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ELLIS ON THE MORMONS we clip the following entire from the denver news stopping at the american to is the man who started the wedge that split ol 01 alj J conditions conditioner in utah he to la mr charles ellis of salt lake mr ellis ellie to ie an old nes newspaper paper man and his name Is ia familiar tore to readers adors of leading dailies all 11 over the east three years and a half ago he went to salt lake to write up the place and people and found the cormons mormons so much above what he had expected that he began an investigation that led him to take the platform in behalf of fair play for them his bis claim as stated to a reporter for the bows yews was that since the mormons cormons stand on the bible they are entitled to a all I 1 the rights privileges accorded to all al other sects having the same foundation mr ar ellis has written largely on utah questions for eastern papers and has lectured through utah he has done much to make the people better acquainted quain ted with the national govern ment his course oft of thirteen birteen sunday evening lectures in salt lake theater lat jast winter was wae said to have been the most popular ever given in the city and bd drew crowds of church people notwithstanding mr ellis ellia was known to 0 o be an infidel so called the gentleman 1 is s here visiting a vick pick friend knowing of mr ellis acquaintance acquaint aBoe with utah conditions a news representative sought bought him yesterday quietly opened the way for a conversation by inquiring it if mr ellis bills had ever been in denver prior to this visit IN BEFORE yes said he be 1 I spent some gome time bore bere in 1873 aud and bar boarded barded ded in the same house where I 1 now get my quaker oats dats it was waa then the largest and best beat hotel in colorado Color aclo you need not ask if I 1 realize the change that has come while nineteen years have been going the change is admitted it is almost marvelous I 1 have already made mad 0 up my mind that the inevitable for y your our city is in a great future cannot you tell me something in te resting about utah and her irrepressible conflict ayes yes much in fact I 1 like nothing better 13 atter than to tell what I 1 know about utah and her peculiar people the mor mons the mormon or peoples party to dead and the anti mormon or liberal party in ia dead outside of salt lake but th liti t situation is more corn com thad ay ihan than ever A year ago a of the democrats who had been in the liberal party withdrew from that body and joined with a portion of the mormons cormons of the defunct peopled party forming the democratic party of the territory A few weeks later a portion of the republicans in the liberal party withdrew and joined with mormons cormons who ha hal I 1 been in the peoples peopled party forming the republican P publican party ot the territory committees regularly appointed by these two bodies ma e application to the national committee of the two great parties for recognition the application was wan granted gr antel antei both of these parties in utah have recently held their conventions and appointed their delegates to chicago and minneapolis but some of the leaders of the old liberal party fearing that such a recognition of new utah would lay them on the be shelf have organized democratic anti and republican parties in the territory claiming to be the only genuine democracy and republicanism to be found in those vales of deseret Da seret 2 each has hold held its convention and appointed its delegates to chicago and minneapolis the democrats democrate met only yesterday for this purpose FOUR delegations consequently there will be four delegations from utah the unrecognized will go for the purpose of damaging the claims of the recognized parties the result will be great harm to utah for whichever of the parties are recognized the old prejudice against the mormons cormons will be revived and the settlement of the utah unrest be pushed far away what is the object of the anti mormons cormons in thus trying to force their delegates into info the national conventions 1 11 I cannot answer that question without seeming to cast some reflections upon the men I 1 believe their real object is to keep utah in the territorial condition you ou know it is a very rich pasture tor ifor a great many MADY political office holders fe few w of whom would ever be heard of if utah were a state but while this is in my opinion the real object the alleged one is to kill polygamy and compel the mor mons to become loyal that is in the old mormon haters baters of utah pretend to believe that polygamy is not dead and that the mormons cormons hate and would destroy the nation THINK THE government UNFAIR RI have had as u good opportunity as aa non mormon ever had bad to know what the mormon people are there has baa been a feeling among them for years that the government has been very unfair in its ita treatment of their church while they recognize and concede now the right of the government to insist upon obedience to the laws they feel fee that the confiscation of their church property was a great injustice but the mormons cormons as ai a whole are an honest law abiding people there are black cheepo among them as aa in all sects and out of all necta but taking them as a people I 1 believe they are more thoroughly american than are many of those who oppose and con damn them for instance the american government is purely secular it is pledged to noninterference interference non with the right of worship the mormon church while very rigid in its requirements upon itji ftp own people maintains that all people are free to worship wot ship as they choose I 1 have board beard many mormon sermons but have never heard a word against the right of any sect to perfect freedom of worship thus while many sectarians sect arians condemn the mormons cormons Mor mons the latter defend the former in their re lillous licious liberties do you think the mormons cormons have hare any intention of reviving the practice of polygamy NO MORE POLYGAMY POI no there are a few old men still alive who went into that relation before the law ot of 1862 was enacted the mistake made was in putting the bible which teaches polygamy and their new revelation which ree re etab dished it above the government thell theli mistake was natural inasmuch as religious people had for ages been placing thu the word of god above that of man they did not realign realise that the american government does not recognize the word of god having established their marriage at the command of god as they believed they felt themselves bound to stand by it an I 1 so tested it in court they were thrown some of those men may continue to violate the law jaw but will be precisely as some non mormons cormons violate their marriage vows that IN is it will be the crime of adultery but in the nature of things there can be little of that soon the polygamists will all be in their heir graves if there were no law against polygamy I 1 believe it would be impossible to coax or drive the yoi young people into plural marriage wl when ichen there was waa no money in utah when the cormons mormons were all poor when there was no olas claw distinction among them it was wa about as aa easy to raise live five families as an one but today the young mor uon non men are as keenly alive to the acquirement of wealth as aa any ny oth other chri christian atlan the cost coat of living has increased live five fold and it is in more expensive to raise one family in salt lake now now than it was 0 fo o raise several thirty years ago the existence or disappearance of polygamy is a aest lon of political economy the indians as savages are lats the indians indiana as farmers are monogamy mon late into besides the mormon men iu in polygamy were never more than a fractional part of the whole ri cumber umber no the mormons cormons will never attempt to revive polygamy in the united states EDUCATION it to is the general opinion that the mormons cormons have been opposed to education that is a very unjust opinion from the first the mormons cormons have been educators that was one of the causes of the opposition to them in missouri one of the first ant provisions made by them in utah was that for edu education cation before congress organized the territory of utah the mormons cormons had int or borated a university As fast as they became able to support schools the public school system was spread through the territory in 1888 the government school commission reported public schools in the Territory all under con arol of mormon superintendents and all open to the whole people today there are many non mormon teachers employed in public schools under control of mormon superintendents roday there are non mormon children attending the brigham young academy in provo prove utah because it is the peat best school in the territory today ahe mormon church to is working to establish a church university in salt lake and captain willard young brighams BriK Brig hams son is at the head ot of the movement N mormonism will be largely modi ined fled as its young people grow under the encouragement of better and better educational facilities and I 1 predict that mormonism will give to the world many very bright men and women in time the old prejudices will die out not in the antt anti mormon churches but among the vast portion of the american people and it will be admitted that the mormons cormons have the same right to make a religion as any other people and that they are en 4 to the same protection given to other sects meet as aa long as they obey the laws and give allee allegiance ance to the government ff you seem to be an earnest friend of the mormons cormons Mor mons have you ever been employed by them NOT A HIRED MORMON LIAR that is in rather an impudent question eb but I 1 am glad you asked it because I 1 have been accused by the auti anti cormons mormons of salt lake of being a hired mormon liar I 1 can answer your question with a clear conscience and may that I 1 have never been employed by the mormons cormons or any part of them for an hour indeed I 1 have worked in their behalf at no inconsiderable sid erable loss to myself STATEHOOD the men who went to washington Wai hington lost last autumn and started the home rule and statehood agitation have done utah cuch harm thing were working excellently and if those follows had stayed at home the chances chanced for state hood today would have been good there are too many men in utah who want office if thill territory could take an emetic and got get rid of a number of politicians it would be a good thing but utah to ii a grand country and in spite of vil 11 II u it will get if 18 a proper place in the union before long and then colorado will find by her side a powerful ally in all matters concerning the welfare of fail silver vert 4 states J 99 |
