Show H S ELDREDGE interviewed THE following report of an interview with gen horace B S eld redge of this city appears in the ban francisco chronicle ot sunday april esth 99 rsm iam lam iam surprised that such mistaken ideas of the cormons mormons are entertained in california and nearly all over the united states we are called a lawless people and are charged with defiantly viol biting the a laws of the land I 1 assert that there are not more loyal people in all the union than the Mor monr mons we regard the constitution as aa sacred we believe it to be a divine revelation and that the men who wroe it did so BO by divine di vine inspiration we have a large well selected territory of fine rine natural resources under a good system of cultivation prosperous rouss and growing wealthy Y we 0 have public bublic seh beb schools Is and a university wholly an and all the other religious denominations have thel their r schools aud and churches which are bre not interfered with by us wherever there Is a mormon school it is maintained at private expense we have our own rell reil religious ious belief under which we seek beek to maintain a social condition to the best interests of all the people and by its regulations we also look to the best beet development of the country the people are the mont most orderly in the united states tho the only tumult is thac that raised by men whom we ve may call political adventurers they come to our territory with nothing to lose and everything to rafn pain they nind nad our institutions flourishing nourishing our territorial revenue large and increasing and they continually plot to gain control over them they try to excite disorder they circulate false reports to array public opinion outside of the territory against us and they are unscrupulous in pursuing pur euing every measure that will help their ends I 1 do not know of an acre of farm or rod of ditch duch that has been opened by any one outside ol of the mormons cormons and their am immediate mediate friends ri ends Th the estate statements that there Is any class feeling between the mormons cormons and respectable gentiles of the territory are false they live peaceably in close vicinity attend to their several businesses and never quarrel unless provoked by some designing outsider I 1 have been ston atou astonished labed at times at the absurd dispatches that b have axe ave been sent to this thia city to show antagonism between mormons cormons and permanent gentile residents As 1 have eald bald the trouble la Is created only by transient adventurers whose profit would be in the confiscation of mormon property with reference to the edmunds anti poly gamy bill outrageous reports were sent out about violent demonstrations of the mormons cormons against the gentiles Gan tilea and threats against the government if it should attempt to enforce the law there was no sueh buch disorder we believed the law to be loe but we meekly submitted to ita its provisions provi gions it dis franchised a great number of people but it could not alter the result of an election there came a time tima when under the terr territorial law wo we should have held an election our commissioners failed to deceive instructions to proceed with the election and the legal time passed without it under the amended edmund edmunds L bill hill lii iii the uhe territorial governor a gentile appointed by the president filled several hundred of does by appointment they were contested in the courtil court and in every case save bave one or two where there were exceptional technicalities it was decided that the old officers should bold over until their successors should be elected under the territorial laws jaws appeals were n ere taken to the supreme court of the united states but before lefore they are decided another election will be held heid and the matter eo bo disposed of the edmunds bill in full fuli operation could not change the result of an election and for this reason the bill prohibits from registration all persons living in polygamy lotmore not noi more than one twentieth of the married mormon men have havn more than one wife and the mormon majority malo maio rity in a general election Is so large that we cau can lose these votes and have more tob toa to pare spare that isone bisone is one reon reason why the people submitted to the enforcement of the law bab bub we propose to test ita it cons constitutionality ti tu tignall ty at what time or in ahn whai nt precise manner I 1 cannot cannat eay tay 11 II I but albat bat if it should occur that the tha mormon vote voto were cut cat down so thi tin the result of su an eleston would be tb submit doubt would your conr people quietly ah that is another question tion and one upon which I 1 cannot express an opinion |