Show THE mormon SITUATION I 1 f INTERVIEW nth WITH THE emigration AGENT ELDER ender W gt 04 STAINES AND A NY N Y REPORTER from tho tha new york telegram of marchig march 18 eldera elder eider V 0 Stal stai neg nesi of the mormon church who is the utah emigrant agent ident in this city was interviewed today to day ty by a telegram reporter for the purpose of obtaining his hia views view on the mormon question he went to gait lake city in 1847 an and dh has as eye ever r since been one of the leaders of or mormonism mr staines asked the reporter reporters ts is it true as stated in the inauguration speech that the constitutional guarantee of absolute religious liberty is not enjoyed by the people of utah no if it is meant that any other religious denomination is r restrained estral ned from that ill berty liberty by tho mormons cormons Mor mons yes if itis lvis meant that the government men t does not alow the mormons cormons to enjoy this constitutional guarantee why before the gentiles had churches of thel own brigham young allowed their members to preach in the tabernacle the next heit passage 1 in a the inauguration speech is is that which states that tho the ilor mormon church not only offends the mora ense of pf mankind by sanctioning polygamy but blit prevents tb the e administration pf af justice justlee through h the he 0 ordinary instrumentalities mental i ties of law W J As to the first aret half of this passage w which filch says fays that the mormon curch gurch offends the moral sense of mankind by sanctioning polygamy I 1 balm s that this is only because abote those persons whom the president multiplies indefinitely by calling mankind whose moral sense eeme js is offended by polygamy are deop people le who have been brought up in religions that teach monogamy if the same persons perso had been bom born and brought up mor mons their moral would not no the be offends offended ed by polygamy the moral sense which polygamy offends is merely a matter of religious training it is not like the anstin instinctive etive feeling implanted by bi god in the human breast which tells us it is wrong to steal or murder without being told it is 19 so by some one else or even in spite of being toia iola old oid that it is laudable to do so there is no po feeling freling like ilke this which tells a man n it i is s wr wrong ong to take more than one ono 1 it t is is si simply a prel prejudice ud iee lee arising from th the 0 religious training which a person has received THE administration OF JU JUSTICE stier stice As to the statement that the mormon church prevents the administration of justice through the uhe ordinary instrumentalities of law I 1 suppose that the president here alludes to the tho difficulties which the government nt encounters hi iii convict ing ng mormons cormons of polygamy NOW cowit t is is not likely that when there is a law which entails imprisonment for two or five deais and a nine fine of on conviction of having more than one wife that a mormon who breaks this law is likely to tell every one of it his brother mormons cormons do not wish to know whether he has haq more than one wife his marriage to the wives is privately performed in the temple tempie or endowment house thet the wives themselves arel area are not going to give information by which they 6 will be deprived of the support of 0 their husband for two 3 years ears or more and so 96 it is no doubt difficult government to get got evidence sufficiently strong to CJU can viet vict every effort is ig made ladeby by 0 onni 1 cias eias detectives ac to obtain ad 4 missions they will meet a 11 little tie tle child who its father an and mother are ard and endeavor to get information which they ture are unable to obtain from their parents krents the officers may suspect stat that the three 0 paw women living with mor mop mor yn yno 0 arp jwied ham ap bu bauth plemons evidence count for nothing with I 1 01 ov 01 I 1 fe IS isit IT A crime q r ti As to the charge of boym polygon fc being a criminal practice which A troys the family relation and eli ela enda b gera gers social order it is only crimi crini 1 in the r sense dense that it law jaw As for it destroying tho the A f ily relation I 1 will admit this iam lam of course where a wife love iove lovesa husband deeply it is impossible her liar not to be jealous of any other woman never Kever theU they are areas as happy as many bit bil afi marrie i women who have onla husband lius ilus band the charge is ig taza tysa lal rss V against us that i e take more th t one wife to gratify our lust thit thil V not the case it is because jmj it tenet of our religion because oy out ligion teaches tea clies us that procreation one of the noblest works of na and that every woman should N the opportunity of becoming t a aj ther ff if ahe so desires M I 1 t THE AND THE L lj ALI alt V the next passage runs tetu nor wor can any ecclesiastical 0 organ agall tion be safely permitted to usurp P t the smallest degree the fund I 1 and powers of the national golem govea men ment t 1 now the usurpation ifan itan is 38 on the side of the government ut AJI ail the judges the governor etc are appointed bythe by the government the jurors are usually divided h be t and half balf between the mormons cormons am I 1 I 1 gentiles but we are excluded al alth aith gether in some ame instances therel case in point in inthe tiie tile courts of ai f lake city at the present time 11 j I 1 number of cattle were stolen hir fron the church herd and several mei men me we were rearrested arrested in selecting a juri the he attorney for fok the defendants MI ML brown claimed that the church va a cor eor corporation po ration that all belonging tai were interested party consequent tl no mormon should be allowed on jury lury the point was as eo so Now ow suppose a catholic chinch it abis this city was robbed of its precis vessels ves feis Fels would an objection t to a kwi INI casa as a juror on the ground to he lie tie wa nasr an interested party becala he belonged to that church be w sw then again take lake for foilb h t stance the case of cannon ant and antl campbell camptell of utah who mho are noy noi gressi gressl C contesting mt esting forthe for fon the neat in con Cob congress from utah cannon the mormon candidate received over eighteen thousand thom and votes while campbell received about thirteen hund hundred ret y yet jet el the governor gave campbeli campbell campbeli t tle the be certificate when cannons cannous mt was contested on two oc ca by defeated candidate candi datu datt could not obtain a certificate from irom the tile governor G governor over nor but campbell has haa obtained one oils this time THE TRE GOVER government NN ENT enc AND ahat effect will the inauguration spee speech eh have on mormonism 69 none it will not affect the emigration 9 ration of mormons to salt sall lake city in the least nor will it have any effect on those living there polygamy is one of the tenets of our fajth faith and all true mormons cormons die than give up any portion faith you may fineus nine fine us w drive us away even kill some ot of us but mormonism will sui still survive you may call mean me an enthusiast fanatic what you like but if I 1 had bad to cil cli choose between death and giving cp up 1 my religion 1 I would simply say klu kin kill kiu me 10 I 1 believe belleve lieve would do the same religion li 1 I something above the laws 01 maii man when the law says I 1 must eive give up cpr at tenet of my religion I 1 answer that god has given mea belief in thai thal tenet tind I 1 cannot give it up I 1 advocate B passive resistance not actina active but in case the government da as some papers have advis ad edTh vir vis send fend out an army to put down 1 did nid me monism by brute force it would V if difficult to say what would happa happe when in 1857 during Pres presided ideA buchanann Bucha nans administration mal mot than 2000 united states troop under berthe the command of general kidney sidney jo joh Job johnson hilson bIlson were marching on balt bait salt lake bake city clis the mormons cormons who vette to guard th the e ton town were ready to set fire to it the moment it became inevitable that sait sale lake must fa fab into the hands of the invaders brigham brigo 0 1 1 young was to give the sigm sign signal by firing his own hou bou houe e although my home had dicost ost me md yet I 1 stood ivady ready to apply the as it lt I 1 mi ouid ou id become t 0 sac sao I 1 t fifth tf the e army bad irad attempted to eh fh L eh I 1 sat vilt 1 I lake city at that time they would h have dve found it only I 1 mass magg of bu burning anin tv ruina ruin but happily an understanding was wag arrived A the troops turned their faces h homeward ame and salt sait lake city was wag saved tb the e normon mormon 1 11 ormon ch chu ich does not moed toed die in politics except inasmuch asmuth In ss as hev hey p com COW Dello to ty do so sg for opa W wn protection in case a man is lomina ted for an office who is pro opposed to us why of course ye e vote against him for self krotec ion but apart from thi this we vote or the man each one considers the est eat est cat but in spite of his a ion fon on speech we really do expect fairess from Garf garfielda lelda a administration 0 mR MARRIAGES rAGES decreasing although mormon emi ewi arrive in utah po marriages are am decreasing ahia his is because few men marry more jian alan han one woman as they do not ish to incur the responsibilities ties of rhe he care of two or three wives this whole mo mormon rmon question of pol poi ga ny is misunderstood by most people ft mormon must be in good standing with the church before ore he can anve ave two wives and not only that nut aut ut must show that he is able to them some people have in idea that a mormon ia is forced to ake a second wife wine just as soon as ms a s his jaehns permit in order to keep him boor ir this is a mistake we have rillor 1 divorces I ces the same as elsewhere but 11 here ere is a church as well as a civil I 1 ivoree among us the latter ia Is inoperative pera tive unless the former ia Is first obtained obtained in fact the church di torce is the one it is is necessary to v aln ain ain aln among am ong members mern bers of the surch murch church the civil one is ob mined more for the protection of I 1 ain rights under the laws divorce vs Is granted for infidelity and treat an ent in church divorces the defendant enfant ia is generally reprimanded for he first of lense A mormon la ia not 3 granted a divorce except for good muse use and being simply tired of a boman E boman is not considered sufficient af f a man were known to marry sim gly ply ly for just lust he would not be granted 1 permission Ver mission by the church to take iny ny more wives wives mormons cormons who t ave live ove outside ott aside of da d not practice me it polygamy although polygamy is athe occasion of so much trouble from the outside world to us land jand seems ia in fact to be bel unfair to th the woman though it ig Is not absolutely necessary that a man should have hive more than ban one wife to be a mormon yet polygamy is a tenet of ohr our faith falth a fundamental law of our religion reh gionane gio nand and we cannot give e it up another mistaken idea is s I 1 that hplu the till mormon church keeps its members poor by exacting tithes tiie THE cin CHILDREN OF one would imagine that whoa chons sons and daughters by other than the first wife grew up they would gaeel feel reel that their parents ha had hau ld injured e d thelby them by bringing them into the t h world word not in their own community but in case they should go to other parts of the united states or of the world where their religion did not prevail where the stigma of their birth might prevent their thein reception fon in society but it is not so I 1 hive hiie nave never seen a mormon young man or young woman yet who was asham n ed of his or her birth on account of being the child of a second or bieu even a tenth wife mormon stepchildren are as much attached to each nother pother as though full brothers kor son L lor sor or sisters and this Js is the ho more reh markab ies ieZ Jeon account of the r reverse eve n e being the case outside of Mor mormons mons olt sit s it has been ga said sald ld idine iwine lo 10 me that my cannot be allowed be because causer for cone reason 1 a gentile might live with three 0 or r four wives and 1 if f arrested would claim ti bat int polygamy was his belief although not a mor j binon mon but the answer 15 that it is nathis not his religion as it itis is that of the 1 latter although the courts hold hol holbeach each deach j equally responsible for hi his f acts we do not t believe in cohabitation but in marriage a ge speaking of courts re me of another grievance in utah we need the best of lawyers iLs els ss judges to decide the intricacies of the numerous mining suits iu involve ing immense amounts which are constantly being a adcur the judges should be paid large salaries 1 so fio as to secure ure pre the best talent As it is the united states government send men to utah who with a few exceptions options ept ions lons are totally unfitted for t their heir positions and duties one of 1 t the he plans proposed to break up was to divide utah among the other territories but that would only give ua us the balance of power powe t r in three or four territories where now i it is confined to one |