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Show r. t ' POOR ECONOMY. Economy is a desirable thing in the conduct of public business as well as the conduct of private business. Economy in everything is good, but economy when carried to top great a length degenerates into penuriousness, and at 6uch times is apt to be the most expensive way of doing do-ing business. To practice economy requires re-quires good judgment, and good judgment would often say that a liberal expenditure expendi-ture of money is the best economy. - These thoughts were suggested by the" bad economy of the' Government in the enforcement of the law in Utah. To adequately ad-equately and effectually enforce the Edmunds Ed-munds law in Utah is a big undertaking, on account of the very extensive violation viola-tion of that law in Utah and the vast amount of sympathy extended to those violators by their fellow religionists. So general and widespread has the violation of the Edmunds law become in this Territory, Terri-tory, that it has assumed such proportions that they justify terming this violation of the law, and the best way- to stop such violations, a" problem. The Government addresses itself to the solution of this problem in a most lackadaisical way .and fails to provide a system of courts - and officers at all commensurate with the task to be accomplished. Utah, with an hundred fold more criminal cases than any other Territory, is provided with the same means for enforcing the law that the other Territories are. Every year the local question in Utah is made greater and more complicated, and every year the Government provides no additional addi-tional means by which the laws can be vindicated. The courts and the officers offi-cers of the Government do all they can to .enforce the law, but their efforts are puny as compared with the task they undertake. un-dertake. To use a homely illustration, the officers here are in much the same predicament as the "old woman who attempted at-tempted to sop up the sea with her mop. If the Government wishes the sea of lawlessness law-lessness in Utah to continue, then it is using the wisest economy possible. If, on the contrary, the Government wishes the oil of the law to quiet the waves of lawlessness, that the ship of State may. sail triumphant, then the present economy econ-omy in the enforcement of the law in Utah is of the poorest kind, and will eventually cost the Government more money than any other method. We understand from a most reliable source that all the money that the Government Gov-ernment has devoted to the purpose of 1 enforcing the Edmunds law , in Utah, I aside from the regular salaries of the offi- cers, is six hundred dollars, and this was 1 given to defray the expense of some de-j de-j tective work. If this is not "chill pen-! pen-! ury" in a hot fight, pray what is ? Within ! four years the Government has given six j hundred dollars toward the solution of ; one of the most important social prob-' prob-' lems with which it has ever been confronted, con-fronted, or which has ever presented itself it-self to any Government in any age. Some cynic, of monarchical predilections, has said that ingratitude is the vice of republics. It is false, and the American people can point to this six hundred dollars dol-lars as a refutation to such a charge. When we think of the magnitude of this six hundred dollars, Jhe conviction is forced upon us that: the Government should erect a monument to the memory of its own magnanimity -.r-The longer one contemplates this appropriation the more does its size -seem - that of- a Cheops pyramid. On the supposition that there are twelve thousand polygamists in Utah, i the Government, according to - the idea embodied in the amount of this appropriation appro-priation of six hundred dollars, expects to secure convictions at five cents per capita. Surely . justice is not expensive in the United States.' It may appear extreme to figure it out that the Government expects to convict violators of the law at so small a price, but such figuring shows better than anything any-thing else how absurd such an appropriation appropria-tion is. ' It is poor economy and but makes the prosecutions of the law's violators vio-lators more of an aggravation than anything any-thing else. It does more. . It justifies the boast of the violators of the law that the Government cannot suppress polygamy. For the Government to undertake to settle set-tle this Utah question without furnishing the means wherewith to do it, is for it to bring reproach upon itself and place the officers of the law in Utah in most embarrassing em-barrassing circumstances. The Government Govern-ment should establish mat print courts in sufficient numbers to successfully cope with the question it has undertaken to settle ; and such courts mean a sufficient number of officers to enforce and execute the law. : If the Lord is on the side of the Government in this business, it must be an abomination in His Bight to see how the Government goes at the busi-ness. |