Show THE RIGHT NOBLY KOBLY DEFENDED THE following which appeared in the denver republican under the head of national honesty ll does great cred credit it to that journal it is strange that a newspaper of the standing of the aprin sprin springfield field mass republican indorses endorses indor ses genater senator edmunds plan for transferring tile the es cheated property of the mormon church over to the public schools of utah it is still more strange that it urges that provision be made to prevent the mormons cormons from controlling the public schools of the territory after this money shall be transferred to the school fund one does not have to be a defender of mormonism to see in this a close resemblance to the policy pursued by the persecutors of the protestants in the sixteenth century it is the old theory over again that a government has haa a right to take away the property of people whose views on ft certain ertain questions do not accord with those of the government that this is unjust and immoral imdorf 1 cannot be deniel by any fair minded man the fact tha the mormon church teaches polygamy has very little to do w with ith the case apart from its teaching of the doctrine of polygamy my the mormon church has as much right to exist and to hold property as any other church organization in the united states it is also true that a great majority of the mormons cormons are not mists and that the greater part of the property properly of that church was contributed by by or collected from people who are not polygamists the church as a religious organization and the mor mons who are not polygamists have rights which are as much entitled to the protection of nf the government as the rights of any other church or of nf any other church members the truth is that the springfield Be republican publican like ninety nine out of a hundred hunk red of the other newspapers of the country is blinded by brej prejudice udice agai against nit the mormons cormons Mor mons no man should make an opponents religion an excuse for mistreatment of him the men who are guilty of polygamy in the mormon church ought to be punished buethe but the men who are not guilty of polygamy ought not to be treated as though they were guilty if the property of the mormon church shall be taken from that church society and turned over to the public schools of utah or if it shall be in any other way taken out of the hands of the mormons cormons Mor mons the act will stand as ag a n national reproach confiscation can never be justified except it be a ai i i a last resort in the national defense to say that the mormons are so great a menace to the american government that the confiscation of their heir property is justified is absurd |