Show r TH LAWs LAW-s The EdmundsT cker bill is now law In view of this fact it will be pertinent to review those essential points of the new law which give sm h satisfaction to the loyal men of Utah irrespective of party affiliations and c 11 so loudly for their approbation and su port These points bristle over a wi Ie area and are all sharpened for th occasion so per emltorily demand ng their keenness r Section six says That all laws of tJ eLegislativeAssembly I of the Territory of U ah whIch provIde that IJrOSeoution for adu tary can only be oom I menoed on the compl tint of the husband or wife are hereby disa proved and annulled and all prosecutions j or adultery may hereafter here-after be instituted i the same way that prosecutions for othe crimes are r This section is he entering wedges wedge-s which is to rive poi gamy It is a direct and effective bloc at that legislative infamy which has lor its sole object the perpetuation of polygamous relations All prosecutions far adultery may hereafter here-after be instituted fJr the same way that i prosecutions for otller crimes are says the section This places it in the power of the loyal and n oral element of the community to at 01 ce direct the punishment punish-ment of the law a > ainst that open and barefaced adultery ambushed under the name of polygamy and sheltered by Territorial Ter-ritorial legislation actment Section Seven reading as follows That commissionJrs appointed by the supreme court and district courts in the Territory of Utah shall possess and may exercise all the power and jurisdiction that nre or may be possessed or exercised by justices jus-tices of the peace in said Territory under the laws thereof and ihe same powers conferred con-ferred by law on com inisaioners appointed by circuit courts of th United States Gives to commission rs appointed by the United States and therefore opposed to polygamous vice the power and jurisdiction jurisdic-tion possessed by the justices the peace elected by the Mormon votes and devoted de-voted to Mormon interests In any case intj this section secures onvictions for polygamy polyg-amy for the commi Sioners will render the decisions heretof Ire dictated by the pernicious Mormon influence Section Eight confjrs upon the United States Marshal oft 0 Territory and his deputies the ample p ewers > of the Territorial Terri-torial sheriffs consts lIes and deputies Section Nine provi les That every ceremoi y of marriage or in the nature of a marri IRQ ceremony of any kind in any of the Te atones of the United States whether eithe or both or more of the parties to such c remony be lawfully competent to be tho s bjeots of such marriage mar-riage or ceremony or not shall be certified by a certificate statin the fact and nature of such ceremony the ull names of each of the parties concerned md the full names of every officer priest an 1 person by whatever style or designation oa led or known in anyway any-way taking part in the performance > of such ceremony which certi 10ate shall be drawn up and signed by the parties to such ceremony cere-mony and by every officer priest or person taking part in the porf < nnance of such ceremony cere-mony and shall be byjtho officer priest or other person solemn ng such marriage or ceremony filed in the pffice of the probate court or if there be tone in the office of the court having pr bate powers in the county or district in yhicb such ceremony shall take place for record and shall be immediately recorded ind be all times subject sub-ject to inspection as ther public records Such certificate or th record thereof or a duly certified copy of uoh record shall be prima facie evidence f f tho facts required by this act to be state therein in any proceeding pro-ceeding civil or crimh al in which the matter mat-ter shall be drawn in c aestion Any person who shall willfully vi late any of the provisions pro-visions of this section s tall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor nni shall on conviction thereof be punished bJ a fine of not more than ono thousand dollars or by imprisonment imprison-ment not longer than wo years or by both said punishments in h6 discretion of the court The provisions of this section are of vital importance ard in its action the polygamous Mormon i will find that marrying mar-rying more than one wife will open an exceedingly hard roa 1 to travel Section eleven say That the laws enacted by the legislative assembly of the Territory of Utah which provide for or recognize the capacity of illegitimate children to inherit or to be untitled un-titled to any distributi e share in the estate of tho father of any su h illegitimate child are hereby disapprove and annulled and no illegitimate ohild shall hereafter be entitled to inherit front his or her father or to receive any distributive share in the estate of his or her fat icr This section also st ikes straight from the shoulder Polygamous marriages produce illegitimate children and illegitimate ille-gitimate children ate herein debarred from all the privileges enjoyed by the offspring of a monogamous marriage Section twelve withdraws all authority from the Mormon Probate Courts of which they could make mischievous use and centers it in tb4 District Courts of the Territory Section fifteen deals righteously and vigorously with that immoral and far reaching net for the unwary the Perpetual Per-petual Emigrating Fund Company abolishing abol-ishing it at once and forever The sixteenth section of the measure brings good out of evil for it provides that after the business affairs of the defunct de-funct Emigration Company are wound up that any surplus remaining shall be applied to the use of tie common schools of the Territory The seventeenth se tion puts an end to the socalled Church of the Latterday Saints and thus divorces that monstrous union between Church and State whose power for evil like the Upas tree of deadly growth has I so long exercised such a baleful influence upon the fortunes for-tunes of Utah The j section further ensures en-sures the rigid enforcement of the above provisions by vesting in the Supreme Court of the Territory on the action of the AttorneyGeneral the power to make lawful transfer of the propertyof the unholy un-holy corporation dealt with Section eighteen deuls with the rights of women as recognized in all civilized communities guarantees to her the natural rights of a human being and sweeps away fore or the revolting platform plat-form of vice aiidiust upon which the Ghurch of Latterday Saints have built IiJr up a system of concubinage in Utah dedicated to depravity degradation and the habits of the beasts of the field Section nineteen provides that the probate pro-bate judges of each county in the Territory Terri-tory shall be appointed by the President of the Sen with the advice and consent ate This is the breaking of one of the strongest and most cherished link of the polygamous bondage Section twenty abolishes womans suffrage suf-frage in Utah and thus destroys root and branch one of the most pernicious and prolific sources of polygamous domination dom-ination This point alone is well worth the labor and pains bestowed by the loyal people of Utah upon the entire bill Section twentytwo sweeps away the present boundaries of the election districts dis-tricts of the Territory and provides for redistricting re-districting on a fair and equal basis This cures one of the most crying evils of Mormon dominion Heretofore the election districts have been at the mercy of the Saints and have had their boundaries changed as the necessities of Mormon candidates demanded Section twentyfour contains the test oath which is as follows That every male person twentyone years of age resident in the Territory of Utah shall PS a conditionprecedent to his right to register or vote at any election in said Territory take and subscribe an oath or affirmation af-firmation before the registration officer of his voting precinct that he is over twenty one years of age and has resided in the Territory Ter-ritory of Utah for six months then last past and in the precinct for one month immediately im-mediately preceding the date thereof and that he is a native born or naturalized as the case may be citizen of the United States and further states in such oath or affirmation his full name with his ago place of business his status whether single or married and if married the name of his lawful wife and that he will support the Constitution of the United States and will faithfully obey the laws thereof and especially espe-cially will obey the aot of Congress approved March 221882 entitled An act to amend section 5352 of the Revised Statutes of the United States in reference to bigamy and for other purposes and will also obey this act in respect of the crimes in said act defined de-fined and forbidden and that he will not directly or indirectly aid or abet counsel or I adviee any other person to commit any of said crimes It seems to us that this oath is amply sufficient to fulfill its purpose which is to disfranchise all polygamists aiders abettors abet-tors and sympathizers In case it does not and the men against whom it is aimed purjure themselves for political power then measures will be divised which will meet the unalterable purpose of the American Nation that polygamy shall have no part or parcel of power within the Nations limits Congress in the extra session to be probably called may render to Utah an other great service ser-vice An encouraging phase of this test oath business however is to be found in the fact that the Edmunds law has been largely successful in excluding Mormons with polygamous leanings from jurys and if the Edmunds law cannot be swallowed surely the test oath will be a deadly gag Section twentyfive abolishes the office of Territorial Superintendent of Schools and places the educational authority in the hands of a commissioner appointed by the Supreme Court This official is given the power to drive from the public schools of the Territory all books of sectarian character Learning to be Mormons will no longer be the principal object of Territorial Terri-torial education The ultimate good results of this measure are beyond calculation cal-culation Section twentyseven and last disbands dis-bands the Mormon militia and loyal ears will no longer be afflicted with public boasts of Saintly military power While THE DEMOCRAT would have preferred pre-ferred the measure to have been more radical the majority of its provisions are very acceptable Time will be a great ally of the bill as it finally becomes a law Great abuses are not suppressed in an hour nor evils of deeply rooted and mammoth growth destroyed in a day Patience and wisdom as well as decision are called for in this the final dealing with the question of polygamy The measure seeks the good of the people of Utah and is instinct with Territorial life It deserves and will receive the cordial and thankful support of Utahs thoughtful and loyal citizens who at last see in the futnre a brightness which will widen and lighten until their fair Territory Terri-tory shall know the full sun of prosperity and greatness |