OCR Text |
Show THE EXTORTION OF MONEY. To take inouc3" from an individual under threat of eternal damnation is as much a crime as is extortion by tho blackmailer and the kidnaper. The payment of monev- in either case is procured through fear of consequences upon refusal to pay. Under tho law thcrc should bo abiit3" to punisluptho extortionist in the one case as in the pthers. But unfortunately the broad interpretation placed upon tho supposed rights of religious bodies permit iho escape of a certain class of these holdups. However, setting aside the possibiJit3' or advisability of prosecuting men who are no less robbers because they perpetrate per-petrate their robberies in the name of religion, tho common rules of public cconomv demand that the custodians of funds publicly contributed should bo compelled to mako honest administration administra-tion of thej'r trust. Tf these funds bo put to illegitimate uses the public suffers; suf-fers; and there arc no other moans of discovering whether these monevs aro properly expended than by accurate report re-port from tho custodian. Whcrr the persons who Dave charge of largo amount g of money arc permitted to surround their administration with impenetrable im-penetrable secrecy, there is always certain cer-tain to be some abuse of trust. Examples- are. too numerous to make it Ifceessary to urgo this point further. ,'MLct'US ask. tlio. faithful Mormon if he s quite satisfied with" the presont arrangement concerning .the" tithes which he nnd his follow believer's con-tribute con-tribute to the church. He should know 03' this timo that the men who handle his money arc 011I3' human, even if they do profess to be divinely inspired. in-spired. If we point out to the Mormon somo common or uncommon fault in the life of nny one among his loaders, he will protest that no human being is expected ex-pected to bo perfect; that all men aro liable to err; and ho will oxcusingly 8.13' that tho particular individual designated desig-nated is no different in this respect from other human beings. That being true, .and tho fnct having been frequently fre-quently established that tho men who control the tithes are alarmingly frail and lnmcntably deflciont in some othor respects, how is the Mormon to know that thoy aro not also equally weak in tho fiduciary duties entrusted to them 7 He has no means of loaring to what extent his confidence is respected or abused. The custodian of his funds refuses re-fuses to make any accounting to him; aud that ia something ho would not Tint UTl with fl-mil Ilia mnof frritctnil friend in other financial affairs with which ho ma3' havo to do. If he is interested in-terested joinll.y with others in a commercial, com-mercial, manufacturing, banking or other oth-er institution of a business character, ho expects and demands periodical exposition ex-position of the actual condition of tho business. Ho considers that this much is duo to him in ordor that ho nny know for himself whether tho affairs of the institution aro not being conducted con-ducted to his personal loss and injur'. Why is it that ho does not pursue u similar courso with respect to tho tithes nnd tho manipulators of the tithes? As previously intimated, he cannot can-not pluce bliud and unquestioning confidence con-fidence in these men to tho extent that ho can trust them to deal honestl' by him while their transactions are buried in tho dark recesses of the innermost 8ccrec3'. Tn most of tho othor affairs of life ho can discovor in these men fault after fault. They aro among the most imperfect of humanity. How does he know that the' are any moro honest in their altitudo toward his contributions contribu-tions than the3' are toward tho tuIo of tho church and the law of the State, for instance? Under the present methods, meth-ods, if the tithe paj'cr desires any information in-formation concerning the tithes, he goes lo his bishop and is 1)3" him told just how much ho has paid. That is as far as his enlightenment goes. How would he liko it if he went to the directing officials of a business enterprise in which ho was interested and asked for information concerning the stato of affairs, af-fairs, and wore merch' told that he had bought so manj' shares of stock, and that was as much as ho would be told 7' Como, Mormons; don't plar the greenhorn an3' longer. You are beiug robbed; but you will never know it until you have a thorough accounting. Bo wise and demand it now. |