| Show R G NIECES Mc Me FINAL REPLY TO THE NEWS sews diffor debret deseret neus news I 1 ask for only a single column of youn v space to make final reply to the if nive rive ve or six columns of abuse and misrepresentation which you yon have hurled at me moe during the past two weeks you seem to think that the abuse of an opponent Is just as good as argument against him and ab so you have havu called mo moa mon a 11 bl bigot ot a wll wil wilful dalsiner fal fai siner er 11 a defa defamer 1 61 slanderer r an impudent a tl 11 VITI villain a I 1 n 11 a scoundrel a tl hireling 1 I 1 and various other things taken irom from your choice and fragrant vocabulary cab you have classed me with liars liars and hypocrites with 11 persistent li bellers and with petty h hirelings ir elings I 1 I 1 you have accused me of d desiring 1 ri 11 that the mormon people should be 11 alun iun jun dered and pillaged 11 of having a sear sear scar edana dead conscience and a inalie malignant nan laud land taud and aud corrupt heart and of pursuing a depraved and malicious cours rf isyou if you thus speak of one who isa faithful law abiding f friend of his coni itry liry and andeits its institutions and who leads a moral and temperate life I 1 was wondering 1 what you would say of the thet immoral I and lawbreaking law breaking classes and of those who are ire the bitter enemies of their country now I 1 have more respect for the readers of tiie the NEWS than to suppose that they consider blackguardism equivalent to argument and so notwithstanding all your accusations since I 1 am conscious of entire truthfulness f ful ness and of a disposition to do no injustice to anyone not even to an enemy 1 I shall write with good natured calmness and civility there are arc four or five nse points I 1 would like to touch upon and then drop f urther further discussion in the NEWS 1 let the maln main question at issue be kept clearly in view I 1 stated in the tile independent that we had not been able to prevent the midnight stoning of the windows in the houses occupied by our ministers and teachers that I 1 life had been thus endangered aga again inand and again and thailour th atour buildings had been repeatedly injured and set on fire you denied that such things had ever occurred occurred currea oc and denounced me as a liar and slanderer for making this statement I 1 then cited you to four towns where these things had occurred in two of which our buildings were set seton on fire tire and in two of which t they were repeatedly stoned in the night strangely enough you have brought forward witnesses and affidavits to show that our buildings were set on tire in nephi and logan as I 1 stated thereby giving I 1 away your pour case in your over anxiety to convict me of falsehood without regard re ard to the facts while attempting to belittle the serious character of the outrages a against ainest the rev mr gillespie and his emily emliy at BrIgham City you do not yo yourself deny nor do your witnesses deny that the windows of the building where he lived were ivere repeatedly stoned in the night as I 1 stated so far as the first three cases are concerned then there is no dispute as to the occurrence occur ence beof of the firing and the stoil atoning ln g the dispute is in regard to the perpetrators of these things you pro profess ess to believe that the mormons cormons had nothing to dewith do with these acts of lawlessness and under the circum stances when you declare such a belief have I 1 not as much right to accuse you of hy hypocrisy p and lying as you yoli have to accuse me of falsehood and slander but I 1 do not believe in that style of discussion cus sion on the other hand because of the circumstances I 1 am compelled to believe that these lawless acts were perpetrated pet rated by mormons cormons Mor mons but I 1 am free to say however that I 1 do diot not believe the mormon people as a pody body approve of such misdeeds I 1 believe enst the reverse but I 1 am not prepared thus to acquit the priesthood behind the people of all responsibility for such suich lawlessness for the frequent vindictiveness of speech against worthy and law abid ing 1 americans on the part of kroml prominent nent members of the priesthood the obstacles put in the way of our renting buildings and buying bryin ir lots hor bor for school purposes by this priestly power behind the owners and to crown all tiie tile savage de le anunciation nuncia tion tiou and the vindictive slanders and insinuations that are constantly thrown out against those connected with these american schools by the representatives of the priesthood seem to ille me calculated to promote and anh encourage such autra outrages es as I 1 have referred to and such otner oger OMer frequent misdeeds as the disturbance of our religious meetings the cutting to pieces of our hymn books tile the plastering of filth upon the doors of our school buildings and the breaking of windows at ni not only in the places mentioned but in fillmore in wellsville and in smithfield Smith neld these constitute a series of lawless acts against a particular kind of work and against a special class of people entirely different fro from in the boyish mischief which Is 19 some sometimes aarnes perpetrated in the best governed ov communities and it seems to me that these things are the natural fruit of the vindictive deachin teachings s and example to which I 1 have re referred anyhow thatis that is the impression made upon me after living tor for seven years in the midst of this priesthood if I 1 am wrong in in my conclusions and bellef beliefs si I 1 sh shall shail be glad giad to be set right 2 in regard to spanish fork you bring forward two witnesses to say that they never saw anybody stoning the building that our teacher occupied there I 1 ido do not suppose they ild iid lid did you deny that any such thin thing occurred well let it stand so I 1 do not feel the need of any affidavits to support iny my statement of the matter not only before this community but before every comm community unity where I 1 have lived jived and before the american people I 1 am aai perfectly willing to let my unsupported word in regard to any statement of fact stand against your contradiction tra of that statement backed by all ali tite tife alli affidavits davits you can bring z 3 3 1 I deny that I 1 am an eue ene enemy ia of the mormon people on the contrary I 1 have toward them f feelings beelin s of the utmost kindness and good goodwill vIll I 1 think the majority of them ed and anci hospitable 1 believe that I 1 am a far better friend to the mormon people peggie than you yon are and ill lii tell you why you lou are doing all ali you can to keep the people in bondage to priestly despotism iam doing alf I 1 can to set them free from that tuat bondage so that they may have tile the same liberty that every free american ric an has of choosing the store where they wish to trade th the newspaper they wish to lake the school they wish to send their children to and of deciding what disposition to make of their own property and how much they will contribute to the support of Te religion ligion in short may do whatever a free american citizen has a right to do without any priestly dictation whatever I 1 want no restrictive legislation against the mormons cormons which I 1 f am not willing to submit to myself I 1 want no ecclesiastical sias or political political privileges for myself which 1 do not want the mormon people to have what I 1 am opposed to in utah is that priestly government in political and secular affairs which is hostile to free schools and the freedom of the people and hostile to the fundamental principles of our free government but while OP opposing cosing this system which I 1 believe to ile tle be wrong I 1 have no ill will against individuals 4 1 you wish to tornow know when my rights have been interfered with in utah they are interfered with everyday every day by this priestly despotism which exacts of me taxation without which through its representatives me standing up for my rights as law abiding ablaing american citizen and for the rights of other americans which accuses me of slander and falsehood when I 1 complain that the tiie lives of my friends are endangered by lawlessness fessand sand and that the property which I 1 helped to pay for is wantonly injured which beggars me in purse and robs me of valuable time in taking care of its victims who are enticed here hero from foreign countries and then left to suffer for food and gothing clothing if they do not a aree agree ree with every odious doctrine and practice which they are surprised to find prevalent here which through its representatives under the garb of prophecies prophecies makes mases covert threats against aga I 1 ast me an dother american opponents and then leaves no influence unused to bring about the fulfillment fulfilment of these prophetic threats the first artic article articie le in the series of articles in the NEWS to which I 1 lam iam am now replying con talked bained two of these covert threats let me quote one of them itis ills interesting ing to 0 watch the career of such individuals r du al ts opponents and to mark the fate which invariably awaits them in process of time do you wonder that I 1 as ag an american citizen oppose a system with foreigners at its head which encourages its representatives to carry on this tris style of warfare against worthy americans and to promulgate lark dark threats calculated to encourage the very lawlessness of which I 1 am complaining 5 you think tam eam I 1 am greatly troubled over the criticism and 0 position position of the NEWS nears not at adl adi all ail I 1 t was too ion lon long iong the editor of a daily paper myself and have had too many newspaper discussions to be much troubled in regard to what the NEWS may say about me there is one thing however that I 1 fear would trouble troubie me and that is to have the praise of th the e NEWS in that case I 1 think I 1 would feel obliged to inquire what mean thin thing I 1 h had ad been doing now let me close this discussion by reiterating that I 1 am a friend to the mormon people and that while earnestly estly opposed to a system which I 1 believe lieve is not only hostile to the best interests of the people but hostile to our free government I 1 gr bean bear no ill will wili to any aay individual and expect to see the time when this tilis shall be an american territory with all classes dwelling together in peace K R G salt lake city june |
