Show = l LETTER FROM CHAIRMAN CARLTON The Utah Commission Will Adhere to theForm of OathPublished in This Circular Messrs R N Baskin and J E Jooly GENTLEMEN Yesterday I received ESqSGE TLIDIEi ceived from each of you a manuscript form of a registration oath both forms being substantially the same That which was furnished by Mr Dooly is given below the other has been mislaid That I will support the Constitution of the United States and will faithfully obey the laws thereof that I will obey the acts of confess polygamy bigamy unlawful cohabitation prohibiting habitation incest adultery and fornication that I will not hereafter in any Territory of the United States at any time in obedunceto any alleged revelation or to any counsel advice or command from any source whatever or under any circumstances enter into plural or polygamous I polyg-amous marriage or hate or take more with wives than one or cohabit more than one woman that I will not at any time hereafter directly or Indirectly aid or abet counsel advise any person to have or take more wives than one or to cohabit co-habit with more than one woman or to commit Incest adultery or fornication that I am not a bigamist or polygamist that I do not cohabit polygamously with persons of the other sex and that I have not been convicted of any of the offenses above mentioned I understand that the purpose for which these forms have been furnished is to suggest sug-gest to the Utah Commission the propriety of our changing the form of the registration oathheretofore prepared by the Commission Com-mission by interpolating the words which I have put in Italics Besides other oharges have been In regard to this proposition I desire to say in the most respectful manner that I cannot see the necessity or propriety of making such change About a month ago the form of the oath was promulgated by the Commission inn Circular for the tnformatlon of registration officers These have long ago been transmitted trans-mitted to all the deputy registrars of the Territory and later printed oaths to the number of 35000 have been distributed allover all-over the Territory still this would not bean be-an insuperable obstacle to a change of the form if we should be satisfied that by mistake mis-take or inadvortanoe we had Violated vio-lated the law After careful consideration considera-tion we are thoroughly satisfied that in suggesting this form of oath wo have made no mistakein other words that the oath which we have formulated is in accordance with the law I believe that this is conceded on all hands bat the contention con-tention is that we might go further and keep within the lawthat there might be interjected inter-jected into the oath certain expletives adjectives ad-jectives circumlocutions and amplifications within the limits of the law which might have the effect of preventing certain classes of persons from registering and voting The answer to this is that if we follow the form and pursue the language of the law we know we are right2 if we depart from this rule wo are then in a labyrinth of conflicting con-flicting opinions For if the registrars are to depart from the language of tho law and each man of the 270 deputies may prepare an oath to suit himself the result will be that overy mans right to vote a right hitherto held sacred in all American communities com-munities will depend on the arbitrary will caprice or prejudice of the registration officers who in this as well as other communities commu-nities are mostly men of little or no learning learn-ing in the law I believe that to allow this would be contrary to law and a bad precedent prece-dent that would meet with the condemnation condemna-tion of the Executive Government and of all enlightened jurists who took part in the passage of this law Similar suggestions have frequently been made to our Commission both orally and in writing by registrars and election judges This was the occasion of our inserting in our circular to registration officers a brief statement enumerating AIL the disabilities of voters under the law of Congress adding the following paragraph The Commission Is of the opinion that the above specifications include all the disabilities to which electors are subject under the laws of Congress and that no opinions which they may entertain upon questions of religion or church polity should be the subject of Inquiry or exclusion of any elector The following specifications include all the disabilities to which voters in Utah are subject under the laws of Congress No polygamist bigamist or any person co habltihg with more than one woman shall be entitled to register or vote at any election in this Territory nor any person who has been convicted of the crime of incest unlawful cohabitation co-habitation adultery fornication bigamy or polygamy nor any person who associates or cohabits polygamously with persons of the other sex nor can any person register or vote who has not taken and subscribed oath prescribed pre-scribed by the Twentyfourth Section of the Act of Congress of March 3 18Si nor can any woman register or vote The converse of the proposition is that conceding all the local statutory qualifications qualifica-tions as to age residence citizenship < c every male person is entitled to register and vote if he is not a bigamist or golygamist nor cohabiting with more than one woman does not associate or cohabit polygama monsly with persons of the other sex has not been convicted of incest fornication or adultery and is willing to take and subscribe sub-scribe to the oath as prescribed by the Twentyfourth Section of the Act of Congress Con-gress As to those in polygamy or unlawful cohabitation co-habitation they are disqualified whether they have been convicted or not The oath is to be subosribed and therefore there-fore it is to be a written or printed affidavit and it should contain no more nor less than that what is provided in the act The oath prescribed by Congress as to its material parts is entirely promissory in its character having reference to the future the affiant swearing not as to what he docs or has done but what he will or will not do Whether he is willing or not to take the oath is a matter addressed to his own conscience con-science and is binding only in foro con scientiae The duties of the officer in making mak-ing the registration and administering the oath are purely ministerial in their character and he has no right to inquire into any mans motives nor to catechise him as to his opinions on matters of religion tithes or other church contributions or his church membership It was evidently the intention of Congress to allow all male persona of proper age etc to vote if they are not disqualified by polygamy po-lygamy etc provided they are willing to take the prescribed oath An inquisitorial catechism of a metaphys ioal character by the registrars as to whether the party might some time in the future change his mind and po into polygamy polyga-my or under certain seductive temptations might commit fornication or adultery is in my opinion not authorized by law The same remarks will apply to the registration officer on a proceeding to strike off names on the registry list In such a proceeding he may investigate the questions whether a party is under any of the disabilities provided by Territorial law or thAots of Congressthese last are Is he in fact a polygamist Is he living in unlawful cohabitation Is ho associating or cohabiting polygamously with persons of the other sex Has he been convicted of bigamy polygamy unlawful cohabitation incest adultery or fornication Has he taken the oath prescribed by the Act of Congress This enumeration exhausts ALL the qualifications provided by Congress Further than this except as to local statutory statu-tory quaiifioations the registrar cannot go The same principle will apply to judges of election upon o challenge at the polls The law of Congress provides that no person per-son otherwise eligible to vote shall be excluded ex-cluded from the polls on account of any opinion such person may entertain on the subject of bigamy or polygamy The debates de-bates in Congress especially in the Senate plainly show that the advocates and champions cham-pions of the bill regarded it as not interfering interfer-ing with any man religious opinion or church membership The duty of this Commission and the registration andeleotion officers is not to make but to execute the law such law as I Congress has given us We must execute it as it is not as we might wish it to be In conclusion it may not be deemed superfluous to say that our Commission does not claim authority to instruct any bodyas has been asserted But from the time of our first appearance in Utah we have annually issued a circular for the information of registrars and another to the election judges The necessity of this arose from the fact that wejiavo been and I still are constantly receiving inquiries from such officers and others in regard to the interpretation of the law and the course of procedure This course has heretofore been approved or acquiesced in in the very quarter from which objections now come We submit that the propriety of giving II U such information is now more plainly demonstrated dem-onstrated than at any previous time by reason of the exasperated condition of public pub-lic feeling now existing in Utah very respectfully yours A B GABLTOK Chairman Utah Commission P SSince the foregoing was written it has transpired that a committee of gentlemen gentle-men wish to have an interview with the Commisson touching the form of oath etc I wish to state that I am open to conviction if good reasons can be shownand I will further fur-ther say that I alone am responsible for this communication though I have good reason for the opinion that most if not all the Commissioners concur Yours etc A B C |