Women of Mormonism
Chapter 21 - The Twin Relic
THE WOMEN OF MORMONISM:
or
THE STORY OF POLYGAMY
As Told by the Victims Themselves.
Edited By
JENNIE ANDERSON FROISETH
Editor of the Anti-Polygamy Standard, Salt Lake City,
PUBLISHED BY
C.G.G. PAINE, DETROIT, MICH.
1886
Copyright, 1881 and 1882
By Jennie Anderson Froiseth
THE TWIN RELIC
BY HON. P.T. VAN ZILE, U.S.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR UTAH*
[312]
Philadelphia
Convention, 1857.-No Easy Question.-Mormons Completely Organized.-Tithes.-Polygamy not
Publicly Announced at First.-Wonderful Power of Forgetting-You Cannot Protect Me. -
Proportion of Polygamists.-" Brooming a Bishop."-Polygamists Holding the
Offices.-Spiritual Exaltation.-Mormon Jurors.-Congress Guilty.-Evil Results of
Polygamy.-Laws Suggested.
A NATION seldom moves
deliberately to correct an evil upon its first appearance. But when that evil becomes
strong and defiant, when " right is crushed to earth " and it seems for a time
that evil will prevail in spite of the laws of God or man, when thousands of bleeding
hearts, with their last gasp for life, appeal to a strong nation, when streams of innocent
blood have been spilt upon the ground, and cry to Heaven for vengeance, then governments
are aroused, and often adopt stern measures to correct the evil.
* Read before the Michigan State
Association of Congregational churches, at its meeting in Detroit, May 21, 1880.
On the 17th day of June, 1856, at the city of Philadelphia, that
grand old City where the nation had its birth, a convention of men assembled,-men who had
been moved by appeals for liberty and a better civilization.
The air was full of rumors concerning the oppression of four millions
of human beings almost within the shadows of the National Capitol, while mingled with the
wail which came up from the sunny South, asking for freedom from the bonds of American
slavery, came a petition over the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, from the wilds of the
frontier, from a land two thousand miles away, asking for freedom from an oppression which
ruins soul and body, and makes life worse than a blank.
From this convention of noble men came the first public expression
upon the subject with which we have to deal. So today let these men speak again, I would
that they might arouse and stimulate to action,-earnest, determined action,-the people of
these United States and its Congress. Hear them !
Resolved, That the
Constitution confers, upon Congress, sovereign power over the Territories of the United
States for their government, and that in the exercise of this power it is both the right
and the duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of
barbarism,-Polygamy and Slavery.
Since that declaration, the nation has arisen in its majestic
strength, and carved the one ulcer, slavery, from the body politic, but the other
"twin relic," [314] as foul and abominable an ulcer as, was slavery, still fills
our nostrils with its stench, still disgraces that which we declare is the greatest and
best of governments, still spreads and thrives; and raising its “hydrahead,”
bids defiance to people, to government, and to law. The extent and magnitude of this evil
is not, understood by the majority of the citizens of the United States. It is generally
looked upon as one of the tenets of a church or organization of fanatics who occupy an
out-of-the-way country, and by many a wiseacre it is confidently asserted that the evil
can at any time be easily and readily set aside when the United States, desires to do so.
This is by no means true. By reason of inattention and careless indifference, this
monstrosity has grown and thrived until it has become bold and defiant, and now, when the
Government begins to wake up to the fact, and look toward eradicating it, they find it an
ugly question to solve.
Stop and consider, you who would have the government make laws that
will be effectual in suppressing polygamy. What laws will you have enacted? Is your
answer, A law forbidding practice under heavy penalties? That law has been enacted, and
for nearly eighteen years has been upon our statute books. We can no longer close our eyes
and cry out, This is an easy question to solve. We must awake and realize the fact that
to-day this question has assumed large proportions, and that its solution will puzzle, and
is puzzling, the brains of some of our wisest statesmen.
[315] Let us notice some of the difficulties in the way of enforcing
the law of Congress, prohibiting polygamy in the Territories. If you look at your maps,
you will discover, lying in what is called the great basin the Territory of Utah, composed
of mountains and valleys, and containing 84,276 square miles,-a country about one and
two-thirds times as large as the State of Michigan; and by a little crowding, it could
embrace in its polygamous folds the States of Michigan and Indiana, while Massachusetts or
Vermont could lie down in one of its valleys without being the least inconvenienced for
room.
If you notice the physical geography of this country, you will
observe that it has ranges of mountains running north and south, the Wasatch and the
Oquirrh, and that its agricultural lands are scattered here and there throughout the
Territory, wherever a valley susceptible of cultivation can be found. The consequence is,
the hundred and fifty thousand people who believe, or pretend to believe, that this
monstrous doctrine is a revelation from God, are collected in small settlements here and
there in these several valleys, while the people opposed,-the Gentiles, as we
recalled,-consisting of perhaps ten thousand or less, are centered in the mining camps and
in Salt Lake City, and thus those who advocate the doctrine are left by themselves in most
cases, with no one to report their violations of law.
This vast Territory is divided into three judicial districts, and for
each of these districts the United States appoints a District Judge. In these District
[316] Courts this crime must be prosecuted. This means bringing witnesses and jurors one
hundred and fifty miles out of a country where there are no railroads. Add to this the
fact that most of the people in the Territory are opposed to this law, and will do
everything and anything they can do to defeat its execution. Over this large area of
country this "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," as they call
themselves, with polygamy as one of its cornerstones, has complete sway, and is
continually reaching out into adjoining Territories, and attempting to fasten its
poisonous fangs upon them and bring them under its control.
Never was a body of men so completely organized as is this Mormon
people. It is so arranged that the president of the church can know the sentiment of every
man in the Territory, Mormon or Gentile.
The building up and strengthening of Mormonism is the chief object of
every Mormon; and consequently, he opposes and cripples every effort made by the
Government or its officers to punish polygamy. So every move that is made by a Government
official, and almost every word spoken, is known by the leading Mormons, and arrangements
are made accordingly. All the telegraph lines in the Territory, except the through lines
from east to west, are controlled and owned by the Mormons, and run into the office of
President Taylor. He can know every dispatch that is sent, and by whom. If a United States
officer telegraphs for the arrest of a man or for a witness, John Taylor knows it; and if
he has [317] no objections, the officer will get his prisoner or witness; if Taylor
objects, he will not. The Mormon church is the largest business concern in the Territory.
It owns millions of dollars worth of property. It carries on stock raising, and has large
herds of cattle and sheep scattered all over the Territory. These herds are called the
church herds, and are branded with a cross. They have large cooperative mercantile
institutions in nearly all of the settlements, with a mammoth institution to supply them,
situated in Salt Lake City. You can always know these stores by the sign over the door,
which reads: " Holiness to the Lord. Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution,"
and in the midst is a representation of the all-seeing Eye. All their goods are marked
with the letters Z. C. M. I.; even to the horse-block in front.
The church collects from its members a large amount each year for
tithing. Taylor reported one year one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars and how much
more was collected I do not know. Brigham Young, although often requested, never made but
one report about the tithing, and that was in the tabernacle and consisted in this: 'It is
none of your ________ business how much tithing has been collected."
The marriage ceremony is performed in secret and the most terrible
oaths are taken never to reveal what transpires. To these oaths are attached the most
horrible penalties, some of which are that the participants will have their tongues torn
out by [318] the roots, their throats cut from ear to ear, their bodies sawn asunder, and
their knee-joints broken, and the like, should they ever reveal what they see or hear
while in the Endowment House. Think of putting a witness on the stand to testify, who
feels himself bound by these oaths! And these penalties are not meaningless, as many a
poor victim would testify if his voice could be heard. Many men and women have lost their
lives for no other offense than revealing what has transpired in this sink-hole of
iniquity,-the Mormon Endowment House. I mention these facts that you may understand some
of the difficulties we have to meet when we undertake to enforce the law of Congress
forbidding polygamy in the Territories.
Polygamy is antagonistic to decency, and would not be tolerated by a
civilized community. The Mormons understand this as well as you, and they would never
undertake to practice it openly and in defiance of law in the State of Michigan, or any
other of the States. But Utah seemed peculiarly favorable to its growth, and until
recently it has grown and flourished without molestation. The pretended revelation from
God upon which this doctrine of polygamy is founded, is claimed by the Mormons to have
been received in 1843, by their prophet Joseph Smith; and although a fair construction of
the language of that revelation would seem to make it not only the privilege but the duty
of every true Latter-day Saint to practice polygamy, nothing of the kind was done until
they passed the boundaries of' civilization and [319] settled in the valleys of this
Territory, except in a few cases, and that very secretly. And even after their settlement
in Utah, some of their leaders,-among them John Taylor,-denied that it was a tenet of
their church.
When, however, they became well established, and over a thousand
miles intervened between them and the Missouri River, with the great Rocky Mountain range,
which in those days was almost impassable between them and the outside world on the east,
and the Sierra Nevadas on the west, when they found the land they had chosen surrounded by
snowcapped mountains,-a perfect prison-house, from which no man, woman, or child could
escape,-then it was that in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, nine years after
their pretended prophet claimed that God spoke to him and revealed his will concerning
this people and polygamy, this infamous doctrine was publicly announced by Brigham Young.
But there were those even at that early day who would not and did not receive this
doctrine, and who believed it came rather from the devil than from God. And today, in the
city of Salt Lake, there lives a respected old lady who has stemmed the tide of Mormon
opposition for over thirty years; and although she saw the husband of her youth leave her
and take to his embrace other women whom he called wives, and although she became to his
affections an outcast, still that grand woman has been sustained in all these
tribulations, and has, in the midst of all, succeeded in raising up her family [320] which
was large, and, thank God, there is not one of them that does not despise Mormonism. That
woman is no less a personage than the first and only legal wife of Orson Pratt, one of the
chief apostles of the Mormon church.
But the Mormon leaders of those early days made excuses to their
followers for not publicly announcing this revelation. Among others, the following, were
given: That influenced by certain notions of duty, even good men may try to steal a march
upon their fellows, for the purpose of doing them a service; that it was determined in
those days that the world has no business to know everything the Lord has revealed, and
that evasiveness on the subject of marriage was an obligation for the protection of the
church,-an aid to the Lord in the establishment
of that institution until it became strong enough to take care of itself; that great
truths fully offered to the world would be casting pearls before swine, and a dozen other
reasons.
One thing is certain; from that day to this, falsifying among the
leaders has been cultivated as a fine art. They study the art of forgetting what they have
seen and heard, and so it often happens that a Mormon, perhaps one of the everlasting
priesthood, as they call them, goes upon the witness stand, and testifies that he cannot
remember having performed a marriage ceremony that took place within a week past. He will
not swear that he did not, but he has no recollection on the subject. They all have
wonderful powers of forgetting-I have never [321]
found one who had a retentive memory when a polygamy case was on trial.
With this doctrine of polygamy, a fundamental principle of Mormonism
in Utah, there grew up and became well established, a Theocratic Government with the
president of the Mormon church at its head and it exists today. No despot ever had more
absolute control over his subjects than Brigham Young, nor more than John Taylor has today
over the members of the Mormon church.
Their victim once in polygamy, they have him chained and
manacled,-there is no retreat, no escape. He at once shuns the Gentiles, for fear of being
exposed, and like a cringing cur, obeys the "Mormon priesthood" for fear they
will withdraw their protection, or as they term it, “turn him over to the buffetings
of Satan.”
The first lesson learned by a Mormon is to obey counsel, right or
wrong, and ask no questions. Whatever he is told to do must be done: if it is a good deed,
he should be deed, he should be thankful; if it is bad, or even criminal, he must not
hesitate, but do as the " Servants of the Lord (?) have directed, and let the
consequences take care of themselves."
The result of this is that today many and many a man is bound to the
Mormon church and its institutions by no other bond than a consciousness that the "
priesthood " know of too many instances where he obeyed counsel, and in obeying
committed some dreadful deed. He has heard, may be, for these many years the blood of his
victim crying [322] from the ground, and has seen before him the last look mingled with
the agony of death; and with this comes the consciousness that all is known by this Mormon
priesthood, and he dares not break loose.
Some have come out and confessed, upon being promised immunity, but
they are comparatively few. Less than a year ago, I witnessed the struggle of one who had
" obeyed counsel " to the fullest extent. I promised to protect him if he would
confess to me, and give him the word of the Attorney General of the United States if
necessary. He listened to me, waited, seemed to consider the proposition favorably; but
finally with a sigh he said, " No, it will not do, you cannot protect me;" and
with this he left my office.
Polygamy is in every sense of the word an ulcer on the body politic.
It does not belong in America, and should not be tolerated in America; and if there is no
other way, we should apply the knife and carve it out. - These people delight in calling
themselves "a peculiar people," and they are indeed peculiar. They haven’t
a single sentiment of Republicanism in their souls.
They are mostly foreigners, and as I have heard them often express
it, they came to this country because it is a free country. Freedom, to them, means
license. Under such circumstances, do you wonder that there are obstacles in the way of
enforcing the law?
[323] But not all of those practice polygamy who belong to the Mormon
Church, and claim to believe in the so-called revelation from God, received by the
prophet, Joseph Smith. Just what proportion do, it is impossible for me or any other
outsider to say. It may be, and undoubtedly is, known by those in authority; but no
outsider is permitted to examine or even cast his ungodly eyes on one of their records,
and especially the record of marriages. Nor is any Latter-day Saint permitted to disclose
the fact, if he knows, and so it is variously estimated from one tenth to one-seventh.
There is, in the Mormon Endowment House, a record of marriages. The time of the court has
been occupied for hours and days, trying to find the man who could, or rather would,
produce that book. I have found witnesses who would swear they had seen it; but none of
them would testify to its whereabouts, or who was the custodian. The art of forgetting was
always invoked, and was generally adequate to the task. Now doesn’t it seem strange
that the president of the church himself could not tell where that record was? I have had him on the witness stand on two
different occasions, and on each occasion he swore-this man of God (?)-that he could not
tell where that record was, and that he had no idea of where it could be found. Oh what
blasphemy, for such men to claim that they are the prophets and servants of the most high
God!
But you at once ask, If polygamy is believed to be a law of God,
especially for this people, why do [324] they not all practice it ? There is one very good
reason: there are not women enough. Several of the leaders have appropriated from six to a
dozen, and have thus prevented others from living up to their privileges, as they call it.
This is not the only reason. It is not every man who feels able to
take upon himself the burden of so large a family.
This is by no means considered a good reason by all; for a great
many, if not the majority of the polygamists, take plural wives for the support it gives
them,-the women supporting the husband and children both, and all growing up more like
animals than human beings.
Another reason is, there are now a good many wives among the Mormons
in Utah, who have independence enough to stand up for right and decency, and give their
husbands to understand that if they undertake to go into polygamy, the United States
officers will be informed, and they will be prosecuted.
Some women go so far as to settle matters themselves; as, for
example, the following, clipped from our morning paper, will testify:-
"The other day a little flurry was created on one of our
principal streets by the sight of a dignified and portly individual, no less a personage,
in fact, than one of the bishops of J.C. of L. D. S., running along the sidewalk in
breathless haste, closely followed by an indignant woman armed with a broom. Twice or
thrice in the course of the pursuit, the flying [325] bishop received a well-directed blow
from this weapon, which had the effect of causing him to break into a mad gallop, keeping
it up until he disappeared around the nearest corner. An inquiry as to the meaning-of this
unusual spectacle developed the following facts:-
"A good Saint, whom we will call brother Jones because that
isn't his name, has resided in Salt 1ake City many years, and accumulated considerable
property; but he has lived beneath his religious privileges, and contented himself with
one wife. On the day referred to, the bishop, feeling called upon to admonish him with
regard to his neglect of the glorious privileges of Latter-day dispensation, called at his
house and reproved him in the presence of his wife, telling him that his chances of
exaltation would be slim indeed if he did not set about looking up another spouse at once.
"Sister Jones only waited to hear him finish the first sentence
of the latter portion of his, admonition, when, seizing the broom, she exclaimed:-
" 'Get out of this! you villain; I'll teach you to come into an
honest woman's house and advise her husband to take another wife. Take that, and that ' -
laying the broom-handle vigorously about his head and shoulders. The wretched bishop
grabbed his hat and made for the door; but before he could reach it, the blows fell thick
and fast on his defenseless head. Once outside, he thought himself safe, but he soon
discovered his mistake. Nemesis was behind him in the shape of that broom, and his flight
[326] through the gate and down the street was accelerated every few steps in the manner
we have described. When he reached home and counted up his bruises, he registered a vow.
Henceforth, when he counsels an erring brother, he will choose his opportunity more
wisely, and the admonitions that he gives on the subject of celestial marriage will be
uttered far from the hearing of indignant wives, armed with brooms."
There are two classes of Mormons. One class is liberal in its views,
and appeals to be trying hard to get a knowledge of the manners and customs of the outside
world. And although those who compose it are still Mormons, members of the church, they
are not willing to adopt or believe in this doctrine of polygamy. This class is composed
principally of young men and young women, often the sons and daughters of leading Mormons,
generally the children of the first or legal wife, who are, as a rule, bitterly opposed to
polygamy. From this class every year comes a multitude of what the Mormons call, and
properly, too, apostates.
The other class, which is largely in the majority consists of those
who shut their eyes to everything except the curses of the :Mormon priesthood. They are
mostly foreigners, brought here by the Mormon missionaries from almost every country on
the globe. The greater part of them are ignorant and superstitious, and really believe all
that the priesthood claim for their religion. With this class, polygamy is growing in
favor, and I am inclined to [327] think that more people are entering polygamy today than
ever before. In some settlements, where the inhabitants are all Mormons and away by
themselves, polygamy is very generally practiced.
It will undoubtedly seem strange to you
who live in a country where law is respected, and if violated, punishment follows, that in
the face and eyes of the law of Congress these people continue to enter this relation ;
but so it is.
The reasons for this are not wanting. The
people hear the leaders, especially John Taylor, boast of the fact that no government on
earth can prevent the practice of polygamy in Utah. George Q. Cannon, home on leave a year
ago from Congress, said the same in substance, and polygamy is openly preached in their
meetings. Public sentiment favors it. The man who opposes it is opposing the whole
community, while he who favors it is a hero, and the leaders see to it that he is
rewarded.
No man in Utah can expect any political
preferment who is opposed to polygamy. This rule is carried out down to the lowest office
in the Territory.
The legislature which was in session this
last winter was composed almost entirely of polygamists. And the United States Congress
appropriated out of Uncle Sam’s money from $20,000 to $25,000 to pay these law
breakers their per diem. Men who not only
live in open violation of the laws but preach and advise others to do so, will reach out
their hands and take from the Government they despise, this $20,000, while in their hearts
they are continually [328] planning the violation of its laws, and defying its power to
punish them.
The Mormon leaders decide who shall hold
the offices. Brigham Young did not conceal this fact. When the law passed Congress
forbidding polygamy, Brigham Young openly boasted that he would crowd polygamy down the
throats of the United States Congress, and he did it. Captain Hooper, then in Congress,
was a monogamist. He was kept at home, and Geo. Q. Cannon, who has four wives, who was
twice indicted, and who is notoriously a polygamist and defiant so far as the law of
Congress is concerned, and who openly preaches the foul and abominable doctrine, was the
pill prepared by Brigham Young.
The Gentiles protested, sent a man to
contest his seat; but the Congress of the United States opened its precious mouth and
swallowed Geo. Q. Cannon, polygamy and all, and today he sits among the law-makers for
this Government as the Honorable member from Utah; so Brigham Young was able to say, and
John Taylor can say, " This is the way the truly faithful are rewarded." Another
incentive for entering polygamy and advocating it is, it shows fidelity to the church. But
the reason paramount to all others with the truly sincere, and there are some sincere
ones, is that by it they expect to obtain spiritual exaltation. It is taught by the Mormon
priests that a monogamist will occupy a very humble position in the other world, if he
gains celestial glory at all; that those who have practiced polygamy will, [329] in the
next world, be kings and queens, and that they will obtain excellence and exaltation in
proportion to their faithful performance of the tenets of the church, especially polygamy.
And so, if a Mormon has a friend who died unmarried, in order to save that friend in the
next world, he gets some one to be sealed to his friend for eternity. It simply means
marriage for eternity.
But I am not willing to concede that any
of these reasons are what actuate very many men. I think that in a great many cases, lust
is the only incentive, and that the church and this bogus religion is only a cloak they
use to cover their real reasons.
There is, however, among a large class of
Mormons a growing feeling of dissatisfaction, particularly among the younger people. They
are beginning to understand the hollowness of the doctrine of the church, and I am
inclined to think the examinations to which we have recently subjected Mormons who have
been summoned as jurors has had something to do in bringing this about.
Let me give you a. sample of one of these
examinations. At the last term of court in
the Southern District, I was examining persons summoned to sit as a grand jury. One man was called who lived in the extreme
southern portion of the Territory. He was
sworn to answer such questions as should be put to him.
After asking the usual preliminary questions, I asked, “Do you believe
that the revelation claimed to have been received by Joseph Smith, with reference to
polygamy, came from God? - Ans [330]" Yes, sir." " Do you believe that
polygamy is a law of God to this people? "-Ans. "Yes, sir, I know it is."
“How do you know it?"-Ans. "I have been told it was." "By
whom?" To my utter surprise the answer was, "By the Holy Ghost."
"When?"-Ans. "When I was nine years old."
I am convinced that there is a large class
of men in Utah today, living in polygamy, who if they could honorably release themselves,
would certainly do so, and will welcome the day, if it ever comes, that frees them from
this bondage.
These men have raised and have about them
large families, in many cases dependent on them for support, and they feel in duty bound
to keep the families together, and so continue in this relation.
The apostasy from the Mormon church is
very great, and would in time break up the institution, were it not for immigration which
largely exceeds the apostasy.
Some of the causes which tend to
perpetuate polygamy I have already mentioned; namely, for the sake of obtaining the favor
of the leaders-political preferment,-to show fidelity to the church and its doctrines, and
to obtain spiritual exaltation.
To the reasons already advanced, I will
add: The inability of the Government under the present state of the laws to effectually
convict and punish polygamists,.
And I charge upon the Congress of the
United States, in a great measure, the perpetuation of this foul crime. Never in the
history of the contest has a bill tending to the extinguishment of this damnable
institution been offered in Congress except it had all the vitality amended out of it, and
a compromise measure passed which was an elephant to handle. More often a bill has been
entirely defeated in the committee to which it was referred, by some man like Proctor
Knott, who shows every symptom of being retained in the interest of the Mormon church, and
never reported back to the House-never even introduced.
Think of it! The crime of polygamy in Utah
actually outlaws in three years' time !
A man takes a plural wife, keeps it
secret, perhaps sends her home to her own parents for three years, then takes her to his
harem and openly lives with her as his wife, and he can snap his fingers, at the officers
of the law. The statute of limitation protects him. There is no law punishing adultery or
lewd and lascivious cohabitation, and so the man who can hide his crime for three years,
(and there is no difficulty where he has the whole community to help him as he has here,)
goes scot free, and can practice polygamy openly.
We hear the cry coming up to us Why don't
you punish the leaders? The answer is, Their crimes by the laws of the United States have
outlawed, and they see to it that every offense does outlaw before it becomes known.
Representative Willits, of Michigan,
introduced in Congress, this session, a bill repealing this law of limitation so far as it
affects this crime, and other [332] bills, which if they could be passed and become laws,
would shake this institution from center to circumference. On being introduced in the
House, they were referred to the Judiciary committee of which Proctor Knott is chairman,
who referred the bills to a sub-committee of two, of which he himself was one, and that
has been the end of the Willits bill.
The Mormons have always had a man or two
in Congress through whom they have been able to shape legislation.
If there is one thing more than another in
connection with this matter to be hoped and prayed for, it is that men who understand and
feel the importance of looking after this problem in Utah will be elected to Congress this
fall. It is high time for the people all over this country to make themselves heard upon
this subject, and in such a way that they may be understood.
I have not the time to discuss in this
paper, as fully as I would like, the evils that result from polygamy. I can only mention
some of them.
The first great evil, and one more
noticeable in Utah than any other, is licentiousness and prostitution. All the men, women,
and children hear this abominable relation discussed every day of their lives; the
attention of young men and young women is called continually to the social evil, and
licentiousness and prostitution is the natural result.
The second is a general disregard of
morals, resulting from the manner in which the children are [333] raised. A man with from
twenty to sixty children and from half a dozen to a dozen women who think no more of
themselves than to become concubines, can hardly expect, if he cares to consider it, that
this numerous family will grow up possessing a high standard of morality.
The third evil is untruthfulness, and when
necessary, false swearing. It is instilled into the minds of all that they must keep as a
secret the relation in which their fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters are
living; and if brought into court, it is no crime to swear that they have no knowledge on
the subject, or that these parties are not living in polygamy. Indeed, they are told, and
impressed with the idea, that if they undertake to divulge the facts of a plural marriage,
their memory will be taken away, and so they generally swear that they cannot remember.
At the last session of the Third District
Court in Salt Lake City, I heard more perjury to shield polygamists, in one day, than I
have ever heard in all the time I lived in the State of Michigan.
The fourth is its destruction of all the
finer sentiments of men and women, and they become coarse and gross. Especially this is true of woman. It reduces her from a woman, devoted, trusting,
loving, and to be loved, to a mere animal or machine. She no longer lives; she simply
exists, to be used by, and to serve the foul purposes of, a licentious, beastly man.
Love and hope that once glowed and burned
[334] within her, have gone out and become dead, ashy embers.
She looks into the eyes of the child at
her breast without hope, and almost shudders for its future. The eyes once full of hope
and bright with anticipation, have become lifeless and sunken; and if you were to write
the cause of all this, it would be but one word-polygamy.
With this great evil upon us, we naturally
ask .What is the best course for the Government to pursue to abolish it?
Upon this I can only suggest a thought or
two, and must leave you to carry out the argument; for this, if fully discussed, would
consume the whole time allotted to this paper.
First,
I would repeal the law of limitation so far as it protects this offense, and let it be
understood that if a man goes into polygamy, and thus violates the law of Congress, the
crime committed would never outlaw,-that he
would be liable to prosecution at any time during his life. This is my favorite measure. I believe it would be more potent in breaking up
polygamy than any law Congress could pass. The little dodge I have mentioned, of keeping
quiet till the offense outlawed, would not be so effectual.
Second,
I would pass a law prescribing what should constitute marriage, and among its provisions I
would require a public record of the marriage, which should be in all cases proof of the
marriage; and I would not recognize the legality of the Endowment House marriage.
[335] Third, I would disfranchise every person who is
living in polygamy, or who would swear he believed it right or a religious duty to
practice it.
Fourth,
I would pass a law forbidding, and providing punishment for, adultery and lewd and
lascivious cohabitation.
Fifth,
I would make cohabitation and the admission of the parties evidence of marriage.
Sixth,
I would make polygamy odious in every way, and would commence by expelling from the United
States Congress the notorious polygamist, George Q. Cannon, who today has four wives
living. I would do this if for no other
reason than because I think it a disgrace to the Government to allow such a man to sit in
its Congress.
Seventh,
I would abolish the Territorial legislature, of which nine-tenths of the members are
polygamists.
These are a few mild remedies I would
apply to this ulcer, and I would increase them as I discovered the needs of the patient.
And if mild applications proved ineffectual, I would carve the infamous thing from the
body politic.
A work is being done here by men and women
who are true missionaries. Gentiles, Christian ministers, and teachers are establishing
schools all over the Territory. I wish I
could give you the history of these schools, and the good they are doing; but you can
imagine, knowing as you do that education is the forerunner of civilization, and the
lighting up of dark places. Every church that
has a foothold [336] in Salt Lake City, has established a school; and among the prosperous
schools is Salt Lake Academy, under the management of the Congregational church, with
Prof. Edward Benner as principal.
The mining resources of the Territory are
bringing business men into the country, and will in time be powerful in abolishing the
peculiar institution.
You Christian ministers of the State of
Michigan have a work to do in this matter, and if you fail to do it, you must be held
responsible for that neglect.
I call upon you to arouse the people in
your several congregations upon this subject. So shape public sentiment, and so interest
the community, that your influence will be felt in the Congress of the United States, to
the end that we may have such legislation as will lead to the utter overthrow in this
country of this infamous practice.
I would not have it understood that all is
utter darkness, or that we feel discouraged in the work, for it is not so. There are times
when discouragements seem to cast a shadow over us; -but the light is beginning to dawn,
and I believe there will come a day-how soon is for the people of this great nation to
say-when this " Twin Relic of Barbarism " will, like American Slavery, be in the
history of this country a thing of the past. May God hasten the day.
Next: CHAPTER XXII. SOME SUGGESTIVE LETTERS
BY HON. P.T. VAN ZILE, U.S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR UTAH*
Difficulties in the way of Convicting Mormons.-How to Crush It.-Law of
Limitation.-Disfranchise the Polygamists.-Punish Adultery-"Don't Persecute
Us."-Mormon Buncombe.- Treason.-No Kid -Glove Proceedings.-The Young Men
Back: CHAPTER XX. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO
ABOUT IT?
BY THE LATE REV. LEONARD BACON, D.D., LL.D.*
Something Now.-Thirty Years' Compromise.- National Sovereignty.-People Unfit for Self
Government.-No State Rights.-The First of Human Right.-Jim Fisk
Index: INTRODUCTION AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
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