| Show MORMONISM IN TURKEY elders and vanner fanner hold forth in constantinople prom from the eastern express of jan 30 1886 published in constantinople in english and french on thursday evening as announced a meeting g t to 0 discuss the situation of 01 the mormon 0 n people in their relation to the united states tates government was held in the hall of the deutscher handwerker Hand HaRd worker zwein 3 the first speaker referred to the circulation I 1 cu of newspaper reports affecting the peace and prosperity of his people and creating prejudice that had resulted in unjust treatment irom from the government of the united states brutal treatment from mobs and the murder of men whose only offense was the preaching of an unpopular faith the latest reports he went on are those which affirm that the mormons cormons have recently risen in a rebellion which caused the forwarding of troops and artillery to utah subsequent investigations have proved these reports to be beloid void of even a shade ot of truth and yet the people are made to suffer often from acts of violence utah is the most prosperous of the nine territories of the american union ni and n ye yet the e mo most devoid evoi 0 of political bitic 1 rights ats it hasteen has been macip mace for years year th the stumping place of worn on out t poli politicians iciano who seek and clamor for office ministers of mercenary motives have flocked thither and made the circulation of false reports a fruitful neld field for donations from the over credulous red ulous who believe their ministers in great danger and worthy of large salaries to induce them to remain and erect churches missionary school teachers have gathered there to establish schools which exist entirely upon liberal contributions from abroad the mormons cormons have never objected to ministers erect ing churches seating capacity for a hundred times more than the actual requirements nor to the ithe establishment of scores ol of schools scarcely atten attended dedi with the ostensible purpose of education but with the real purpose of furnishing employment for teachers and opposition to the mor mons but they do protest against the slander and falsehoods which are clr cir by ministers teachers and politicians in quest of contributions and office but bat the mormons cormons have principles in their religion which the civilized world cannot tolerate I 1 is the cry ot of our opponents I 1 principles which when practiced practised b beget e get crime if they are more wicked than those who have gathered there to reform them their prison bouses will tell if crime is a child of mormonism then let its criminals who testify of the actual facts be counted and the result be made known 11 the speaker then proceeded to read some statistics in support of his positions the criminal crimi ual statistics of utah are kept with unusual precision and caye care nat only the nativity of criminals crimin alsis is registered but the character of their religious belief or non belief as th the e case man be this abis system furnishes a sound basis for the prosecution prosecution of the inquiry in hand band these T ese statistics fur the year prior to 1882 have been published and the use of the facts irom from the crin criminal alual records of 1881 by the hoh HOB james W barclay M P in an article which appeared in the nineteenth ventury Uen tury has excited much comment this gentleman stated tb that at with mormons cormons constituting the bulk of the population population of salt lake city in 1 1881 88 1 t there ere were about eighteen thousand live five hundred mormons cormons to five thousand five hundred non mormons cormons the convicts contained in the city prison were twenty nine and in the cOlIn tyl prison six but of these only y nin nino were mormons Mor mons in the territorial penitentiary in 1881 there therb were fafty one convicts but only five of them were mormons cormons Mor mons and of these two were there for polygamy out of one hundred and twenty five prisoners in the lockup lock up eleven only were Mormon sand some of these for polygamy the returns of arrests in silt salt lake city in the same year showed oue one hundred and sixty nine gormong mormons against eight hundred and fifty one non mormons cormons that is with over three quarters quarter of the population of salt lake city the mormons cormons furnish only one sixth of the bumper of arrests in 1881 these records ord which correspond substantially with those of former years certain certainly y exhibit the mormons cormons in a favorable light compared with those who de bounce them as licentious brutal and degraded the statistics at hand for 1882 cover a wider field taking in all the populous districts of the territory the total number of all arrests for misdemeanors in these localities durin during g 1882 was two thousand one hundred and ninety eight of which the seventy eigi eight fsr cent of the mormon population furnished three hundred and two per er cent of the non mormon one thousand th ou nd eight h hundred dildred and ninety el lit we he claimed that jt was a tenet of t his falth faith ax 0 honor and respect the constitution of his country and the laws made in pursuance thereof t ex post facto laws are made and bills of attainder passed assed which the ahe constitution forbids forbid 8 to destroy mormonism niam laws have been passed that deny the right to hold office vote vot eor lor perform any political duty to all those who believe in the mormon religion and yet the constitution of the land declares that congress shall pass no laws respecting the establishment of rell religion igi lo 10 n or prohibiting the free exercise thereof the mormons cormons are simply contending for their religious liberty ia a an orderly way and by the process of the courts of the united states laws have been passed which are intended to break u up polygamous Wi families lilies by forcing the men to cast off the second wife and her children in dishonor wives and children who nave have always bow been honored and supported men so situated have their choice to go to prison or disown the second wives an and drisoll children they have declared their willingness to go to prison ix fik preference to casting dishonor upon wives and children that taht are as dear to them as those of dt aw any living being they prefer arp baws er to suffer the execution of unjust laws and the decree sot merciless judges and today to day many of them intelligent industrious and honest lenare made the associates of the felon and the behina prison bars old gray headed men too who made these associations before any aby law existed against polygamy a are rp cast into prison and many plots pious vole V people ole claiming to believe in christ who dee declared larel that abraham Abra issac lind jacob were in the kingdom of hel heaven kven laugh over ov er mormon polygamists in prison and think it is a very funny thing many evany professed followers of the week and humble jesus rejoice jn n whit what they the call i the majesty of a law that subjects men to torture who have never adver deceived or harmed a living sou soul 1 l i 1 but what is mormon polygamy amy atlis a religious tenet of naith sanctioned by holy writ and entered into by a perfect consent consOn tot of all concerned no person is deprived of right or liberty among them whatever may be the case elsewhere or whatever people may imagine from their own religious convictions 11 the second speaker related A a short historical sketch of the exodus of the mormons cormons from the east how bow they they were driven from their h homes omes four times the last time into the wilderness ans to perish erash from hunger and privations and to make their destruction more certain the government demanded five hundred of their men to serve in the mexican war this call was responded to the men leaving their families in tents in the wilderness the govern ment was not in need of more men other motives prompted the cruel act which forced tile the women of to take up the burdens of men inen and help to make their way in the great american desert polygamy was not the pretended cause then but the hatred of religious persecutors for years and years no one troubled himself about the cormons mormons Mor mons who in utah struggled with the wild denof men of those region reF ions and an d with many hardships brought the soil under cultivation now the soil yields abundantly and prosperity has cro efforts of that band of pilgrims who thirty seven years ago fled frona from a ruthless mot mob into the wil wilds ads of america a thousand miles from all civilization and politicians set melves to these mormons cormons Mor mons congress COll greSs is at present trying to pass a law that will take al 1 the property which the church has for the support of the poor A and n L 1 t the 11 e buildings building s of temples and have it turned over to government officials to be applied by bern for school purposes then we are told that nat crement is stretching foch its n ands like a loving lovi ng parent he who has experienced t perien erlen ced a bears gentle embrace knows 13 aws what it mearns mea 11 s our enemies ha have ie before settled themselves ved down comfortably into pleasant homes home that mormon in industry austry has made people abroad are not cot correctly informed of our sit situation bation by those who circulate these unjust reports spoil is too visibly written upon the bail banners ners of utah reformers all the mormons cormons ask if their motives must be judged by their fellow men is that it be by the rule lail laid down in holy writ by their fruits meshall know them degree by degree they are bringing the desert lands under cultivation they care for their wives and children no living jl ring soul need suffer salier from want of food or clothing and no beggars infest the land the e women of become honored wives and mothers their children are recipients ot of parental care and affection the rhe mormons cormons ask that professing christians shall boast not dot too much of loving their neighbors as themselves until every manaha woman has done dou ebis his or her whole duty in reclaiming cl aimin 0 the hundreds of thousands of fallen girls within christiani christian nations and in elevating them to the honored station of wife and mother 1 gated anan n the meantime 1 leave the mormons cormons in peace bo both the speakers were well received |
