Show editorials A murderous proposition PREVIOUS to tho the martyrdom of joseph smith the ilia prophet Prop liet ilet it was frequently dec declai ed that if lie could only be put out of the way mormonism would perish the earth A similar statement was continually reiterated in relation to president brigham young before liefl demise but those who wiio fondly i hoped for ili ill the e death of our system m on the decease of or its human head had up no proper idea of this tills church its genius nor its people the chicago interior speaking of view says at AV length as we wo read the rising statistics of if their growth we learn that the vitality of mormonism resides not in one leader and cannot bej destroyed I 1 1 by y legislation which it edle edie can always defeat let there be action which will bo be effective pressed forward if need be by bayonets that must needs be respected and the president who shall inaugurate and carry carny on this tin s reform will build for fox himself an enduring monument iobe gratitude of all true american americans the interior is a religious journal that mi might lit be known even to those entirely unacquainted with it from the bitterness and murderous spirit which it enter entertains taing toward tile the latter day saints no other means of overthrowing ell ill mormon ism occurs to persons and papers of bf the type of ho interior but legislation or dir bayonets these are tile the weapons which it advocates for tile conversion of the benighted alor mor mons A religious paper urges the head bead orthe government to emulate ezeal th the teal teai of the murderous bigots of the tho middle a aes ages eq to repeat in free Americ america ii the cenes scenes s enacted at the feast of bt bartholomew in priest ridden france tile tiie enduring monument that any man would secure cereby by such ft a policy oxblood of blood and cri eri chime crime r would be not nob one of gratitude or respect but of everlasting detestation and infamy he would be known in the annais annals of our nation as the slayer not only of the devot butor butof the aar sacred e d prin irin principle c 1 p le of r jg 11 ous albrt liberty and w tile destroyer of one of the grandest features of or that system of government which in its perfect form is now the admiration of the world the interior having seen that il it was mistaken as to the vital force of our system and luf iff tile the notion that it depended upon tile tho life of a man should learn the lesson that it may be mistaken nito alto altogether ether in regard to our doctrines doin doln doings s and designs and we would suggest 0 that before urging any measures for the massacre massab xe of i the e mormons cormons Mor mons the tho pious editors of the interior leam something reliable of this people and church about whom tile he densest Iel lel lest iest ignorance prevails even among tile the leading religious feacher sand and journals of the united st states ates we pity their blindness we dea des despise I 1 iso ise their bigotry and bloody ness A BLOW SLOW AGAINST JUDGE flynch LYNCH law la under bilich many brutal m murders by mobs have been partly excused is generally aided by officials who are either timid or willing to yield to tho the clamor of tb the e multitude A thoroughly resolute ra resistance will in most caless casos cases pre pro tent venh the disgraceful scenes which frequently occur and preserve pre gerve the dignity of the law and the life of the accused until judicial irl lil inquiry has bas determined his guilt tile the miscarriage ria ris e of justice anti and the tiie many loop lop iop ho holes hoies that are made mado for criminals are deplorable but they do nota not justi justl asti fy tile tilo rebellion against all RII law which is involved in tile tiie taking of human life without tile formality of a legal trial and a fair opportunity for defence the tennessee legislature lias has passed a law which wl i ich if I 1 it t is signed sign eil etl by the governor will do much in th that at state to prevent mob executions in future it deprives of office and disqualifies for any future public position any sherlia who wiio allows a prisoner to be taken from his liis custody and lynched this will stiffen the backbone of tile the officer in charge of an accused person flud and prompt him to the discharge of his duty which is as much to protect as to capture an offender against the law until ho he is judicially Judic lilly disposed cod sed of mob law ia Is a disgrace to any community and an innocent prisoner is J justas likely to become a prey to popular passion as a guilty one the approach of a body of armed men to a prison is notice enough of nimi nal intent and the judicious but determined ter mined use of firearms will usually bo sufficient to deter the crowd from intended violence the bill Is a good one for tennessee A GOOD opportunity FOR STUDENTS tim THE publishers of tho the american a very able and respectable philadelphia journal in order to encourage ril nl journalism in the united states offers the surn sum of 1500 in 1 prizes to college students or bradu atos for r thorest th obest ebest esais sass says and I 1 poems there are two bets bots of prizes 21 in all ill one set pet for college colle eolie o students gents only the second set 0 7 prizes is for those who have hae been graduated from american colle colleges C es the tho topics are not limited andall andali aul all ali articles un successful in the tile com colu petion but bu t which reach the standard adopted b by the american will be accepted by ili ill tho the editor f for r publication in that paper and bo be paid for at regular bates rates thug thus each bach competitor if lie can do anything any thing at rt all WI with til ill his pedy pen will not lose lome te ilissa ills lils labor bot the judges of the ed editorials ito rials and essays will be active journalists of national reputation mr noah brooks of tiie tile NY N Y times mr walter alien allen of the boston advertiser and mr M P handy of the tiie philadelphia phi ladelphia J ass the tile judges of the poem will bo be gentlemen competent for that duty their names will be hereafter announced noun ced d full particulars can be obtained by writing to W R balch managing editor of the american box 1600 philadelphia pa SPECIAL statistics WANTED tim THE work of taking talking tile the census in this territory was so thoroughly and efficiently performed that secretary r thomas lias bas received several handsome compliments from lead head quarters and the department low now declares that tile tilo utah returns are more complete and competent ii elleu i iraln rum any other district in the country secretary thomas has just received the appointment of special agent under the act of Con congress gress gresa of march marcil ad d 1879 to col leet and compile statistics of the schools and ani libraries in utah aadot and ot the church of jesus christ of lat ter day saints generally there is no doubt eliat lie lle will bestow the same care and diligence to this labor as in supervising t tile llie census taken last year and that those who fe are callol upon for information will im part has was it as correctly and fully as lies in their power SECRETARY BLAINE our oun Wash washington bigton correspondent Knox writes under date of april ath as follows concerning the new secretary of state 1 I am requested by a friend of secretary blaine Blai neto to say that there is no truth in the reports which have hav e gone outs onto out as ps coming from the secretary that ho lie had disclaimed any connection with the nomination of robertson as collector of t tho the h c por port t of new now york the secretary this friend bays will leave that question open until tile tiie president ident chooses choose to sett settle settie leit it the tilo ar aggressive wal wai ways VS of mr blame blaine when he was in ia the house and so senate n ate have per perhaps h a prepared the public mind niina for a bp belief e that aa as secretary of state he had taken hold hoid of the tho president and cabinet with the idea of controlling them few men however have a more aloro thorough ug h appreciation odthe of the pro printies prie 11 ai etie etlo ties of official life th annir anair blaine and it 1 d wha whatever tover toven lie may have done or I 1 eft left undo nein the robertson robert son matter lie he has haa not made public announcement of it beyond mr blaines BI aines alnes orten often expressed wish that the senate republicans should consent to the t transaction ra of executive business nor for fi cir a time waiving val vai ving I 1 any other matters whatever I 1 am toldie has during the last month expressed no opinions oil on subjects lican party except such as he expressed to tile president when wilen consulted his wish is understood to be that he be no longer considered as actively engaged in political affairs or as seeking promotion to the presidency all this comes from one of his ills intimate friends and admirers 11 MATRIMONY AND THE CENSUS tim footings of the tiie census which P show show how that there are over eight hundred thousand more males than females in the united states have provoked many humorous randsome and sonae silly luy remarks concerning the rela lions of or the sexes some papers find lind in these figures an opportunity to anve inveigh 1 1 gh against tile the 11 mormons Mor mons for making a monopoly in the tile matrimonial market and construct out of them an argument against mormon polygamy onn off the ground that if some men have more inore wives than one others must go without others profess to see in them an answer to the perplexing question why so many young men in these latter days remain nahar nalar unmarried ried they say it is because there are not n 0 t w wives ives enough to go round irow drow there is one feature in the population question which these commentators do not consider indeed it is unfortunately lert left but out of the census it ia Is the re relative numbers of marriageable men and marriageable women it does not follow because the total number of males exceeds that of females all ages bein being r included in the total that the disproportion is tile same bame inre in regard to persons persona esons of marriageable age where is there a place states outside ofa of mining and newly opened districts for settlement where any young ddn who is of a marriageable disposition and opager of age cannot nind find a young woman fora wife the great number tf marriageable girls who donot nind find partners for life is a matter of coin coln comment ment everywhere chere in places of any con eon considerable sij sis population it is frequently referred boin to in the public rants utah according to the census has about males in excess of females femal females ps anti and yet outside of til ill the min ing towns there amo aro troops of or young girls in every settlement without any immediate prospect of matrimony the influx of miners who as a rule are not marrying man mati has changed the ratio jn in our census tables and yet we do not think tint any truthful person will lil ill claim that there is a lack of wife material in the matrimonial market marker fon for one who vrho tn ehtor nt n tho the con connubial state slate we are positively certain from knowledge of existing conditions in this territory that there are am mapy more girls and women willing and competent to marry than there are a re laeh Lach elors willing to take them to wife it is certainly not because there are not wives enough to go round tha men here remain single it is generally conceded and ano it would be just as tr true ua if it were not conceded that women a as a class are more willing to contract matrimony than men cedlo wedlock Ve dlo dio k ia is the goal of a girls ambition in if 1 numerous instances young men shrink from the responsibilities expenses cares and anticipated burdens of matrimony mattl matti morly and prefer a life of single blessedness ii as it is libel bously designated if every man roan who cou con could d marry would wed there would not be MM mu much K need for many men to espouse more wives than one still this is a matter involving something 0 more than relative numbers yo you u cannot p pair air I 1 people ont ott at will nor decide that every man shall marry because there are women enough to be married p nor that every woman shall marry b because eca u so ther there e are aie single men choice inclination personal freedom play a very im important t part in the drama of matrimonial life suppose there are a dozen single men and a dozen single women in a town and eight of the thet men each marry a wife while the other four men are not acceptable to the remaining four women and will wili n not 0 t marry them but these T remaining remaining ema ining i 1 women form an attachment of the married men and by consent of the wives each becomes a plural wife are aie those four bachelors even if they were willing to marry defrauded by plural lra ira I 1 marria marriages es not at all the women have them anyhow so they thley ioe lose loe nothing by the plurality while e the women gain by having the m men en of their choice which is their right on natural principles so long as the they Y do not infringe upon the rights of or others othene and there is no infringement when all part parties es are mutually agreed if if all marriageable men would seek to fill the measure of ot their creation and obey the primal law there would be little talk of surplus women of which there are many a almost everywhere of marriageable age but there are great numbers of tile lords lord of creation who will not espouse although they orten often seek to betray the ladies ladles and aud consequently there are all over the united states notwithstanding the totals in the census a great many marriageable women who remain single and without the opportunity of reaching maternity the acme of true comans happiness and hopes there are many men not fit to be entrusted with matrimonial power over a virtuous tender affectionate woman there should be perfect freedom of choice for women subject only to tile restrictions we have named rud nud tind aud jf if society was properly regulated brutal and passion rufed men would not prey upon the weaker meaker sex none but the good desery deserve the fair and there is no more robbery in one man having mor more 19 wives than one on their free choice if somo some or unacceptable man goes without than there is in one man acquiring property by honorable means while another does not accumulate in some of lof the eastern state states 4 the women greatly pre preponderate in the newly settled states particularly in mining districts the men are in the majority this occurs through tile the love of adventure and of change in the males and in their desire to strike out for fortune immigration has brought great numbers of men from the old world to settle in the new and the consequence is an increase of males in the uni United ted states with an increase in the relative number of females in the old countries but whether the males or the females are in numerical excess or if the numbers are equal the vital question involved in A mormon plural marriage is not in the least affected and if there are so many unmarried men as assumed and they are arvi ready and willing to marry there need be no further anxiety ov orf the subject which agitates so ma many ny foolish people in the country for there will be no extra wives for any one to take as there will be husi enough for all and to spare the views which seem to obtain on the revelations of the census ought therefore to stop at once all fuss and feathers over the danger to american institutions from our marriage system which has hag been conjured up with as bittic cause as the baseless fabric of a vision THEY SEE THROUGH IT IT is 1 pleasing I 1 ea s ing to note that while a general outcry is being |