Show the mormon battalion the I 1 salt lake telegraph of the inot contains an olt oft repeated c charge ar e of wrong and injury committed comitted comit tad ted against mormons cormons by president polk during the mexican anwar war in substance that the mormons cormons having been persecuted in missouri and illinois and finally dis armed and driven into exile I 1 were at council bluffs bluff when the war with mexico broke out looking out for fin a settlement somewhere in the far west to es cs cape their persecutors persecute rs and oppressors and that while in this their forlorn and hopeless condition president polk taking advantage of their misery called on them to furnish a battaglion bat tallion of volunteers to assist the government in prosecuting cise enting the wor war agai against mst mexico wa we happen to t kaow all about this great wrong against the mormons cormons Mor mons the president had called for volunteers to carr carry ron on the war against mexico and at least three times as many had offered their services as were needed and many whose patriotism were burning t to vindicate the national honor by services vices against the enemy in in 31 mexico eXiCO were compelled to stay at home the report had bad gone abroad that the cormons mormons were at council bluffs en route for california in a suffering con and the Govern government men t intending to make a conquest of that country proposed to the cormons mormons who it is understood were destined to that region through a feeling of philanthropic and good will alone requested them to furnish the government with a bat tallion of volunteers the government proposed to furnish them with supplies and the regular pay of soldiers to go on a journey they had bad already undertaken without pay there was no coercion no force or intimidation whatever in the matter tile cormons mormons were at liberty or not just as they pi pleased e ased the government acted in good faith toward them and now at this late day for them to assail the memory of president polk who has long since been reposing in his grave is so uncalled for reprehensible and unjust that we are compelled through a sense of an honest indignation to rebuke it if the TAlor cormons mormons mons desire martyrdom or deem themselves a persecuted people they must resort to some other means than the one they have resorted to what great hardships resulted to the mormon bat battaglion tallion they went through via new mexico and the gila river to california at the expense of the government had no fighting to do lived like fighting cocks arrived in california just at the time of the first gold discovery and i heaped such a golden harvest as enabled benghim im young to start a mint in salt lako lake city where they coined d money by the millions when we visited california calif ornia two years yeara after the mormon lormon IV battaglion bat tallion got there we found thon them tho n enjoying great prosperity everything was inforno INI oRno they had their mormon bl ormon tavern ten t miles ra iles west of sacramento city they had bad their mormon bar a rich and extensive god placer on the american river a little further west they bad many other things exclusively to them elvee in consequence of the cruelty y of pre ident polk and the government and were shipping gold dust by the buchel but bel to their brethren at suit salt lake it this was persecution it was iva 8 good persecution erse cution eliat other oiher people envied them for and would have given anything in the world to have a litte litt of the same but laying all jokes jobea aside it is unjust for the cormons mormons to be charging president polk with having oppressed them the they y furnished farnia lied one battalion to th the 0 government ove rement du daring ring the whole of the mexican me bican war which covered the american soldiers with lasting honor and glory glor y and they grumble incessantly that they furnished any soldiers at A all we advise them if they want to forever complain to get some other hobby this one ie played out |