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Show THE BLACK RECORD KEPT. There is a little bit of inside fact in possession of this paper that has never yet been brought to light, so far as we know. Tt concerns the lascivious and polygamist practices at Nattvoo, Illinois, at the lime tho Mormon church headquarters head-quarters were established there. As is well known to students of the situation, it is contended by the Reorganized Re-organized branch of tho church, which is presided over by Josoph Smith, son of the original founder, that Joseph (he "prophet" was not a polygamist. The controversy upon this point has been going on for many years between the two branches, the Utah church contending con-tending that Joseph was plurally married mar-ried several years beforn hi lnr.fi. While President Brigham Young was alive the news came lo Utah that David Smith, the youngest son of Iho founder of Mormonism, who was born shortly after- the "prophet" was killed, was about to pay a visit to this (then) Territory. Ter-ritory. Jfc was said that one 'of the purposes of this visit was to convince the saints hero that Joseph had but the one wife, Emma Jalo Smith. B.righam gave a couple of his apostles a commission to go into the records contained con-tained in tho historian's office and prepare statements from these records, together with a list of tho names of women with whom Joseph had cohabited co-habited in Nauvoo and previously. One of the assistants in the historian's office was detailed to work with the apostles in preparing tho required data. When the records had been gone through, it was discovered that tho list embraced tho names of upward of seventy sev-enty women and youug girls with whom Joseph had maintained illicit relations re-lations uudcr the guise of polygamy. The most shocking part of it, too" was that tho list included a number of names of married women equal to thoso of unmarried ones. And this was what was sprung upon David by Brigham when he nrrivod in Utah to endeavor to provo tho monogamous life of tho "prophet." There aro somo mighty blnek pages hidden away in that church historian's , office, exposure of which would bring ii tii vernal apostasy. |