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Show BRIG HAM YOUNG'S ATTITUDE. An Intertaining Interview with Bishop Shaip of Utah. The .Mormons' .miliary Allufra Luridly fcxpluiutMl 111 Legit I Ortlrrs ol the C ourts Nol in be Kewistrcl A ft filiation filia-tion llnrllul to llio j)MUiles Ouly The Uenerul Oulloolt. The name of "Bishop John Sharp, Salt Lake city, waa found in the list of arrivals yesterday morning at the St. Nicholas, and arepoiter of the Sun, in consideration of the reuent warlike telegrams and correspondence from Utah to a city contemporary, thought the "liiehop" would be an excellent subject for an interview, and so he sought him to hear what the good man had to say for himself and hit coreligionist, who are threatening threaten-ing to turn the world upside down. There is nothing sacerdotal about "Bishop" Sharp's appearance. The extent of his thinking, preaching and rifivntinnul premises nointintr to the other world seems to rest upon him lightly. He looks as if thin world agreed with him immensely. There is tverythiug about him bis talk, make up and manners to indicate "a solid man," with a ood bank account, yet nothing of the dush and glitter ol the world's foppery. He is i bifihop in the Mormon church, the president and superintendent of two railroads in Utah, a director of the Union Pacific railroad, the head of several local enterprises in "the city of the cainls," and jut such a man as ought to know what he is talking ' about, and capable ot giving a straight enough answer to any reasonable question put to him. Reporter Mr. Sharp, if you are at liberty, I shauld be pleased to glean trom you any information you can impart upou the situation ot aft Airs in Utah. Bishop I shall be happy to answer any question; ask what you please. Rep. Candidly, bishop, havo the Mormons any serious intention of coming into collision with the United States government? Biah. Not that I have heard of. I know nothing of it, except whai I have read in the newspapers. Rep. If there ia no absolute truth in the charge of the Mormons drilling recently, and supplying themselves with extra arms and ammunition, as if they were preparing for the contingency con-tingency of hostilities, from what has this rumor originated? Bish. Ob, I cannot tell with whom this eensatiou originated. Tbe first I knew of it was in reading the Herald : of this city. I learned from the Salt Lake correspondent of that paper that we were preparing to resist toe courts in case any of tbe leading men of our community were indicted by the grand jury for participation in the other crimes. Rep. You, then, emphatically deny that accusation, do you? Bish. I moat assuredly do. We are not fools, man (the bishop is Scotch). We know well enough that we are but a handful of people in Utah, and that the United Slates is a great nation. There was a time when we could have held any small army at bay for a while till we could have time to talk and make ourBelvrs understood; but that day is past forever. for-ever. Railroads and telegraph wires have brought us into easy communication communi-cation with all tbe rest of mankind. We have something better to occupy onr lime with than preparations for fighting. We have a grand and a rich country to develop. Rep. It is avr-rred by numerous writers that thn Mormons have a military mil-itary organization of all its able-bodied able-bodied men, called the Nauvoo Legion, Le-gion, that does not recognize the federal governor a the head of the militia nnnninLrd bv law. and that tliis legion is a stauding menace to the Gentiles, and ready at any time to carry out the mandates of ibe prophet to any extent, and in any direction. Hiveyou such an organization? organi-zation? Bish. It would require a good deal of my time and space in your paper, more than either ol us can furnish, to make a full and frank statement of what this Nauvoo Legion is. I wilt therefore, in trying to be brief, only state that there is nothing wrong in the existence of this body of militia in Utah, and the cry against it ia only for sensational purposes. When the Mormons were in Nau70O, III., the legislature of that etite granted to them a very liberal city charter, and among the provisions of it waa that of forming a militia organization, and provided that the militia itself should elect all its officers, . requiring that their commissions should be issued by tbe governor. Under that act of the legislature all citizens from eighteen to fortv five years of age were enrolled, chose their own officers, the chief of whom was to be called a lieutenant-general, lieutenant-general, and Joseph Smith, thuir prophet, waa their choico for that office. As nearly all the people in Nauvoo and the county of Hancock were Mormons and did the the militia mili-tia duty there, it was very natural that the chief men of the Mormon chu:ch should be the general officers; hence the cry that it was a church organization. It had to be that, and could be nothing elao, for there were no others preseat to make it aillerent ly. When they migrated to the Rocky mountains, and had to defend themselves against ttie eavages whom they found thero, it waB very natural that the Nauvoo militia organization should again spring into being, and it has centinued till now. Rep. It is said that you have been drilling and arming contrary to law for aome time back, and that you do not recognize the governor's authority in these matters, the same as is done by the militia in every state and territory of the union. Is that charge true? Bieb. I might say that all that is untrue; still, bucIa an answer needu explanation. We have never disregarded disre-garded the governor's position as the commander-in-chief ot the militia; but no governor of that territory has ever exercised activoly his authority in that matter, and to a certain extent, ex-tent, in appearance at least, there lias i been Bome foundation for the statement state-ment that it exists independently of him. The first governor waa President Brigham Young who served seven yeara in that office. The Nauvoo organization of the militia was adopted adop-ted while he waB governor, because it was thorough and ellective. When he was succeeded by Alfred Cum-ming Cum-ming of Georgia as governor, that gentleman acknowlectge-1 the militia organization, ayd attended their annual an-nual camp drills and reviews. His succepsor, Governor Doty of Wisconsin, Wiscon-sin, did the Bame, and not a word of dissatisfaction was ever named. One Stephen Hardin, from Indiana, be came governor, a pompous old man, and be was the first to complain Unit he was not su tlkicnl'y honored. He wanted some belter recognition of his authority. He waa soon removed from olhee, and nothing moie waa beard of thin until General Wilson Schaeffer of Illinois was appointed governor, apd op the first issuance of an order from the lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion, for the annual three days' drill and review, Gov. Schaefler Jssned a proclamation forbidding for-bidding the mualer, as iw had not been consulted, and, in tii;it proclamation proc-lamation he forbade the militia to assemble again. Ke louk it as a personal per-sonal affront that ho had not hoen consulted about the time and the place of tbe muster, ami regarded it ai a piece of presumption that any one should bear the title of lieutenant general of militia, while ouly Phil Sheridan had won that title in the United States. That is. as brit could state it, the history of the Nauvoo Legion and tho insignificant loundutiou for all this hue and cry of treason and hostile purposes. Rep. But ot the present time. Are the people in Utah not drilling and arming surreptitiously, as if they intended in-tended to resist the mandate of the courts should the Isadora be implicated impli-cated by the disclosures of Lee and others? Bieh. No instructions have been issued for drilling and arming. I am the Colonel of the Third Iulantry, and I have received no. such orders, nor has my regiment drilltd for years, neither have any others that I know of. I regret that they are not permitted per-mitted to drill on account of ocnaener s prohibition. An ettective citizen militia is the just pride of every civilized country. Schaeffer has been dead about seven yoars, and I suppose we will bave to honor his wisdom for a generation to come. Stuff and nonsense; I have no patience with such foolery. Rep. In some parts of tbe Territory Terri-tory they are known to have drilled very recently. Bish. I have heard that in some of the exposed outside aettlemenU they have been looking after their arms and seeing what they could count upon in the way of defense, and I hope that rumor is true. When Indians In-dians are around, and never trustworthy trust-worthy at any time, the people who do not take the trouble to put themselves them-selves in a position to take ciru of themselves, are not eutillcd to much sympathy when anythiug befalls I mem. it is tne constitutional rigtu of all men in the United States to bear arms for their own defense, and if I were living in seme of the lettlements of Utah I would do so in spite of all the wounded pride of living or dead governors. Rep. But there was a drill and muster ordered north ot Salt Lake a few weeks ago. Bish. I believe there was, and on account of tbe sensational rumors I wag told that it had been postponed. It seems a pity that they did not carry it out, and teat the legality before be-fore the courts of tbe order of a dead governor. Rep. Under any circumstance?, would your militia resift the order o I the court It it a fleeted Brigham Young's personal liberty? Biah. We are as human in Utah : as anywhere else, and are as sensitive j as any other people when imposed upon. We bate humbug and trickery, trick-ery, but for the sake ot peace we ! enrinrn a. it nod ripul. Hnwfivnr naln- I ably wrong the action of a court may be, President Young has ever taught that it was better to sutler wrong than to do wrong, hence he submitted to the tyranny of Judge McKean in the Auu Eliza case, and went to the penitentiary whrm sent there, when he knew the judge was prejudiced and wrong in judgment. I Buppose be would do the same over again if it was bis misfortune to come before a second McKean. Rep. There will be no resistance, then, il Brigham ia indicted? Bish. I think not; hut I do not look for anything tc occur to put him to that test a aecond time. Rep. Were you in Salt Lake when tbe attempt waa made to ass-annate ass-annate the correspondent of the Herald? Bish. I was there at the time that he said be had been fired at, and when he aaid Bomebody had tried to atab him in bis hotel, Rsp. You don't seem to believe his story? Bish. I do not behave it. Hia story has no consistency. It is unreasonable un-reasonable in everything. Nobody heard the report of the pistol at nigtit, and no one eaw any person either going to or comine trom his room in the daytime. At the time he saya that some one fired at him I waa only one block away from tbe place where he said it occurred. I was wide awake at the time readiug "Draper's Intellectual Development of Europe," and no shot was heara by me. I could not have failed to hear it had it occurred. That tbe other attempt upon his life would be made in a public hotel, early in the alternoon, is ridiculous. If any one wanted to assassinate him there was no necessity neces-sity for selecting such a place, where the hurried effort of escape would have undoubtedly been aeen by many and not lesa singular was the fact that 1 tbe correspondent, iustend of giving the alarm and crying for assistance, : quietly rang the bell and sent a messenger mes-senger alter tbe United States marshal, mar-shal, in order to relate to him the story of bis hairbreadth eacapel - Tbe story is too thin. 1 don't believe a word of it. In my judgment there is not a word of truth in his statement; but there is a good reason lor him making it. Rep. Did you sea the gentleman? Bish. Isaw him when he arrived in Salt Lake city, and when I learned that he bad come from the New York Herald and wanted to meet President Youne. who waa then in the south. I showed bim what attentions I could, and gave him a pass forward and back over the Utah Southern railroad, lie seemed a pleasant gentleman, and I was sorry to learn that he had fallen into the bands of the radicals, or auti-Mormou fire-caters, when he returned. Rep. Do you not think the Mor-monB Mor-monB would be glad to get him out of the way? Biah. No, sir. They have no rea-sou rea-sou to wish him out ot the way. He does them no harm. He only hurts the Gentiles who have gone there to speculate in merchandise or in mining. min-ing. His sensational letters and tele-grama tele-grama are tellinu upon mining inter- i ests there. Many men are cursing him in New York to-say. Nobody is going to send money to Utah to invest in properties while they are apprehensive appre-hensive of trouble. The Mormons don't care what ho says. They have got used to that sort of thing. Rep. You seem, bishop, to treat the present exciti meut very lightly? Bish. We are conscious of doing no wrong, and can r fiord to lot b'ua-terera b'ua-terera huwl. Rep. I intended to ask you snme-thiug snme-thiug of the future propccts of Utah from a commercial standpoint? Biah. Now yuu come to what I have some pleasure in. I hate this eternal jangling and wrangling over religion. I would rather upend a dy with anybody who wanted to know something of the resources of Utah than give five minutes to controversy. Utah is a great country, and is fast developing in mineral wealth. The Mormons as a people confine themselves them-selves to farming, and enterprises that benefit the mass of the people; but we are ready to build railroads for the Gentiles just as fast as they need the transporla tion ol their ores, bullion and machinery. ma-chinery. The Utah Southern railroad rail-road baa not advanced this year beyoud York station, soventy-five miles south of Salt Luke. It ia a trunk line, with narrow gauge feeders from Bingham, Little Cut tou wood and American Fork cufiona. During the present year work will be done oo other linea leading from the Utah Southern through Salt Creek canon into Sanpeto valley, whero excellent coke ia made from the Walea coal bed. Anottier route will be con structed through Spauith Fork canon into Thistle. and Castle valley, where there is alto an abundance of coal. When the Utah Southern begins its extension further uniithwarrL it will make lor the Star, San Francisco, and Lincoln mining districts, about 130 miles distant. In addition to the great bodies of silver and gold ores, there is a large deposit ot 6iilphur near Beaver, and further south there is a great body of the richest kind of j iron, equal in quantity and quality to that of Lake Superior, and near to it an abundance of coal. The traffic alone of these places named is sufficient suf-ficient incentive to build a first-class mi I real; but I eupposo we will not stop thero; we will go further on wherever the development of the country invites us." Rfp, Are these roads owned by the Mormons? Biah. No. The Union Pacific ie largely interested in both the Utah Central and Utah Southern, and there are other capitalists interested as well in these two lines of travel, and in tho Utah Western and Utah Northern. W ith the work we have done and bave under way, in a few years Utah will be in a very prosperous prosper-ous condition. Rep. That is if you have no trouble with the Gentiles and the government? i Bish. My dear sir, we shall have, no trouble. The working Gentiioa are aick and tired ot all this howling j by oolitical hucksters, and it will not: be long before they make them "dry up," and the government ia not going i to do any very stupid thing against tbe Mormons. There are pleuty of good men in Utah to ttll the truth and stand by the Mormons on matters mat-ters of fact. We are safe.enough. New York Sun. |