Women of Mormonism
Chapter 22 - Some Suggestive Letters
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
SOME SUGGESTIVE LETTERS
BY HON. P.T. VAN ZILE, U.S.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR UTAH*
[337]
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
LETTER NUMBER
ONE.
SALT LAKE
CITY, UTAH, Jan. 11, 1881.
YOUR letter of December 28,
1880, asking in substance why the law of Congress forbidding polygamy in the Territories
is not enforced in Utah, is at hand, and I take occasion at this, my earliest opportunity,
to answer you. In your letter you seem to assume that no efforts are made to execute the
law. This is by no means correct. Every effort that can be made, is made by the officers;
and some cases have been prosecuted and convictions obtained. It is true, however, that a
majority of the offenders go unwhipped of justice, and this must continue to be the case
until Congress takes this matter in hand, and enacts
*These letters were addressed to the
editor of the Inter-Ocean, and were published in
that paper in 1881 and 1882
[338] some further laws. This question has been handled with gloves
when handled at all. The poultice policy has been too long in favor, and to Congress
belongs the blame for not ridding the country of this foul stain, polygamy. They have, to
be sure, enacted a law forbidding polygamy and declaring it a crime; but for these many
years they have permitted our hands to be tied by failing to enact measures that are
necessary for the enforcement of the law, so that today the law is not respected. The law
we are called upon to enforce reads as follows:-
SEC. 5352.
" Every person having a husband or wife living who marries another, whether married
or single * * * is guilty of bigamy and shall be punished. " * * *
It will be observed that the offense consists in " marrying
another." In other words, it is the marriage that constitutes the offense, and
therefore, it is the marriage that must be proven. In order to convict a man of bigamy, it
is incumbent upon the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt-
First, That the defendant
at the time it is alleged he committed the offense had a lawful wife living.
Second, That having a
lawful wife living, he married another-not that he lives and cohabits with another, but
that he married another.
Third, That this bigamous
marriage was solemnized within the last three years past. For, strange as it may seem,
Congress has allowed this crime of bigamy to be subject to the general limitation law.
[339] Now, with these propositions in our mind, let us look at some
of the difficulties in the way of successfully prosecuting one of these Mormon saints (
?).
The first thing a federal officer has impressed upon his mind when he
undertakes to enforce this law, is that he is in Utah, and not in the State of Illinois,
or in any other of the States in this Union, and it is by no means fair to judge us by
what would be expected of the prosecuting officers in the States. There the entire
community demands and expects that if a man commits bigamy he will be punished. Every man,
woman, and child cry out against the crime. In Utah we have the reverse, or nearly so. The
last census gave Utah 143,900 inhabitants, or thereabouts. Out of this number at least
100,000 are real or pretended believers in, and advocates of, this foul crime of polygamy.
They preach it and hear it preached in their church openly from week to week. Their
fathers and mothers, ,sisters and brothers, perhaps, practice it. Many of them are the
children of polygamous marriages. This public sentiment, which has possession of the whole
Territory, urges every individual to obstruct, in every way possible, the enforcement of
this law of Congress. They excuse their acts to their own consciences by about this kind
of reasoning:-
"God, through his prophet, Joseph Smith, has revealed it unto
this people that they should practice polygamy. God's law sanctions, if it does not
command, that this people practice polygamy. Opposed to it is the law of man. Which, when
they conflict,
[340] should be violated, God's law, or man's law?-Why, man’s
law of course."
Every Mormon marriage is solemnized in the Endowment House. No person
is permitted to enter this house except the tried and faithful Mormon, and all who do
enter are sworn never to reveal anything that transpires. Because of this secret marriage
ceremony, the greatest difficulty is experienced in executing the law. You, who wonder
that this law is not enforced, stop for a moment and consider the situation here in Utah,
in the light of these facts. The sentiment of the whole Territory is opposed to
enforcement of the law, and the offense is committed only in the presence of those who
swear never to reveal it, who are, in fact, particeps
criminis to the offense. With this state of facts can you expect successful
prosecutions of polygamy cases?
Daniel H. Wells, the first counselor to
President John Taylor, was summoned by the prosecution in the case of John Miles; but
rather than reveal what took place in the Endowment House, he suffered imprisonment for
contempt. Before the court made the order, however, he testified that he was under sworn
obligation not to reveal what transpired.
A third obstruction to the enforcement of this law is, these offenses
are generally known only to Mormons, who believe that polygamy is a law of God unto the
people, and that the law of Congress is simply enacted to persecute the Mormons. Upon
these persons the prosecution must largely rely for proof of the offense charged. It is
difficult for you [341] to understand that it is almost impossible to get the facts before
a court and jury from such witnesses? Why, perhaps the very witness you rely on is himself
a polygamist, at that moment as guilty as the man on trial; besides, he does not wish to
see a conviction, and is opposed to the prosecution in every way. He has taken an oath, to
which is attached a horrible penalty, never to reveal the very matter concerning which he
is asked to testify.
Do you think for a moment that such a witness is available?
What is the result generally? These witnesses have convenient
memories, or rather a convenient way of forgetting. They can't remember. I have known
witnesses to remember every other circumstance connected with the case except the
all-important fact, the marriage,-that they had no recollection of ( ?). And horrible as
it may .seem, it is nevertheless true that these witnesses, when pressed to the wall, and
the general answer "I don't recollect" will not do, will perjure themselves.
rather than reveal the facts.
Mothers and fathers will testify they know nothing about the marriage
of their daughters who are living with polygamists and rearing children; plural wives will
swear that they are only mistresses; and, in fact, almost any statement will be made to
evade the law, and they will satisfy their consciences, by the all-consoling belief that
they did it for " Christ's sake. "
The first or lawful wife is not allowed to testify [342] as a
witness, and so it often happens that the first or legal marriage is more difficult to
prove than the second or polygamous marriage. Often the first marriage was solemnized in a
foreign country; for it will be remembered that a large proportion of the Mormons are
foreigners. The certificates of marriage will not do; the defendant must be confronted
with the witnesses.
The fact that the offense must have been committed within the last
three years, shields nine-tenths of all the polygamy in Utah today. It is generally
understood that this crime outlaws in three years; and with this limitation law in view, a
Mormon takes a young girl into the Endowment House, and she is sealed to him as a
polygamous or plural wife. She then goes home to her father's house, and lives for three
years apart from her polygamous husband. The fact is kept quiet by those who know about it
until the offense is outlawed; then the polygamous husband calls for his concubine, and
lives with her in open defiance of the Government or its officers.
The honorable member from Utah, one of the nation's law-makers,
George Q. Cannon, who has four wives, slipped his neck out because of this limitation law;
and to-day, instead of being in the penitentiary, he is allowed to disgrace the government
of these United States-a Government for which he has no respect, and whose laws he
violates and openly counsels others to violate-by sitting in the House of Representatives
as delegate for this Territory. Is it to be wondered at that loyal, law-abiding citizens
become disheartened?
[343] It should further be understood, in connection with the
difficulties I have mentioned, that there are no laws forbidding adultery, lewd and
lascivious cohabitation, incest, or seduction in this Territory, otherwise we might arrest
these offenders for adultery, the plural marriage being void. The only law we have to
correct the evil is this law of Congress above quoted.
In view of the situation I have urged the passage of certain bills by
Congress, which, it seems to me, would go a great way toward helping out the difficulty.
Concerning these bills I will write you at some future time.
LETTER NUMBER
ONE.
SALT LAKE
CITY, UTAH, Feb. 10, 1881.
It is a very easy matter to deal in generalities. It is no hard thing
for us to say “Congress should pass such laws as will effectually put an end to this
vile practice-polygamy-in the Territory;” but when we come to specify what measures
should be enacted, then it is that we are often bewildered.
There are in this country two distinct parties that have taken issue
with each other upon this Mormon question. One party contends that this problem must be
solved by moral suasion, that there is no necessity for Congress to pay much attention to
the subject, but that the missionary, school-teacher, and preacher, will .solve the
question and regenerate [344 Utah. The other party believes and advocates that the
school-teachers and ministers are necessary, but that Congress must also step into the
breach and pass rigid laws, laws that carry with them such provisions as will enable the
officers to enforce them. To this latter class I belong.
I know the cry raised by our friends upon the other side is, 'You are
asking for class legislation; you are making a specialty of these Mormon fanatics. "
Call it what you please; I know that the United States must act in this matter, or soon
this ulcer will have spread and assumed such proportions that the Government can only rid
itself by severing it from the body politic.
You who cry, " Let it alone, and apply moral suasion," do
you remember that the other "twin relic," American slavery, which, thank God, is
no more, set up the same cry? And, oh, to the shame of this great nation it must be
written! for years and years we did let it alone, until the bitter wail of five million
souls went up to God, and this nation was drenched in blood. Today, not millions, but
thousands, of burdened souls, who have experienced the beastly practice, polygamy,-souls
whose light has nearly gone out in this world, and whose faith in mankind is weak, if not
extinct, are praying for the day when they may be disenthralled from a slavery which has
been a living death to them.
If every Congressman could hear the experience of some of the legal
wives in Utah related by themselves, and hear the earnest prayers often spoken [345]
aloud, but oftener prayed in secret, there would be no need of any lobby at the Capitol to
urge that laws be passed that would eventually stamp out this relic of barbarism.
John
Taylor, Successor of Brigham Young
The time has passed, if it ever was, when this sickly sentimentality,
" Moral suasion and let-it-alone doctrine," would .satisfy the ends of justice.
The time has come, and now is, when this Government must act, must see that its laws are
vindicated, and that its dignity is upheld. But how is this to be done? What laws are
needed?
We all agree that the leaders, those who are not only violating and
living in open violation of the law themselves, but are urging others to violate and
disregard the law, should be punished. How is this to be done? What laws are needed? John
Taylor, the president of the saintly (?) gang, will stand up and proclaim to the public
that he is in polygamy, and is glad of it. And there are plenty of others who do the same
thing. They have all violated the law of
Congress prohibiting polygamy, but they are protected by the law of limitation. More than three years have expired since they
“married another,” that is, committed the crime of bigamy. This law of limitation is a perfect protection to
them, and will successfully ward off any and all attacks that the Government with its
present weapons can make upon them. In other words, the United States says to them, "
Now, you must not live in polygamy, for if you
do, I shall punish you unless you keep it quiet for three years; but if you keep it quiet
for [346 ] three years after your plural marriage, why then you can live in polygamy all
the rest of your lives and you may even go to Congress, and help to make the laws.”
First, and above all
others, I would have the law of limitation, so far as it affects this crime of bigamy,
repealed. Let it be understood by every one, that at no time during his natural life can a
man live in polygamy in this country without being liable to prosecution.
It seems to me no worse to live in polygamy the first three years
after contracting plural marriage than any subsequent three years. A bill of this kind was
introduced by Mr. Willits, of Michigan, during the early part of the present session, and
is now in the hands of the Judiciary Committee of the House. Why that committee does not
report, is a mystery to the friends of the bill. That such a measure is proper, there can
be no question. Why, then, should that committee withhold their report, and thus prevent
Congress from acting, and the bill from becoming a law? Let it be once understood by these
Mormon law-breakers that time will not cure the offense, but that the strong arm of law is
raised, and may at any time fall on their defenseless heads if they dare to violate the
law, and there will be a hesitating and reflecting before they take the step. If such a
law had been enacted at the time the law forbidding polygamy in the Territories was
enacted, three-fourths of the leaders could be punished to-day. If I could have but one
law, I would have this to aid the law of '62. [
[347] Secondly, I would by
law disfranchise every man or woman who lives in polygamy, or aids, abets, or counsels
polygamous marriages. Let it be understood that before they can have a. voice in governing
this country, they must be loyal, and respect the laws. The ruling party here not only
violate the solemn mandates of the United States Government, but they openly and publicly
defy the Government and its officers to enforce the laws. They laugh in our faces at our
efforts, and openly and publicly counsel their people to disregard this law prohibiting
polygamy. Polygamy must be made odious, and no
longer allowed to be a prerequisite to civil Territorial office, as it has been, and is
now, to a large extent in this Territory. At least, ninety-five per cent of the last
Legislature were polygamists. A monogamist is not, as a rule, allowed to hold an important
office. Thus polygamy is at a premium.
A bill should be passed by Congress, and become a law, providing that
no man or woman can cast a vote or hold an office until it clearly appears that they are
not living in polygamy; that they have not, and do not, cause, aid, or abet others to
contract or consummate plural or bigamous marriages. This bill should contain a test oath,
which in substance should be that the person proposing to vote or hold office is not at
the time living in polygamy, or with more than one woman whom he calls wife; that he has
not, since the passage of the law, counseled, aided, or abetted others, either directly or
indirectly, to violate the law prohibiting bigamy or polygamy in the Territories.
[348] That the object of the law might not in any way be defeated, it
,should further provide that any persons desiring to do so may question the vote of a
person required to take the oath, and even introduce witnesses to contradict him; and if
it appeared, either by the test oath or by outside testimony, that the person was
disqualified by reason of his polygamous relations, or his counsel or acts in relation to
others, he should be disfranchised.
Let us no longer press the venomous reptile to our bosoms, and thus,
while caressing him, allow him to thrust his poisonous fangs into our bodies; but rather
let the Government rise up and throttle him. Let loyalty, not disloyalty, be at a premium.
Let the law-abiding American citizen rule the country by his vote, and be the officer who
shall make and enforce the laws.
I am convinced that the young men of Utah, sons of the leaders in the
Mormon church, would hail the passage of such a law. Such a law would not only make
polygamy odious, but it would open the way for the young men of Utah to hold offices of
trust and importance. And those young men who do not believe in polygamy, but rather
believe in obeying the law, would greatly assist in leading this Territory out of its
midnight crime and bigotry into the light of free government. Such a law would Americanize
Utah, and this, above all things is what it needs. Today, John Taylor, president of the
Mormon church, and his counselors dictate who shall hold [349] the offices, from delegate
down to the lowest place. This is a theocratic government through and through. Let
Congress pass the law I am asking for, and the Samson would be, to a great extent, shorn
of his locks. The people who are law-abiding would at once recognize the fact that the
government of this Territory was referred to them, and like true Americans, they would
step to the front, and a Republican form of government would be vouchsafed to Utah.
Liberty and freedom to speak, vote, and act would lighten up benighted Utah. Theocracy,
bigotry, and fanaticism would perish, and become as dead in the black midnight of
ignorance. May God speed the day! Such a bill as this was also presented by Mr. Willits,
early in the present session, and is now in the hands of the Judiciary Committee of the
House.
Thirdly, I would have a law
enacted forbidding, and providing punishment for, adultery and lewd and lascivious
cohabitation in the Territories, and so define these offenses that there could be no doubt
but that they applied to those living with plural wives; and I would give the first or
legal wife a right to testify. Such a law
would bring consternation to this polygamous institution. But that there might not be any
spirit of persecution exhibited toward these deluded women who have been living in
polygamy, I would give them a portion of the property, and a reasonable support out of the
estate.
This law would reach out and take into its fond embrace all these
leaders, who, week after week, [350] preach this outrageous doctrine, and advise others to
adopt and practice it.
Fourthly, I would say that,
next in importance, there is needed a. marriage law, something like the Ohio law, which
requires a license to issue before a couple can be legally married. This license should be
issued from the United States District Court by the clerk, and a record kept; and this,
together with the certificate which should be required to be issued by the person
performing the ceremony, ought to be made proof of the marriage in all cases in court,
including bigamy cases. This law should also forbid, and provide punishment for, secret
Endowment House marriages. A law of this kind could be so drafted that we should no longer
be at the mercy of those who, in the Endowment House ceremony, have sworn never to reveal
what took place.
The present election law is a fraud upon every outsider or
non-Mormon, placing everything in the hands of the Mormon church. Also the jury laws need
revising. But I will not take time to explain them. We cannot expect all our ills to be
cured at once.
There has been too great fear that some law-breaking Mormon might be
persecuted. This has been the cry of the Mormons. At home they stalk abroad defying the
Government and its laws; but when the Government attempts to put its hands upon them, they
go cringing about like whipped curs, and cry. "Don't persecute us, don't persecute
us! We are [351] only worshipping God according to the dictates of our own
conscience."
I want to see this Government rise up in all its dignity and power,
and no longer listen to the whimpering curs who cry persecution. Let it be understood in
this Territory that the Government will no longer tolerate this dirty business, that it
will enact such laws as those polygamous Government-haters cannot evade and escape, and in
a dozen years this country will be regenerated, and polygamy will be odious.
We have soothed and petted this institution too long. Whenever it has
cried out persecution, too many have, like Sargent of California, sympathized to the
extent of granting that it was their religion, when there is no religion about it, but the
reverse-crime.* Don't let us have any more warm, soothing applications, but let us have
purgatives in allopathic doses. Let it be understood that this institution will no longer
be tolerated. No one need fear the result. They have threatened, and may do so again, but
don't fear; there will not be even a ripple on the wave. When these chaps who are loudest
in their threats, once understand that Uncle Sam means business, they will not only
subside, but in ten years swear that they never advocated the doctrine.
*See
Decision of the Supreme Court, in Appendix, page 401.
[352]
LETTER NUMBER
THREE.
SALT LAKE
CITY, UTAH, Jan. 9, 1882.
In a recent publication we were treated to a report of an interview
by a World, reporter with one of our leading
Mormons now in New York, himself a polygamist and bishop of the institution called the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Our bishop tells the reporter, among other things, "I do not
anticipate that Congress will act rashly or unadvisedly, and our own people express no
fear of any such action. It would be hard to say what would be the result should the
Government act indiscreetly. Our people are peace-loving and law-abiding, but they are not
to be trodden upon with impunity. "
To us who have lived in the Territory and had to do with this "
monstrosity,'' who have desired so long to see the Government assert itself and stamp out
this accursed relic of barbarism, this kind of talk is not new. But this is genuine Mormon
buncombe of the mildest kind.
The fact is, there are, out in Utah, a few thousand men and women who
are supported by a so-called church, having the base and diabolical doctrine of polygamy
as one, if not the principal, of its corner-stones. This so-called church, with its
dastardly, law-defying leaders and law-breakers, largely foreigners, occupies a portion of
the United States, and enjoys the protection of the laws and the general prosperity
brought its members by reason of [353] being within the boundaries of this nation. These
men and women say to this Government: " We admit that we violate and destroy your
laws. We have done so openly and defiantly since 1862. We have gathered together, out on
the mountains and in valleys of one of your Territories, a few thousand people whom we
advise to violate your laws, and teach defiance to this country. We never have obeyed, and
do not now intend to obey, the law. On the contrary, we openly and defiantly assert, and
it is one of the tenets of our so-called church, that we will disobey your laws, and
advise others to do so." And now, this bishop, one of the leaders, addressing this
Government and its Congress, says, in substance, Be very careful how you act. His exact
words are, "It would be hard to say what would be the result should the Government
act indiscreetly. Our people are peace-loving and law-abiding, but they are not to be
trodden upon with impunity. "
And this same man claims to be a naturalized citizen of the United
States. And to become such, he swore in one
of the courts of the United States that he was well disposed toward the Government, that
he was attached to the principles of the Constitution, and that he would obey it.
What do you think of this, gentlemen who are called upon to make the
laws, and who have the welfare and honor of your country at heart?
In those turbulent days of 1859,'60, and '61, when we heard some of
the citizens of this nation say that slavery was a divine institution, and this [354]
Government had better be careful how it interfered; that a certain faction in the nation
would resist any such interference, or using the language of this bishop, " It would
be hard to say what would be the result should the Government act indiscreetly," such
talk in defiance of law, in defiance of loyalty, and in every way opposed to good
citizenship, was then called treason. It meant treason then, and no other construction can
be put upon it to-day.
And has it come to this, that these Mormons, one hundred thousand
strong, are to dictate to the Congress what laws are to be passed?
There is no danger that Congress will pass any laws that will be too
extreme. The subject to be dealt with is one
that demands heroic treatment. Extraordinary cases demand extraordinary remedies. That
something must be done and done at once, we al agree. And I think I may say that it is
generally conceded that mild measures will hardly meet the case. That this is a matter
that must receive immediate and decided attention is evident. What shall we do? What will
be adequate? These are the questions, and the only questions, to be considered.
I have already expressed myself in a former letter upon the question
of needed legislation. I do not intend to again go over the ground, but only desire to
call attention to one of the measures I then advocated. A religious fanaticism is very
difficult to regulate. It can hardly be done by punishing a few individual fanatics. Every
man who has been [355] convicted of polygamy has been looked upon as a martyr, and thus is
rather raised in the estimation of the rest of the people. Prosecutions should be pushed,
and the law so amended as to make convictions more easily attainable, I might say,
possible; but prosecutions and incarcerations in the penitentiary will never break up
polygamy in Utah. There was a day when it would, but that day has passed and to-day
something more radical, something determined, must be resorted to. Every man and every
woman who lives in polygamy, or who advocates it, and aids and abets the commission of the
offense, should be disfranchised. And don't let's have any kid-glove proceedings to arrive
at these facts. Let the bill be so drafted that when it becomes a law it will be
effective. Let the law be that when a man or woman is challenged at the polls for being a
polygamist, he himself must be sworn and examined by his neighbors; that his alleged
plural wives and his lawful wife may be called and examined under oath, either privately
or publicly as demanded by the challenger.
No one need be afraid of the consequences. There are a hundred
thousand men, women, and children in Utah who would hail the day when such a law would
become operative. The Utah Legislature would not have, as it generally does, ninety-five
per cent of its members polygamists, and be run by John Taylor and the Mormon leaders in
the interest of the Mormon church. Instead of this, the young men of Utah, who are
heartily sick of the institution, would come to the front, and we should see a [356]
law-abiding people where now we see a law-defying people. Why, think of it ! today in Utah
there is a premium awarded to those who will defy and violate the laws. The polygamist is
rewarded by the best and most honorable positions. This law would change this, and the men
who obey the law would be rewarded, and so it should be; for I tell you, the man in Utah
who resists the demands of these Mormon leaders, and dares to " come out from among
them " and be a law-abiding American citizen, is deserving of a reward, whereas
to-day he receives just the contrary. He abandons every hope, and shuts out every chance
of ever obtaining official position, and subjects himself to the vilest kind of abuse. The
passage of this law would revolutionize the politics of Utah, and this alone would be a
power in this land which would help materially to solve the vexed question.
But more than this, it would be a continual punishment inflicted upon the men and
women who violate the law. There would be no escape, but like the black night of despair
it would hover about them, and polygamy would be a mark upon whomsoever dared to violate
the law, like the terrible mark that was set upon Cain. And soon they who wear the mark
would be driven out, not by force of arms, but by the continual consciousness of being
aliens and enemies to the country and its laws.
The passage of such a law would be acting discreetly, and the
consequences would be as I have predicted, the bishop to the contrary, notwithstanding.
Next: CHAPTER XXIII. VIEWS OF A STATESMAN
BY HON. SCHUYLER COLFAX*
Mormon Defiance.-Juries.-:Female Suffrage.-Right of Dower. - Abolish the Legislature.-Heed
the Gentiles.-The Golden Time.
Back: CHAPTER XXI. THE TWIN RELIC
BY HON. P.T. VAN ZILE, U.S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR UTAH*
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.
Index: INTRODUCTION AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
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