Show A LAWYERS VIEW 01 aw OF TILE THE TENNESSEE MASSACRE I 1 AND THE STEPS stera THAT tuat SHOULD BE lse wake TAKEN waren N IN RELATION TO tue tile tiie the tho gentleman whose name nam 6 is i s appended to the following article I 1 Is s a reputable and capable member of the profession in newyork new york tork it is fair to assume that the great part ot the american people in most cases care but very little about persecution of mormons cormons Mor mons ns the assumption is warranted by the face of the mormon question as discussed by the people and press pross for that reason it Is is perhaps idle to discuss the murder of mormon elders by a tennessee mob but for the reason that in this country the greatest danger to public peace consists in that element ae nent of society fco clety which is liable to be inflamed by prejudice or passion so that overt acts of violence will be performed er both against property and life ife the murder of mormon iders elders in tennessee should not only be disapproved most mott markedly but the members m 1 embe rs of the mob should be brought to justice and punished the constitution and laws of tennessee guarantee religious liberty to all they also say that murder shall be punished with death they deline define murder as the unlawful taking of life see then what a position tennessee is in before the world her constitution and laws are a farce or powerless unless she puts her foot down on mob violence leading to murder by bringing those who deliberately killed unlawfully four men because of their religious belief to punishment it is no excuse to say that these men taught something thatis that is contrary and und repulsive to the laws lawa of tennessee for two reasons the tho first that they did not attempt to practice any unlawful act in tennessee and the second if they did the laws themselves afforded ample relief if any community for a moment tolerates mob rule and murder how long can society feel safe what time may not the spirit which animates mobs turn and tear those who now so complacently look upon the killing of a lew few few men simply because they taught a doctrine of religion that society does not approve how can tennessee assure us that it if we ve for any purpose go within her borders bo aders w we e ani ant w will I 1 11 be safe from the same fate it will not do to say you are talking about a peculiar case ease I 1 am talking about a great threat principle and if the laws flaws of any state are not strong enough to protect themselves in one case how are we to ehnow they will be strong enough 1 to do so in another an infidel mohammedan buddhist or mormon should be just as safe anywhere in the united states as a methodist so long iong ong as his practices conform to the law of the place without regard to his religious faith and no state can afford to let such a crime as was perpetrated on cane creek lewis county on august loth go unpunished its own life is involved in the principle and until that crime is punished every good citizen must believe that lawlessness and mob rule are more potent than law and order in a state which furnished andrew jackson to the union I 1 am not making an argument for ply polygamy amy am not a mormon and have i no relations with them but I 1 Y appeal to i the people who love their country and its institutions to beware how they allow mobs to murder without cause and then go unpunished it if suc sue such h th things I 1 n gs continue some day a volcano will open that will work destruction to that which la is so BO dear to every american the governor of tennessee has taken an oath to enforce the laws of his state let him see that the men regardless of class who committed the foul loui deed on august loth be speedily punished or have his state classed as dangerous to society and order A 1 anoil tho Tuo KyroN X T an |