Show despicable TACTICS WE have given our readers a sketch of the Joseph josephlee Josephl itell te movement to wrest from the possession of the hedrick it itee esthe the land in independence missouri known as the temple tern pie lots jote the deportment of the men representing the josephites during the investigation here was quite in keeping with the attempt to oust from that land the people who bought and paid for it and have held it arora arom fifteen to twenty years we now give some particulars of a small trick by which the sect seek ing to jump the land thought to gain a mean advantage over the own ers the details were furnished by residents of independence knowing to the facts related in the year 1889 or about that time a new charter was adopted by the city of independence under which a certain number of citizens could petition the city council and obtain an order for sidewalks to be built in front ot of pro property whether the owners wanted it or not in an fn accordance with this provision a sidewalk was quietly petitioned lor for and ordered built on one side of the temple lot the owners of the property were not even notified and knew nothing of it until the material was on the ground and the walk partly laid A tax bill was waft issued against the property to pay for this sidewalk recognizing james A blakeslee Blake Biake elee slee bishop of the reorganized church of jesus christ of latter day saints trustee in trust for that church P as owner of this property A sidewalk was then ordered on temple street and before the tax bill was made out the presiding officers of the church of christ or Hedric kites discovered the error in the first tak bill and notified the abstract firm that they had obtained a decree of the court appointing richard hill their bishop as brusiee in trust for the church of christ 11 which church wa the beneficiary and owner of the property and that he e must furnish a correct abstract to the clerk whose duty it was to make out the tax bill the decree of the circuit court was th enfiled then filed for record dl in the county recorders office that night all the lower lights in the Hedric kite meetinghouse meeting house on the temple lot were broken out and other damage do done neThe the reporters of the kansas City and journal wrote sensational articles and represented that there was war among the mormons cormons at independence and that the josephites had dest destroyed roya property belonging belon in g to thi the e Hedrick Hedric kites itea 10 this war waa coliet copied in n part by the associated press reporter and telegraphed from maine to california readers of the daily press dispatches will no doubt remember the item the attention of the members of the w reorganized organized Be church was by this incident Koal called led to the fact that the leaders of that church had been misrepresenting the glacia in regard to the ownership of the temple mple lot and at the april conference 1 I an explanation was asked for I 1 this called led forth the statement that the reorganized or anizel church had the title but file Hedric edric kites had possession of the property that there was a cloud on the title which could easily be removed and the church would get possession of thao thai fro property perty as it did the kirtland temple the conference promptly instructed the blaho pric to 10 take the necessary steps to remove the cloud from the title to the property in independence in accordance with that instruction suit was com fenced in the V U S district court at kansas city in september 1891 11 if it had bad not been for the vigilance of the Hedric kite Prep president ident the trick by which the josephite Josepht tell bishop endeavored deavo red to appear officially as the owner of the temple lot as trustee for his sect would have prevailed and an appearance of title to the land would have been made the josephites Josephi teall rained possession of the kirtland temple by a bold stroke and because the suit went by default the church in utah not making an appearance in the he case success in that instance has emboldened the josephite Josephi tely leaders to take steps to grab the temple grounds in independence dependence lid to which they have no DO more woral moral right than to the private property of any citizen of missouri the intrinsic present value of the land is not much but its histo historic rib and prospective worth is great jim in view ot of past incidents and future expectations in connection with that sacred acred spot which Is the centre of attraction for many thousands of latter day saints |