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Show i THE SHIELD OF FAITH. " i 1 The second number of the Shield of - Faith is out. It is inte.esting and serves i as a. record of all who. have been r j i ? convicted, of polygamy and unlawful : " "cohabitation, and defines the status of ' ' ' - j each in regard to obeying the law in fu ture. There is absent one name from those who promised to obey the Edmunds law the one whose name is absent is Mr. C. V. Spencer. This may very aptly be called the roll of honor, and people t . will select the ones to place in that roll , , according to their ideas of what is honor . i ; and what is not. This Shield of Faith shows one thing very plainly, which is ; that those who have declined to promise J . obedience to the law are far more numer- i :, ous than those who have promised to : ; J obey it. . i The Edmunds law was passed to ac- !( - complish a particular object, which object ; f j ; was the suppression of polygamy. For ; h this purpose that law imposed a certain ; punishment for forming a polygamous marriage, and another punishment for ! ; the continuance of the relationship after ! it was formed. Very few convictions ,: have been had for the crime of polygamy ; since the passage of that law, but there ! . : ,' has been quite a number of convictions for unlawful cohabitation. The reason for this is that in the one instance it is s almost impossible to get any evidence of : ; ; the marriage, while in the other it is not so difficult. The convictions for unlaw ful cohabitation being frequent, it may be - aBked how it is that apparently there is .:! no inclination on the part of the polyg- : amists to discontinue the practice of un-: f )i lawful cohabition. For this condition of ': f ' ( i things many reasons may be assigned,and -i , i: " among the true reasons will be found the ' -. j i following ones. Those who are in polyg- : I ! amy believe that the Government will . get tired of prosecuting the violators of i ; the Edmunds law, if those violators but i f hold out long enough. Their experience 1 , of enforcing the anti-polygamy law by the I: ' li Government in the past gives consider- ! .. . i able justification to their view of the pres- ! ent effort to vindicate the law. Then ! j : again these same violators of the law re- j j ceive a great deal of sympathy from their co-religinists who are not liable to prose- t cution, and this sympathy gives to these ! violators of the law much hope and con- j t siderable strength to bear the penalties . i ' imposed upon them for the violation of the law. Another reason that may be j assigned for the defiant attitude those : ; who go to jail in preference to promising . , to obey the law, is that the punishment .;;!jf imposed upon them is comparatively t . light;' and knowing the, character ; of evidence required to secure a convic-f convic-f i : tion for unlawful cohabitation, upon their ' . i 1 release from prison it is their detennina-; detennina-; ! tion to avoid any course of conduct or the f making of any remark that can by any ; i means be construed into evidence of co. ; , habitation with plural wives. Their posi- tion in this regard can be best illustrated j by the story of the Irishman. ""Pat," , , , 'said the judge, "I sincerely hope that as : ; , :f ! this is your first offense, you will never : ; p i ' be caught stealing again.". "Your Honor, r 1 A . 1 I join you in the hope that I won't be ! J f i caught stealing again." ; ' i n i j Another reason why those who are in " " j j prison noV for breaking the Edmunds J 'aw will not be reformed, -is that ' . j if they are all .associated together, and ' ' j I being together, they naturally discuss '' j ' the reasons for their confinement, and in ' their discussions come to the conclusion . . ' I i that they are being persecuted and are ? J , .. real martyrs. This is naturally the case . . H 'i with all ' men who are associated in con- i . finement, and to so associate men is the '(!' surest way in the world to confirm them "! ;'A- in their crimes or errors. This is the h ! defect in the prison system in Utah, and j j i j not of any law. . f ; ! I . 'I To see the evil which pervades the Ter- ! s j ritory and to imderstand many of the j I reasons for its continuance, is one thing, but to suggest its cure is quite another, and one far more difficult. If the forma-' '' tion of a polygamous marriage is to be : j punished as a crime in' those entering in- . - ; to the relationship, then those perform- ( ;j ing the ceremony creating such polygam- I' i f j 1 . ' ous relationsliip should be punished I equally with those entering into such pro- j hibited marriage. The polygamous mar- i ifi riage is punished as-being inconsistent i : ' hi with the unit of the State, which is the i S, family upon the monogamic system. If i ' the formation of such a marriage is pro- j , i hibited and heavily punished when j ' f j' J i formed, then the same reasons exist for ji prohibiting , the continuance of such - ' ' ' ; ;! illegal relationsliip after its formation as jf.Mi .- for prohibiting its formation. This being the case, why should not the continuation ! ; j of the relationship be punished to the ' same extent that its formation is? Make ' the punishment for unlawful cohabita- ! j I tion co-extensive with that for polygamy, f ' 'I L as a first and indispensable step. There Mi are others to be taken, but none of them t i , j . should be backward from the progress ! that has been made; Another thing that -1 1 should be done is to abolish the statute i I ! of limitations so far as polygamy and un-r un-r jr lawinl cohabitation are concerned; or, at ! r, least, extend the time in which these j-; ! Hi. crimeB may be barred to such a lengta !:- J ); . that the statute cannot be so easily lived' !.; r i i down as now. But all these things may ! t .; be done and still very little will be ac- f If' complished- towards vindicating the laws j i unless the prosecuting force of the Gov- i j r i , ernment is increased so as to be equal to ! I j . the exigencies of thecal And when all ; ! , I this is done it must not be forgotten that U much time will be necessary to make I Utah harmonious with the rest of the I . ! i f ' Union, and for her to become thoroughly ' , adjusted .to the new and better condition : f j of things.; If time is the tomb-builder it is also the great healer. ; . ' i - ' . - - ' " . in! - '. : |