The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1859-09-01

never been put away in our church.
but that ! do not approve of the prac.
toe.
IA. Glow do you regard what IS
commonly termed the Christian Sab
bath? '
B. Y.-As divinely appointed day.
OF rest. We enjoin all to rest from
secular labor on that day. We would
nave no man enslaved to the Sabbath,
but we enjoin all to respect and enjoy
Such is as nearly as can reccollect,
the substance of nearly two hours con-
versation, wherein much was said in
cidentally that would not be worth re-
porting, and wherein others bore a
part; but, as President Young is the
first minister of the Mormon Church,
and bore the principal part of the con-
versation, have reported his answers
alone to my questions and obserya-
tons. The others appeared uniformly
to defer to his views, and acquiesce
fully in his response and explanations.
He spoke readily, not always with
grammatical accuracy, but with no ap-
pearance of hesitation or reserve and
with no apparent desire to conceal
anything, nor did he repel any of my
questions as impairment. He was
very plainly dressed in thin summer
clothing, and with no air of sanctimony
or fanaticism. In appearance he is a
portly, frank, good-natured, rather
thick-set man of fifty-fve, seeming to
enjoy life, and be in no particular hur-
ny to get to heaven. His associates
are plain men, evidently born and
reared to q life of labor, and looking
as little like crafty hypocrites or swind-
lers as any body of men / ever met.
The absence of cant or shuttle from
their manner was marked and general,
yet / think ! may fairly say that their
Mormonism has not impoverished them
that they were generally poor men
when they embraced it, and are now
in very comfortable circumstances-as
men averaging three or four wives
apiece certainly need be.
If / hazard any criticisms on Nor
monism generally, / reserve them for
a separate letter, being determined to
make this fair and full expose of the
doctrine and policy, in the very words
of its Prophet, SO far as | can recall
them. / do not believe President
Young himself could present them in
terms calculated to render them less
obnoxious to the Gentle world than
the above. But I have a right to add
a little here, because said to the as
sembled chiefs at the close Of the
above colloquy, that the degradation
Tor if you please, that restriction) of
woman to the single Office of child
bearing and its successories, is an in
evitable consequence of the system
here paramount. have not observed
a sign in the street, an advertisement
in the journals, of this Mormon me-
thropolis, whereby woman purposes
to do anything whatever. No Mormon
has ever cited to me his wife's or any
woman's opinion on any subject; no
Mormon woman has been introduced
or has spoken to me; and, though I
have been asked to visit Mormons in
their houses, no one has spoken of his
wife Tor wives) desiring to see me, or
his desiring me to make her Tor their
acquaintance, or voluntarily indicated
the existence of such being or beings.
will not attempt to report our talk on
this subject, because, unlike what /
have above given, it assumed some
what the character of disputation,
and could hardly give it impartially f;
but one remark made by President
Young l think I can give accurately,
and it may serve as a sample of all
that was offered on that side. 1t was
in these words, think, exactly. If /
did not consider myself competent to
transact certain business without my
wife's or any woman's counsel with re-
gard to it, l think / ought to let that
business alone" The spirit with re-
gard to woman, of the entire Mormon,
as of all other polygamic systems, is
fairly displayed in this ayowal. Let
any such system become established
and prevalent, woman will soon be
confined to the harem, and her appear
ance in the street with unveiled face will
beaccounted immodest. Ijoyfully trust
that the genius of the Nineteenth Cen
fury tends to solution of the problem
of woman's sphere and destiny radical
ly different from this. II. G.