as an affront to religious, cultural and moral values of a modern civilization. After the Civil War the federal government systematically took control of Utah away from the Mormons, and drove the church's leadership underground. [ 84 ] Meanwhile, aggressive missionary work in the U.S. and Europe brought a flood of Mormon converts to Utah. Finally in 1890 the Church leadership announced polygamy was no longer a central tenet, and a compromise was reached, with Utah becoming a state and the Mormons dividing into Republicans and Democrats. [ 85 ] The federal government provided subsidies for the development of mail and freight delivery, and by 1856, Congress authorized road improvements and an overland mail service to California. The new commercial wagon trains service primarily hauled freight. In 1858 John Butterfield (1801–69) established a stage service that went from Saint Louis to San Francisco in 24 days along a southern route. This route was abandoned in 1861 after Texas joined the Confederacy, in favor of stagecoach services established via Fort Laramie and Salt Lake City , a 24-day journey, with Wells Fargo & Co. as the foremost provider (initially using the old "Butterfield" name). [ 86 ] William Russell, hoping to get a government contract for more rapid mail delivery service, started the Pony Express in 1860, cutting delivery time to ten days. He set up over 150 stations about 15 miles (24 km) apart. In 1861 Congress passed the Land-Grant Telegraph Act which financed the construction of Western Union's transcontinental