The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-12-14

he telegraph long since gave you.
AZ returns home to devote the next
.Tn mouths to a descriptive work on
he West, which will be entitled
I The American Saints and their
Territory" and will issue from the
press In March. The work will con
lain the personal observations and
sketches made 10 journeys of many
hundred miles through the territory.
The home life Of the people, beauties
and advantages Of the climate, mode
of farming and irrigation, the ply
steal Geography Of the Great Basin,
the fauna and fora, ornithoiogy. 10
ology and entomology Of the valleys
of Utah, and many new and interest
ing facts regarding the operations OF /
nature In the fall of rain and snow,
and the formation Of rivers lakes |
and sinks" which have undergone /
q great change within the last twenty |
years. Oh the Mormons, as a rell- /
gious sect, Mr.. Beadle has steadily |
endeavored to observe the rule:
Nothing extenuate
Nor set down aught in malice"
Ii all his writings I notice that he
has constantly endeavored TO dIstin-
guish between the people and their
rulers, the mass and the hierarchy,
the guilty few and the innocent many,
and while he has rendered justice to
the latter, he has not hesitated to
| denouGce the crimes If the former
with ali the resources Of language
I A serious difficulty meets Us az the
very outset Of an examination Into
the affairs of Utah. The fair minded
Gentle who really desires to know
| the truth, must resolve himself into a
perambulating jury of one to try every
fact presented by the strictest rules OF
legal acumen. He will find there diff
ferent accounts of, three separate Iea-
sons for, and three opposite dedue
tons from. ev ry possible fact pre-
sented. viz: the Mormon account,
wholly presumed and one sided. the
bitter anti Mormon account, which
would condemn all Of en- opposite
creed without distinction, and tho ae-
count Of the moderate Gentilcs who
are In the best position to give a far
judgement, but being necessarily dis
trusted by both the other parties, are
in q poor way to get at facts. A
whole year of patient investigation,
aided by legal studies and habits OF
thought, has enabled the author to get
clear insight of the peculiar state of
society.
Two classes of writer's have dealt
with the Mormon question. The one
have described in glowing terms the
simple earnest8ess Of the people, their
devotion to an idea, their taithfulness
. to their leaders, their industry. fru-
gality, temperance, and love of home;
the othershave painted 10 dark colors
f their horrible crimes, their lustfuI
and debasing doctrines, their depray
ity, treachery, disl0yalty, petty tyranny
{ and social meanness. PsradoXical as
, it may appear, both are IN measure
correct; thousands Of the Mormon
> laitv. ignorant, Jealous, and sincere
: have ali tho virtues claimed for them
5 while the gang Of licentious villains
who mould this pliable mass are
! guilty of tenfold more crimes than tht
world will ever know. In all desorip
g tions of life aud manners in Utah
t this description is to be carefully KEEP
/, In mind.
A marked and novel feature in this
D work will be that it takes the ground
Z and steadily maintains it, that polyga
D my is not the greatest, certainly NO
the only evil OF Mormonism, nor thu
; one which most affects the Tesiden
: Gentiles. No doubt, pOlygamy gives
e rise to many of the other evils, anC
i | both increases and strengthens them
but that of itself affects Gentiles verJ
5 little. It is the union Of Church anc
; State. rather the absolute sub.
/ servience Of the State to the Church
D that the latter governs the Territory
' IN every respect with tyranny worse
? than the Star Chamber or the irquisi
9 ton. The outside organization i
merely used by the Church to carry
D out DEGREES already concluded IL
. secret council MoTmonism was ar
! unmitigated evil long before
t polygamy was hitched to it; The
priesthood ruled an ignorant
people by means of fanaticism and
/ spiritual terrors, and that made then
! dangerous neighbors and troublesome
) citizens. Missouri and Illinois found
, at dear cost, that no State could toier.
, ate Church exercising an absolute
temporal jurisdiction, within the State
E but independent of, and often hostile
!. to it, directing the action of court;
within its influence, and claiming {
' greater right over the conscience 0.
/ its subjects than the laws O.
6 the State. In short it il
a not the social, immoral O
/. polygamic features that chiefly con
e Germ US but the reasonable and mu
!. tinous. IF polygamy were blotteC
|, out morrow, We could never admi
Z Utah as a State in her present condi
t ton; our Constitution can never
: recognize the temporal government O
: a church. At the same time the rea
e evils of polygamy are portrayed il
: that fascinating style which results
0 from close observation aud study O
!. facts. | predict for Mr. Beadle &
! rapid sale for his book, and for The
/. world better understanding of thi,
: dark bus peculiarly interesting sub
] | innt q q ID