Show COLORADO MORMONS able dedemo 1310 of their creed and way wily of litizia Corre correspond spon dents CrItIc lied so no poverty aldno asked A 1 country prolific with Good ThInas denver tribune MASSA conejos co feb 27 daring during the past month mouth a numer of ar articles hayo have appeared in in the tribune tribu ne respecting the mormon settlements in han san luia luis valley one of the articles was written by your own regular correspondent the others were copied from the halt salt lake tribune in these communications a are many false statements which misrepresent and slander the inhabitants of these mormon battlements rattle ments and inasmuch aa as you havo have given so much spa ceato those who have misrepresented us justice demands that you publish our reply bottne to these falsehoods san louis valley possesses many natural resources it is an extensive clam clain nearly every acre of which can 0 brought under cultivation there I 1 is si an abundance ce of water that can by easily brought out in canals for irrigation purposes all grains and vege tables common to temperate climates are raised the soil yielding plenteous harvests to the husband husbandman manas as a re ward for his labor the stock range is extensive and exception exceptionally all good and although there is but littile little timber in the valley on the neighboring neigh bori n 9 bills and mountains are extensive ve forests of pin pine cedar and aspen in short the valley possesses ill all the facilities cili ties necessary to the establishment of comfortable homes komes and it is for this purpose our people e aple have come here from utah knowing in owing that lands could ba be more easily obtained here than in utah we have advised the converts to our faith in lie the southern states to come to our settlements in colorado instead of going to utah our settlements in this state have no political baye have come to obtain bitnes not to increase the political wc t I 1 influence some people imagine the mormons cormons to possess to make the wilderness glad with our toil toll and the desert to blosom as the rose rather than to dabble in ely sly games of politics our settlements haye have a population of about 1300 and out of this number but are as vot voters era in instead of as stated in your lassu issue of february 3 meeting maj IV hughes nug hes attorney for conejos county we aa said d do you know president smithy 0 of f F manassa Bl anassa yea yes sir I 1 know him lias ling he taken an active part in politics in this county no sir air if there is a 3 man aka who n 1 I 1 4 iii t inai man is mr smith he ile says no nothing tiling 11 you have taken a leading part in the politics of this section have you not yea yes sit I 1 have bave for several yeara year a lias ilas president smith over ever sought to obtain any political influence absolutely none whatever A people who were ambitious to become so conspicuous in your state politics as your regular correspondent represented our people to be would want A more aggressive a gres sive leader than president amith and out of a population would have moro more than voters registered wo expect no favors from the state government of colorado neither do we ask for any but those vouchsafed to all citizens in common if any member of the church has violated the laws of the state as a alleged or ahill shall hereafter violate them be he is isan in dwi dually responsible and not the whole colo colony between christmas and new year leveral several persons person 11 arranged to have a AL private party and those who were wanted were Inyl invited ted there ether other convenient place it was held hold in the ball where church service for the pree present ent is also held A number of men who had not been invited camo came to the tile party and essayed to take part in it they wore told th that at they fart had iad no business there and when they refused to retire and said if they could not dance no one else should they were ejected by force as the they would have been anywhere else if tle the rightful participants were mn man of courage la IS it wrong for forthe the mor mons to take I 1 such steps against those who cone come with av avowed owed intent to disturb their peace it appears that a young man ly curau sprouse by name and a mor mon on was accuse accuses I before the farand grand jury with stealing cattle the jury however fail failed ed to bring in it bill of indictment and aa as president smith W waa aj on the jury he lie la Is accused of using his influence in de do festing a true bill which part of the jury were determined to find and it is intimated that means to ae accomplish c 0 m fisli his purpose this is th the e f foundation 0 li ull on which ia Is based the charge aga anat the mor mar mons mono of cattle stealing et ealin we IV e visited mr stuart foreman of the grand jury and asked if he had ever charged that t att mr smith hadusek improper means mean in defeating an indictment against young sprouse Sp rause no air I 1 have never charged that president ident smith used improper means in eca case did smith take an nn active part in matters brought before the J jury yes ho he did was he any more active in than in others ot bers no ho lie did not appear to bo be so 0 o much uch interested nabat case as its in others pres president I 1 smith ia A man of too ranch sense to shield abiel J any ono one guilty of ofel pt ealing cattle he be knows that even on the thes shadow badow ofa pretext the charge of cattle stealing would bo be alleged the colony over w which aich bo he he lie therefore above all presides men would be meet likely to bring the offender arender to justice provided the testimony av would wound warrant the finding rit the following oc acs indictment of au that bo realizes demonstrates curre currence cur renco the situation about a fryear year ago men nen from manassa Ni anassa created some two disturbance I 1 at Cone conejos ios and the officers of the 0 10 cc county anty took no action in regald to it sone some time after tins this smith was at cone conejos jos and meeting officials lie he eaid said county of the ou know tl that at when yo you a fellows dont you io up here fall to pu purlah nigh men from our settlements who make a dis disturbs turly ance and break the laws lawal that you ou are doing our people an injustice meeting mr austin at conejos mr A asat is at present county collector and was formerly judge isaid judge austin bavo have you ever known president smith to manifest any disposition to shield any of our people who have broken the laws 7 lie ile replied emphatically no sir air I 1 nave have not I 1 remember kr mr smith saying yin tel tome to me that justice would be meted out to all alike turning to the county sheriff Sheri fr who was present ails I 1 put the same question to him and his reply was liko like that of judge austins akstins Aus tins in addition to this the church law r reads ifancy persons among you shall kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the flat laws lawa ot of the land and if a man or woman shall steal he or she shall be delivered up unto the law of the land and if boor be or she shall lie ile ho he or she aba shall 1 1 bo be delivered up unto the laws of th the e land covenants and commandments section e tion 42 th this Is is the law of the church and has been ever since 1631 1831 for president smith to take any other course than is is indicated in the above would to t e contrary to common sense and a yio violation lation fifthe of the church law it is charged that the mormon vote has been sold every year since they have been antho in the state I 1 am author zed by the following named gentlemen to say that it was not sold this year 1 mr mcintire county judge C CM M sampson county clerk judie 3 mr r austin county collector mr brown brorn superintendent public instruction joseph smith county sheriff adlof all of theme men received the votes of our people and to use their language wo we never paid a nickel for them or even a drink of whisky it is rumored that in 1832 the vote was sold for and that president smith received the money mono I 1 have tho official statement of to the county clerk before me that the vote in precinct no 11 which waa was the district where all the lived at the time was 62 in number for that yearth benr that would atwould ba be about 10 a vote that rather high for votes all your politicians cans with whom I 1 have ron conversed versed say A man would be a bolto to for a yo when hen eo so nany many through this country can be bought for MO mr dorse of alamosa alamona is represented a assaying saving that he the mormon vote had been sold every year fear and that he had bad paid part noney y we went to sec see mr dorse aut abut unfortunately ha he had lad gono to his anch so wo we failed 0 to o havo have an interview with him iris claimed that he mormon vote was sold in the merest interest of mr campbell the republican lub lican candidate for governor for woo but those who make this states state nent will perhaps explain how it happened lapp ened that the ul airl irant i ho D democratic koiv nominee for dover gover lor nor in all the inquiries we have made bout votes being sold I 1 have found jut but one man who hospard any money ut in our precinct and that was in 82 I 1 withhold hia his name at present ie ile has taken an active part in poll imsand and has been a county official af course it is claimed b by y him that bo money was not used to buy any me but to buy cigala far the boys ar expenses e etc t c the amount W was imell only 40 mr did president smith receive hia this money no air be he did not william L ball received 20 of it the other 20 was paid to another man who afterwards wanted me to take it back the priesthood had not dictated my onea voting our leading men nien may bavo have eald said unofficially what they bought thought was best beat to do but no one has IBS been threatened with excommunication ni if tie lie did not act according to 0 thole our every man is absolutely freo free to vote yote as aim him good gall ball whose staten statements lents to t the lie tribune reporter portor re and whose private private lette letters rs to miss kate bield lave e so glaringly I 1 r n g IT misrepresented our people of an fn san sal luis 1 l valley y was not exco excommunicated for voting the ticket bin hil judgment approved as state stated dby by him I 1 have had access to toabe to the minutes of the council that tried ball and there is nothing in the charge brought against bi him in about ills doting yoting it was for faultfinding fault finding tithing of which as 1313 bishop he was wm made custo dianand hia his books show abow a deficiency of nearly stirring up strife among the tile mairen Mt brethren iren by baying those who cam from utah hated mated those who came from the sonta these charges wera sustained in the estimation of the council Counci land and the church withdrew their fellowship from him ex bisbon call vall and others say the people a from the southern states have been deceia deceived ed by tho 31 mormon missionaries sion aries narles who pre preached ached to them that tho the people were induced to leave their homes in alo south by the promise of being taken to an earthly paradise in ju Bont Soli bern thern colorado this is not true the following quotation is from a letter of instructions ns sent by th abo 0 pro presidency of the tile southern mission to the trave ainz elders in the southern states the S saints who come from the south as ft a rule are poor and it would bo be difficult for th them airs to secure homes in utah whereas in colorado it is an easy matter as they can obtain land at government prices price ii in t this his connection we would advise that you do 10 lic not t hold out material advantages as U ind inducements uce ments to the saints to gather out of babylon if they ahr gather ather to the place appointed lot it t to be for the gospels os sake because gad has camino commanded eded it and that they and their children may be more inore perfectly taug taught ht in the things thines of f 1 god and his hill kingdom in instructions of this kind have always been alveno alvn to the eldera elders in the mission tho waitr has spent the last four years in traveling and preaching through the southern states he has deceived n no one he was personally acquainted with many of the poop people lo 10 who lived at manassa mantissa when they reald residents ants of the southern states b he 0 can meet them a anywhere n and not a man wom woman an 0 or c child brid can say he has deceived ti them iem neither are any of the elders sent out to doc deceive elve r M 3 tile ui neove extracts from their instructions prove A heartrending talo of su battering ferl ng 1 told by your corres correspondent a ildene and that together with tho the pt story ory of wm win L ball dilall bai called ad lo 10 u ent appeals pea fro from sitter ter kate field to a tho people 0 P e of f U utah to r relieve the suffer F anys j 0 of f t three h r hundred d red men wo women ra e n and children who arc are re represented presente d as famishing for food clothing and fuel that there are people in our midst that are poor we admit they were poor when they I 1 landed in colorado and had to be assisted assi eted from the start but that any one is actually perishing or even evert suffering sufi erin for want of food or clothing or are likely ta 0 in the future we positively deny all people who know anything about settling ng new countries are aware that t the he pioneers do not enjoy many of the lux uries urles or even the comforts of life at first they must be content with tha the necessaries there is plenty of food in our battlement settlement flour meat turnips potatoes and groceries those who are notable to provide fortham elves selves are cared for I 1 visited the same f family amily your former corres correspondent p ol 01 1 did whore where the old man trian sho showed w e d his emaciated limbs that th the old gentlemanly gent lemans le person is emaciated is true I 1 knew know him in the state of alabama it was so there andhor and how many men 71 yeara years of age surrounded even with the luxuries fux uries of life are there whose forms are not emaciated yesterday I 1 called on the family and in answer to my ray inquiries they stated that when houi your former correspondent called on them they had flour meat vegetables tables and coffeo coffee in I 1 u the t h 0 house 1 0 u s a and n d t that h a t t they h e y eliav ai a v a n novar wr e r b been e e n I 1 denied e p 1 e ea anything by the bishop of the place this thi am man an mr air bailey has bas lost his faith and is not considered in rood good standing in the church yet the day I 1 called upon him he be had liza received an other supply supply of food foo dand and the biah aps ops boo books a show that he has been fur bashed abed right alone along there ban his been plenty of work in san luis valley this winter four canals are under construct construction ion and all who wanted work could have obtained it at these places I 1 am credibly in formed that quite a number of t teams eams have stood idle because drivers could not lot be setu secured red wages bavo have been from to 2 per day it is true this labor is thirty or forty miles distant from our settlements but who would object to goine going that far in order to a obtain b t a in work to IB support up pott his family or w what hat true man is thero there who would not RO go many times that distance rather than ask aLa assistance istance or receive a gratuity so long as he was able to work when I 1 read that appeal ral of Kentuck kentuckians ians to tho the kentuck kentucky club lub of f denver in your paper I 1 I 1 said if there are any kentuckians Kentuck ians who sanction that appeal under tho the circumstances with plenty of work within easy reach and then would consent to we wear |