Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-08-27
The Mormons in Utah.

These people, and their institutions, are
destined, sooner OF later, to give the Gov
eminent and citizens of the United States
much trouble, and it is high time that
public opinion was duly and fully awaken
ed to the necessity of the adoption of
some prudent settled governmental policy
with reference to them. Brigham Young,
who is virtually their sovereign, (his will
being, after all. the only law among them
from which there is no appeal is one of
the most efeetire men on the North Amer
lean continent; possessing talents of the
highest order, with cunning speciousness
and indefatigable industry and energy.
So far, he has proved equal to any emer-
gency, and no other community on this
continent has been plunged in so many
emergencies or straights, from which ex-
trication appeared impossible. He has
been, emphatically, their Moses. They
confide in, and rely on him implicitly;
thus giving him great power to render
them dangerous to the State in time to
come. According to their code, or ideas,
the Government is subordinate to their
Church: or, in other words, wherever
their authority or interests come in con-
fiict, that of the former must give way to
that of the latter. Their discipline is
clearly conducive to great accumulation
of strength in numbers and wealth. Four
years ago, only, their colony consisted of
but handful Of half-starved wretches.
Now, they number some $4,000 at least,
and are surrounded with more convent
ences and comforts than were ever before
accumulated around an American settle
ment of the same number of persons in
the same time, though they are located in
Il region where it would appear next to
impossible for them to continue to exist.
rVi Tic nIU>I part, lney are " esIeru ISeW
Workers and New Englanders- hardy and
determined men;-men who will DC the
last in the world to give up ideas of their
own, which may be offensive to their
neighbors.
Experience shows that they cannot
dwell i'll peace in immediate contact with
any North American community failing
to hold to their peculiar views. In
very few years their settlements, extend
ing East and West, must come in contact
with those of California, Oregon, Mis-
souri, and Iowa, when the tug of war
will commence. We do not wish to be
understood as experimenting hostillties be-
tween them and their frontier fellow-citi-
zens not holding to their views, as being
likely to occur in decade. Yet come
they must, unless Congress legislates with
Judgment and promptness to check the
spread and increasing strength of their
institutions. The National Legislature
has power to enact oil needful rules and
regulations for their government, as they
are on United States territory and in
so doing, care should immediately be
taken to render illegal as many Of their
peculiar practices as possible. Instead
of seeking to put ban upon them as
men, the aim Of such legislation should
be to make it the interest of all of them
to conform to habits and associations
such as pass current in the States. The |
title to real estate among them should be |
so regulated as to preclude the possibility |
OF its going, in case of death without q |
will, to any except such as thus receive
property elsewhere in the United States
under similar circumstances. Their poli-
cy IS clearly to denationalize themselves,
and 1t should be the purpose of the Gene |
raj Government to prevent them from
doing so. As arGrds Of the State-parties
for whom the General Government legis-
lates much more closely than for any
others-their peculiarities may be so held
IN check, as to take from them much of
their growing power for mischief. But
II they are left unattended to by Congress
Tor the next ten years, as up to this time,
1t VIII be too late to attempt to apply
any such corrective. The remedy then
VIII be only such as the people of Illinois,
Iowa and Missouri, have already several
times applied, viz: that Of driving them
from their homes. 1t strikes us, that in
ten years, without Congress specially at
4nrIr =, 4l.-,, H.. .,-o-o,,4 o4..-l-.l-.