Show A BE DOCUMENT an order to disfranchise xon cormons mormons as ai well as ai mormons cormons Mor mons I 1 E S whittler whittier district attorney for bingham county as caisel to be published the following tol lowing instructions to the supervisors regi 8 trails and judgen judges of if election in ringham county idaho having bad hard several requests for far my opinion regard reda ilig your duties in the coining coming registration and election I 1 take this method of 0 replying it to at once and giving my views to you all I 1 think this matter can be best beat treated by dividing it and alla answering it in the form of these questions let are members of tho the mormon church legal voters and entitled to register and vota veto in idabo 2 aud 2nd if not who shall lie be treated and consid considered eQ aa as mormons cormons 3rd ard what are the duties required by law of officers of election and especially ally tuia this clarg class of people to the first I 1 answer emphatically no they are not tile reasons rea sont ara set forth in section revised elat stat atea of idaho and in section 1 on 01 page 14 of the laws of the fi it benth bession of the idaho legislature l amendatory of the above section and aleo also in section 3 article 6 s suffrage af and election of the constitution ution of the state of idaho all three of which are too plain to need quoting or comment from me to the second I 1 reply all who on january lat 1888 were members of or affiliated with or aided abetted or encouraged the mormon church for F or 41 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 e I 1 A reasons f for 0 r thia this see section 1 pa page leq 14 of the fifteenth session session laws law 8 of cited above in support of that I 1 also quo e decisions 0 of f court and the proc aoe ian aaion of tho the governor of idaho idab to as a follows the on supreme prelate court of idaho idabo in chamb chamberlain e ra in vs wooding woodin pace ge addan advanced ced sheets of pacific C so reporter no 23 bays in view view to of f all the testimony wo we must conclude with the court below that these people referring to the mor mons who withdrew from the church to vo a on nov 6 1898 1838 did not act bone fide that such withdrawal resulted bulted from a consort of action most like likely t through the counsel ot their ite leaders d ars and for the sole purpose of siv evading dirt tho the law and that they were not ei entitled titled to vote in wooley vs watkins atkins lV pacific reporter page our supreme court al alo decided 11 that tbt the order organization or association known as the I 1 utah or regular 11 branch of tho the merman morman church teaches advises cou nEelo and encourages cou rages its members devotees and other to commit the crime camo of bigamy or polygamy as a duty arising from bembe membership in in such organization organ nation or 2 association B ocia ir ion governor george L houp shoup in in his election says the spirit and intent of the registration law must be complied with ith theat tho attention of county commissioners registrars and judges of election Is called to an act of the session of the idaho legislature approved january 1889 1899 entitled an act to amend section rei reeked difed statutes of idaho which law must be in forced by registrars still judges of election now w if it these people vv were ere not voters on nov 0 6 1883 as decided in in chamberlain vs woodin they are not now if they were v ero members of an inhabited organization in in october 1883 1888 as decided in the wooley vs watkins case they are th sama same now and anti any of them offering to register or vote should be promptly refused pr emission to do either to the third subdivision of the all subject b what are the duties of supervisors re and judges of election andor the law I 1 would say duty of supervisors to see that the registration lists of their precincts precinct a are properly revised and corrected before registration commences to keep keel a close watch on the tile doings of 0 registrars and judges of election and to see that each and every one who is is allowed to register is is a legally qualified voter and for the means of enforcing their authority they are hereby leferrec lef jef erred to lion freemont rree mont wood united states attorney for idaho under chose immediate jurisdiction they are ap pointed and under whose direction they are Hupp raad to act and to whom they alio ild promptly report any attempt lem p t to es evade ado the law to toe e duty of registrars 13 fully bet set forth in 61 chions and of the revised statutes of idaho they should study these carefully they will eee see from these sections and I 1 hereby instruct all registrars in fix bingham that it is 13 their duty tat y to first pu put every applicant fr i r leeis I 1 egi 9 un under ler oath as its provide I 1 in first subdivision of section revised statutes of idaho and examine him fully under the various laua lawe referred to and decisions quoted as to bis his present qualifications as a voter and also as to his tits qualifications on january 1 8 and especially aa as to hia his membership or alcilia tiona liens at paid faid dale flate in in any inhabited organ zat i n 0 of f which the act of withdrawing in october or november is prima jacia evidence and to peremptorily refuse registration to all whose answers under balb do not fully satisfy such six h registrar that they are in the tile fullest sense of the word legal voters in idaho the duties of judges of election elect loa are to eee see that all not legally le TO ally registered I 1 or not legal voters do not get their ballo hallos s into the ball it box of their re spec ejective tive precincts at tho the coming state election in conclusion I 1 will say that all political parties in in bingham county pro fees to only want a fair ballot and an honest count the county committee commit leo of the democracy Dam at a lain lato meeting metting passed a resolution as follows resolved jf soiled that it is is the will of this committee commit teo and convention to conduct the county election strictly in acco accordance d with ft etli the laws lan s of idaho and of the the united mates states as interpreted by the courts and wo we call upon all officers of election to act accordance therewith inthe in the performance of their duties all other parties should concur in tho the above resolution and eo so in conclusion I 1 express tho the hope that all officers of election will w ill study the laws and decisions on which this opinion is is based carefully and governing themselves thereby will give na no an absolutely fair full and free ballot and fair and lione honest t count of undoubtedly legal voters at it t the count county Y election in bingham con county rity ida idaho 0 ja S dist atty tty bingham co ial idaho Bing I 1 ingriam ing liam idaho idah 0 august 30 ah 1890 |