Show I 1 1 CHURCH FUND rund I 1 decision of the supreme I 1 court I 1 I 1 CHURCH MONEYS I 1 to the donors for the purposes donated WILFORD WOODRUFF APPOINTED TO lave charge of the moneys to be used for charity and church repairs an appeal taken the te territorial errit orial supreme court met at 1030 10 30 0 i lock yesterday momma in ill salt lake t ity chief justice kano zane associate justices miner and blackburn being present among tho tile attorney attorneys s in in attendance were judge anderaon An derbon Vii judge sutherland judge henderson judge loufbourow judge bennett judge judd arthur brown I 1 E 11 critchlow chlow coplen 0 alco hiles J A marshall mr dy dey j A M zine zane Z ine W V 11 II dickson Dic keon IF r S I 1 tich ails barlow ferguson air mr marsh U isted itea tales states attorney vanan varian mr cherry Ct erry W C reilly rebii mr adams mr bonum b S 1 P armstrong J A williams mr olsen 0 ira krebs 0 C 0 v assistant united estates states attorney It torney y stephens colonel Kaighn Mi cabell 0 A burgen and W T stewart receiver cr lawrence was w as also present I 1 Is As was generally supposed chief justice zane at once proceeded to read the 0 opinion of the court in the case of the t cited states vs tile church of jesua jesus christ of latter day sainta saints in involving the question aa to the purposes to which the tile es cheated fund of over now in the receivers hands shall bo be applied chief justice zane was over an hour in reading the opinion which is is the lon geist t of iny any eer ever handed down in in the supreme court ot of una this territory the opinion covers just forty typewritten P pages 3 g e it begins with urith tile statement t that ha t itic the duty now devolves upon the tile court eurt to designate dc the objects to which the lunda funds in in the tile receivers hands shall be devoted d voted and then follows a statement of the law under which the suit is is main main tame tamei 1 and the tile course of the litigation 1 l in the decision of the su miar prinie me court of the united stat i it was stated that the tile charitable chint ablo purposes pur posea for which the fund was gathered gatli ered bad been stamped upon it indelibly but the whole was tainted w ith the polygamous practices A il tho the mormon people the master aibel that while I 1 most of fund had boerl used in building houses of worship and to n relieve the poor of the church it faill heaed under the condemnation con of the fun anie me court which however did lid not me in n to bay say that the relief of the poor of the widows and orph ahans ins was an unlawful use but in substitute the court above said that to turn the tile fund back to be used in in the doctrines I 1 of the tile church one of which was polygamy gamy was to approve of that system eye which was opposed to tile laws bild a nd civilization of tins this country that court however how vcr held that the regrets of the church h wo would uld not be tak taken en into consider aeration ilion at tit this time polygamy w was as the only object t that the higher court found unlawful ful the decree could not be con betru d as condemning the tile caring tor for alie poor and the erection of houses of worship which with other sects were considered a v virtue two schemes had bad been presented for the disposition of tins this fund both of which M inch were lawful law ful the opinion then goer goes on to discuss the doctrine of c if cy pros pres illustrating it by stations from en gibli and american decisions from I 1 the evidence the court was i able to see that the in embers of the church cli contributed the fund expecting it to be applied to church purposes they did not expect it to bo be devoted to ali common schools of tins this territory the latter day saints with all other citizens were taxed to support those schools the tile scheme neof of the government and recommended by the roaster could not be adopted the tile other scheme that of tile church cli was next considered the question was as to whether the court could vc vest t tins this fundin fund in the first presidency of the church I 1 to be applied to the tile two purposes which were conceded to bo be lawful and artic practicable it was apparent that these e contributions were mere made to be applied to charitable purposes tho purpose to bo be decided by the first presidency the court ill in the exercise of iti its jurisdiction could limit the uses to lawful law ful purposes it t a appeared feared that the church had al abandoned abandon tand on polygamy in to the manifesto ife F to duly ratified ill in general conference it would now be against the doctrine of the church for a per sonto to contract acta a polygamous marriage and the church officials had no expectation that the doctrine won would ever be rees re rc es all these there facts I 1 dished by evidence and any person who disregarded that manifesto would bo be I 1 I 1 sub hu act to church discipline officials Onic iala agh in the church testified that unlawful ful I 1 cohabitation was contrary ary to the church 1 tho the belief in in poly polygamy gainy appeared to bo be 1 1 as an abstract principle and not in in the concrete the eradication of a belief even evell I 1 though wron w rong could not bo be done dono by denying to them tile use of their property in conclusion the chief justice said and in view of this the writer of tins this opinion is is unable to understand upon what principle of law this court can deny to tins this church tho the right to appropriate and apply the tile fund to such purposes 1 lie ile is of the opinion that it 1 should bo be vested in in wilford Wood woodruff george Q 0 cannon aguon and joseph F smith 1 its first presidency and anti their successors 1 it in office the agents selected by the I 1 church to be dietes dieted and applied by the them to these purposes according to tile will ill of the church and the tile wishes of the knors loners A majority of the court liow low I 1 over er is is of the opinion that it should bo be I 1 egged in m a trustee selected by the court 1 and in his bis successor or successors Fors appointed by the court to be devoted devoted L exi e elusively clu us ively to the support ol 01 the poor of the tile church and to the building and repairing of its houses of worship and dairing that lat lie should be required to g give v e a bond before entering upon liis his du duties ties sufficient to the amount that may come collie to his liand and his bis performance for mance manco of the duties of the trust and that lie should be required to report to the court on the day of january of macliz each year ir his action as such trustee A decree c r co will ba be entered by the court in accordance with this opinion we concur J W 11 BLACKBURN A J JAMIS A MINER A J F S richards at once arose and asked when the court would receive suggestions festi suf united nite I 1 states attorney V arian Varian said that perhaps that would be anne unnecessary ces sary I 1 at t this time the tile attorney general moves for an all order direct directing hi tile clerk to note an e caption on to we decree on tho tile ground that it Is is contrary to tile law and anti the proof a also so because the tile report of the matter was not remanded to him mr N dickson said that inasi inasmuch nuch as the fund was to be devoted to tile poor and to repairing places of worship it seemed to him that a member V of the church should bo be appointed as trustee in order that the f arld might inight be properly administered judge zano zane inquired when the defense would be ready to make sugg suggestions ea as to tile trustee mr air richarda richards replied that ho lie was ready to take like it up at once and suggested william it 1 preston as trustee judge zane ibave vou you anything to sa say to that mr varian mr ir varian xo no it can go to woodruff so far as the government is is concerned provided the tile decision stands afterwards mr Il It ichards asked that the name of wilford woodruff bo be substituted for that of W B preston as that would bo be more in accordance with the law at mr varian had no objection and tile r request was granted mr N varian then ell gave e notice of an in appeal I 1 to the supreme court of the united states thus ended the final act so far as this court is concerned in ill the litigation I 1 |