The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-17

derful that adroit agents, in proffering them
find persons who, in their desperation or igno
rance, are willing to accept assistance and
guidance to land Of promise as a compensa-
tion for whatever they may be called upon to
profess or practice as followers of Mormonism
Instances are not rare, even in this country,
where men possessed of some wealth,
and of an average share of general
information have been duped by skilful Nor
mon impostors, and it is much easier task to
impose upon the benighted citizens of foreign
countries who have never heard of the organi-
cation presumptuously and blasphemously
claiming to be Latter-Day Saints, except
through the false and hattering representa-.
tions Of their accredited'agents. One of the
worst charges made against the Mormons i
that in the early days of their settlement at
Salt Lake they induced persons to cross the
Plains without sufficient facilities for this long
and toilsome journey, and that in these So
called handcart migrations many perished by
the wayside from hunger, exhaustion, aud
fatigue. No recent instances of similar suffer
iDgs have been reported, and it is probable
that the emigrants now enticed to this ooun
try are, as a rule, subjected to as few physical
inconvenience as possible.
The census returns of 1860 stated the white
population of Utah at that time to be 40, 24
of whom II, 754, or little less than one-third
were of foreign birth. OF these foreign emf
grants, 1924 had come from Denmark, 1854
from England, 27S from Ireland, CAT from
British America, l59 from Norway, 1928 from
Wales. OF the q, 400 American Mormons,
Is, 96S are reported to have been born in the
Territories, and they were evidently nearly
all children; for more than half the popula-
tion of Utah consisted of minors less than
twenty years of age. 1t is probable that at
least one-half of the adult Mormons of
1860 were of foreign birth, aud that at
present a still larger proportion of Brig
ham Young's subjects are of foreign origin.
These statistics possess significance for
various reasons. When William Hep
worth Dixon wrote his book about Nsw
America he intimated that the demoralzing
features of Mormonism found congenial soil
in this country, but an English critic has an
swered his accusation by pointing to the fact
made in the United States, an abundance of
dupes are easily found in the United Kingdom,
and the statistics of 1860 sustain this theory.
Since that period England Wales and Scot
land have continued to be favorite recruiting
grounds of Brigham Young's emissaries. The
constant introduction of this foreign element
Is one OF the main causes of the perpetuatio
of the power Of the Mormon hierarchy. Citi-
zens born and bred on our soil instinctively
revolt against every form of antiquated oppres-
sion, and although they may for time be
restrained by old traditions and long -estab-
lished tyrannies, they never fail in the
end to infuse into all the organic atons
with which they are identified the free
! spirit of republican Institutions. Brigham
Young may retain a portion of his present
ascendency during his lifetime, but it is
scarcely possible that he will be able to trans
NIT similar powers to his successors or his
descendants. Many agencies are quietly but
surely at work to undermine his superstruc-
ture. portion of the original Mormon
Church has already seeded under the leader
ship OF son of the first Prophet Joe Smith.
There are elements of further dscord and dis
sension ready to spring forth into vigorous
action at the first sign of the decay of Brig
ham Young's influence or to assert rival CLAIM 8
for domination as soon as his mortal career
closed. There is besides, now at Salt Lake, a
strong party of Gentiles ready to welcome and
protect any recusant from the Mormon faith,
and determined to maintain steady war
fare against its monopolizing tendencies
and its monstrosities until they are
overthrown. The better sense and Judgment
of the young native Mormons as they grow up
to manhood and womanhood, instinctively re-
volt against polygamy, and sooner or later
division Of the sexes in Utah in 1860 was as
follows:-Males, 20, ITS, females, 10, 947, and
if similar proportion is maintained, it will be
impossible to perpetuate polygamy by popular
consent, for obvious reasons, especially if, az
is probable, large male population is at
tracted to Utah by the development Of heI
mining interests.
With all their vagaries and absurdities, the
Molmons have displayed degree of industry
and ingenuity in developing and identifying
their territory, which deserves no little praise
They have ensured for themselves fair mea-
sure of material prosperity despite their OBJ
noxious opinions, and their labOrs have served
the useful purpose of demonstrating thai
proper efforts will make even the most un
6 Al, Il