10 COMMITTEE ON TERRITORIES, The committee met this day for the purpose of hearing arguments in favor of and against the admission of the Territory of Utah as a State. Mr. CAINE. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I take great pleasure in introducing Mr. F. S. Richards, of Salt Lake City, who will make the opening argument in behalf of the admission of the Territory of Utah. Mr. Richards is a native-born citizen of Utah and thoroughly posted in everything pertaining to that Territory, and is chairman of the delegation sent from the constitutional convention. I bespeak for him your favorable consideration. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, as a delegate from the Constitutional Convention of the Territory of Utah, held in July, 1887, I appear before you to-day for the purpose of stating some of the reasons why Utah should be admitted into the Union. This is the fifth time that the majority of the people of that Territory have ap peared at the bar of Congress and petitioned for admission as a State. At first we were told that our numbers were insufficient, and that we were without the self-sustaining qualifications requisite for a sovereign community, and so we were relegated, by the organic act of Utah, to a condition of Territorial tutelage, until we should gain the strength and experience to fit us for the higher sphere of statehood. But in our later applications for admission it has been conceded, again and again, that we have obtained all that was lacking in the beginning, in the way of numbers and resources, and yet our prayers have not availed to give us membership in the great family of States. I shall endeavor, in the remarks which I make on this occasion, to show that the withholding of this sacred boon is an act of great injustice to a patient, patriotic, industrious, and law-abiding people. And at the outset of my remarks I desire to remind you of a few pertinent facts which history has recorded, in undying characters, upon the annals of the Republic. On the 24th day of July, 1847, when the Mormon pioneers entered the Great Salt Lake Valley, all that part of our great nation lying west of the Missouri River was an uninhabited wilderness-a barren desert. These brave men and courageous women blazed the way across prairies, over mountains, and through rugged defiles, which have since become the highway of nations, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They opened up this new country and demonstrated that human existence could be maintained in the midst of ruthless savages, ferocious animals, and deadly insects. By a system of irrigation for which they had no precedent, they succeeded in transforming the scene of barren desolation which met their gaze as they emerged from 3 the deep cañons of the Wasatch into an earthly paradise. Through following their example and partaking of their indomitable courage, other colonies have been formed and other commonwealths created, until to day we point with pride to five great States and eight populous Territories that have been carved out of the inhospitable wilderness of 1847. So that the Mormons have not only been the pioneers of the inter-mountain region, but the pioneers of the great West, that part of our nation which bids fair to become a controlling factor in the destiny of the Republic. Nor were these people, who braved the dangers of the wilderness and the hardships of the desert, wanting in patriotic devotion and allegiance to the country which gave them birth. Although driven from their homes in Missouri and Illinois because of their religious beliefs and practices, they could not quench the thirst for liberty which they had inherited as a sacred birthright from their patriot fathers, who had gained undying fame and won immortal laurels in the service of their country during the Revolutionary war and the struggle with Great Britain in 1812. So strong in them was this love of country, that it prompted, as one of their first acts on reaching the valley-then Mexican soil-the unfurling of the glorious Stars and Stripes on Ensign Peak, as they poured forth their songs of joy and prayers of gratitude for the divine guidance and preservation which had carried them safely through their perilous journey in the wilderness. At this time five hundred of their brethren were regularly enlisted in the service of the United States and were taking an active part in the war with Mexico. At a later date some of these very men became the first discoverers of gold in California, and from them went forth the clarion note which drew a stream of wealth-seeking humanity across the continent in 1849 and 1850. I trust that you will excuse me, gentlemen of the committee, for detaining you with this brief historical recital. My purpose in so doing has been to show what kind of men our fathers were, and to assure you that the fire of liberty which burned in their souls has been transmitted to their children. I was born in Salt Lake City, and Utah has always been my home. My great-grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, my grandfather served in the war of 1812, and one of my father's brothers lost his life in the war with Mexico. Will it be said that I have no claim on the sacred heritage of liberty for which these men fought and bled? I mention my own case because it is like that of thousands of young men in Utah, whose mouth-piece I am on this occasion. We love the glorious institutions of what we believe to be the only government on earth founded on divine inspiration, and it is repugnant to every impulse of our natures to remain in Territorial vassalage when we know that we are entitled to the rights of freemen. It is for the purpose of convincing you, gentlemen, that we are so entitled that I now appear before the committee. The area of Utah is 84,970 square miles. It consists of a series of valleys nearly surrounded by rugged mountain ranges and scantily watered by streams formed from the melting snows on the lofty summits. The arable land is limited chiefly to spots capable of irrigation. There are ranges, however, where cattle and sheep roam and multiply, and the sparsely timbered mountains are treasure-houses of mineral wealth. The population of Utah is estimated by the governor, in his official report, to be about 210,000. That this is not an exaggeration appears from the fact that the census of 1880 gave Utah a population of 143,963, and the increase during the past eight years has been steady and rapid. It is a stable and self-sustaining population, not a community of tran sients. The great body of the people have settled there to stay, and most of them own the lands they till and the houses they dwell in. Their thrift, industry, temperance, and peaceable disposition have become proverbial, and the comparative absence among them of the vices common throughout Christendom is almost universally conceded. Besides producing all the cereals and grasses of ordinary agriculture, they raise the vegetables of both, the temperate and semi-tropical climes and fruits of remarkable size and flavor, large quantities of which are annually exported. The wool crop is from 7,000,000 to 10,000,000 pounds a year. The value of live-stock is not less than $30,000,000. The gold, silver, copper, and lead output for seventeen years, at their mint and sea-board value, aggregates $134,992,630, and for the year 1888 was $10,993,781. Utah has many flourishing industries, including flour mills, woolen mills, paper mills, saw mills, planing mills; boot, shoe, hat, silk, clothing, brush, broom, sash, and molding factories; glass, soap, glue, furniture, iron, and smelting works; potteries, foundries, machine-shops, brick-yards, lime-kilns, etc. Its banking and mercantile institutions are noted for their stability and integrity, and their credit in the world of commerce is unimpeached. All the ordinary trades and professions find ample and remunerative opportunities, and art, science, literature, music, and the drama are cultivated and encouraged. The telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, and other modern improvements are in extensive use. Immense iron and coal deposits have been opened and only await the coming of capital to add their vast riches to the ever-increasing store of this prolific region, which abounds in all the minerals except tin, and has greater and more varied resources than any of the surrounding States and Territories. In addition to rich mines of gold, silver, lead, and copper, there are mountains of salt, various colored marbles, granite, limestone, sandstone, and other fine building stones, also asphaltum, ozocerite, petroleum, gypsum, sulphur, ochers, antimony, manganese, etc. The assessed property valuation, exclusive of mines which are untaxed, is $46,379,073, but the actual valuation is over $250,000,000, as attested by the boards of equalization. The assessment is not over a third of the actual value of the property listed, and the untaxed mineral wealth is enormous. The Territory has no public debt, except bonds for $150,000, recently issued, at 5 per cent. interest, for the establishment of educa tional and charitable institutions. There are 1,343 miles of railroad in the Territory, as reported in Poor's Manual, a leading authority, valued thereby, with equipments, at $44,456,737, or nearly the whole amount of the assessment on all the property in the Territory. The real estate is worth not less than $110,000,000, large amounts of money are invested in financial and commercial undertakings, and the wealth of the Territory is increasing at an astonishing ratio. Education in Utah has been diligently fostered and promoted. The public-school system, so much misrepresented, has proven so efficient that the ratio of illiteracy is lower than in most of the States. The Territory is divided into school districts, in each of which three trustees, who regulate school affairs, are elected by the qualified voters. A Territorial tax equal to the tax for general purposes, namely, 3 mills on the dollar, is assessed for the payment of school teachers. A local tax is assessed by the trustees of one-fourth of 1 per cent. in each school district, and a local-option tax, not to exceed 2 per cent., may be assessed by the resident tax-payers in each district for any school purposes. A superintendent of schools is elected for each county and there is a Territorial commissioner to supervise the whole, who is paid out of the Territorial treasury. The district schools are entirely secular and are open to all classes. No denominational tenets are taught therein, and the text-books are those in common use throughout the country. There are about 500 district schools in Utah, with 34,500 pupils enrolled, and the value of school poroperty is about $520,000. The various religious sects have their schools and academies, supported chiefly by contributions obtained rfom benevolent persons in the Eastern States, and the Mormon Church has several scholastic establishments entirely disconnected from the public-school system. The University of Deseret is an educational institution of a high grade, supported from Territorial appropriations, and is non-sectarian in character. Every indication points to the speedy growth in Utah of a populous and magnificent Commonwealth, that will prove a source of richness to the nation and of added glory to this great Government. Every requisite to the structure of a grand and prosperous State is to be found in this, the oldest of the Territories, which has pleaded for statehood from its beginning, forty odd years ago All that is needed now for her development and full growth into the proportions and prosperity promised by her immense and deversified resources is a stable government, republican in form, which will give that assurance of safety which capital demands, and will settle forever the agitations which have deterred its more extensive investment. Statehood is the great essential to this settlement and that assurance, and Utah can never expand into the proper measure of her power and dignity while hampered with the swaddling clothes of Territorial infancy. The claims of Utah to the rights and privileges of statehood are indisputable, and have never been denied, except for two reasons. When seeking admission on former occasions her delegates have received for answer from gentlemen of both parties: "Provide in your constitution against the practice of polygamy, and there can be no possible objection to your admission." This demand has been complied with. At a constitutional convention, held in Salt Lake City July 7, 1887, composed of delegates chosen at mass meetings held in the several counties, to which citizens of all political parties were invited, a constitution was framed which contained the following provisions : ARTICLE XV. SEC. 12. Bigamy and polygamy being considered incompatible with "a republican form of government," each of them is hereby forbidden and declared a misdemeanor. Any person who shall violate this section shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 and imprisoned for a term not less than six months nor more than three years, in the discretion of the court. This section shall be construed as operative without the aid of legislation, and the offenses prohibited by this section shall not be barred by any statute of limitation within three years after the commission of the offense; nor shall the power of pardon extend thereto until such pardon shall be approved by the President of the United States. The article providing for amendments to the constitution limits the general power to amend by the following proviso: Provided, That section 12 of Article XV shall not be amended, revised, or in any way changed, until any amendment, revision, or change, as proposed therein, shall, in addition to the requirements of the provisions of this article, be reported to the Congress of the United States and shall be by Congress approved and ratified, and such approval and ratification be proclaimed by the President of the United States, and if not so ratified and proclaimed, said section shall remain perpetual. This constitution was ratified at the polls at the general election, August 1, 1887. The delegates who framed the constitution, and all |