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Show i!AVco:.::o;;5 12011 1 I the GOVr;v:ENT?!; the Editor of The Telegram. ' . tiy attention was attracted last evening even-ing to the article In The Telegram reporting re-porting lion. J. A. Beverly"! (ex-Representative from Nebraska) view of President Pres-ident Roosevelt's kindly advice to Apostle Apos-tle Reed Emoot. -It was representative of the gross Ignorance of the mass of our people as to the real facts of the case. Mr. Beverly may do to represent a section of his State, but he would do well to be a little careful about criticising crit-icising a man of such broad Intelligence, 'such versatile reading, such deep thinking think-ing and of such Bplendid and wise action ac-tion as our present President. That Alleged Persecution. . ' . Now as to his pathetic statement tnat the Mormons were driven by persecution persecu-tion across a trackless,-dreary waste of sagebrush to seek a corner where they might enjoy religious tolerance, I wish to quote some abbreviated paragraphs from . an article written for a local newspaper October tl, 1879, by J. R. Mo-Bride, Mo-Bride, Esq., a member of the Salt Lake "bar, one of the oldest pioneers of the coast, and an honest man: The priesthood of the Balnts prate of baring made a garden In the wilderness wilder-ness and built a commonwealth in the great American desert and made It blossom as the rosef that they have subdued the wilds of savages, built cities, cit-ies, tabernacles, schoolhouses, railroads, telegraph and so on ad nauseam. "Many Mormons believe that Utah was first discovered by the Mormons in confirmation of Brigham Young's prophecy." To the facts: The valley of Salt Lake was as well known to travelers In the far West years before Brigham Toung squatted here to pass the winter of 1847, before resuming his Journey to California, Califor-nia, to the valley of the Sacramento, or that of the Willamette. Was Not a Desert. : It was no "desert," but a beautiful, grassy meadow, waiting to be appropriated. appropri-ated. "I (McBrlde) was here before the Mormon Mor-mon settlement was made and know that the pretense of reclaiming alkali soil and subdulag Indians is utterly groundless. There were scarcely any Indians in the Salt Lake valley. There were Utes to the south and Bannocks to the north, however. You might as well talk of reclaiming the rich prairie lands of Illinois and Iowa as of reclaiming the lands of Utah. . "All that was needed was ordinary industry. in-dustry. And as to the difficulties and dangers on the way out, they were no greater than those encountered by other emigrants of those days. The real dlffl- j cultles and dangers were met in those days after you had passed Utah in Ne-I'ada Ne-I'ada and Idaho. ' "Not less than 15.000 people and 3000 wagons had passed through Utah toward to-ward the West before a Mormon had ever set foot In Salt Lake valley. The road from Fort Brldger to this valley was, in 1847, as plain as the road from Salt Lake City to Sandy is today. Parties Par-ties went to the coast with ox train in 1841 and in 1842." Let us Christian citizens be loyal to our Government and well Informed as 1 to facts. I would advise Hon. J. A. Beverly Bev-erly to read up a little on United States history of that early day. WIDE-AWAKE. Salt Lake, December 16, 1903. . |
