| Show THE ARGUMENT OF THE AXE tuf THE following dispatch is published as a special to the new york world COLUMBIA S C july 27 thi the bitter feeling against the mormons cormons in buncombe county coty N C took shape yesterday when a baptist preacher named hilliard billiard armed with an axe drove three of the the saints out of that section and without allowing them time to procure their effects followed them over the state line such arguments as chat hat used by the baptist preacher in buncombe county appear to be the only kind that have any force against mormon missionaries that is the style of christian controversy which mormonism h has as had to meet from the beginning abuse and slander from the and the press shotguns earn corn and axes in the hands of infuriated preachers professing to be follo followers aers of the gentle gentie nazarene and such violence instead of being condemned and suppressed by the strong hand of the law is either quietly condoned or openly approved by some newspapers in this land of religious religions liberty the excuse is always offered that the e persecuted elders deserve such treatment for advocat advocating ing poly polygamy the fact is that they do nothing of the kind they preach the simple doctrines of jesus christ as contained in the new testament Te and these are so contrary to the popular errors proclaimed in orthodox pulpits that the professional preachers are enraged being unable to produce from reason or scripture arguments to meet the bible truths enunciated by the mormons cormons Mor mons they fall back on such potent weapons as the meat axe As a knock down argument the kle xe may be potent in the hands of a stalwart baptist or other sectarian preacher but we ean can safely predict that it will not make many converts it is more likely to sharpen the convictions vict ions of both proselyte rs and pros eluted and cut open a way for the further spread of the principles it is desired to chop to pieces with the persons sons olf of their advocates it is a very poor religion that can find no better adv advocate than a bloodthirsty and no stronger argument than an axe |
