development to which only a reference is here required there is still ground to anticipate that congress will not reverse the record it has so often made upon propositions to disfranchise the majority claps in this territory it cannot be held that the decision ot the united states supreme court in the idaho test oath case would justify such a reversal for that decision does not touch the gist of the controversy to which the struble Strub lef bill has given rise congress has therefore no judicial decision from that court behind which to shield itself from the responsibility of dis franchising american citizens by thousands for conscience sake should it pass the struble bill |