The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-20
THE MORMON QUESTION.


light which the opening of the Pacific Rail
road would pour into the dominions of Brig
ham Young, the dark superstitions of the
Latter Day Saints must speedily break away
The road is open, and already the conflict
has begun. There is yet no direct rail COM
munication with the Mormon capital, but
there soon will be; and meanwhile the
locomotive traverses the whole breadth of
the Territory of Utah. and stations and
"Gentile" settlements are springing up all
along its path. 1t seems impossible that
polygamy and absolutism should long with
stand the great steam civilizer; but Brigham
Young fights hard for his supremacy, and even
the Gentiles of Salt Lake City doubt whether
he will not succeed in keeping it, The
cornerstone of issystemis popularignor
and the safeguard of ignorance is isolation.
year ago, therefore, he began a crusade for
the purpose of drividg out the GENTLE
merchants and shopkeepers forbidding his
people to have any dealings with them but
the laws of trade were stronger than sermons,
and the prophets commands were never faith
fully obeyed. A few months ago Brigham
tried another expedient This was nothing
else than the conversion of all the trade of
the city into one grand cooperative enter
prise, in which of course none but Mormons
were to share. The scheme took the form of
revelation, and was instantly put into prac-
tice. Individual traders turned their stock
into the general concern-most of them of
course losing money by the operation-and
the organization opened its grocery, dry goods,
and hardware shops, all over the settlements
1t is too soon yet to judge of the success of
the undertaking; but trade is flowing fast
into the new channel, and competition is
rigidly suppressed. Private persons may sell
goods as much as they please, but they must
not sell for less than the cooperative shops.
The success of this plan would do more
than anything else could do to drive Gentiles
out OF the Territory and prolong Brigham's
lease of power; but we must not forget that
the danger to Mormonism is not only in asso-
citation with a more enlightened population,
but in the dissemination of intelligence
among the Mormons themselves The rail
road may not bring in shopkeepers; but
nothing can prevent its introducing books
and newspapers. Our correspondent well re-
marks that ''even the trashiest of yellow
covered novels are dangerous enemies to
Mormonism;' and, when the literature of the
day is easily procurable, as it is already in
Utah, isolation is at an end Put these
people face to face with the opinions of man
kind, bring them into sympathy with
the progress of the rest of the world, and
they will no longer feel that they are set
apart from all the race, and can submit to
tyranny or revel in a loathsome practice at
which civilized nations lift up their hands in
horror. Perhaps it is upon the women that
the book, the newspaper, the magazine. will
have the quickest effect; and so the first
notifications of the Mormon tyranny will
spring from their resistance. Yet even with
the destruction of the prophets supremacy,
which we can hardly think far distant, sud
den overthrow of polygamy cannot be ex-
pected. The man who has two wives is a
slave bound forever to the Mormon system
He cannot leave the Territory, and be cannot
leave the Church He must bear
for life the burden of superstition
which he has taken upon his shoulders.
With the woman it is still worse. If she cuts
herself loose from the creed which she may
have learned to hate, every respectable door
is closed against her, and life is shameful and
hopeless. The saints, we suppose, must
dwindle away where they are, and Mormon
ism must die out rather than break to pieces.
But the despotism of Brigham's government
cannot long survive the influence of the rail
road; and when that goes the new generation
of believers will grow up with thoughts and
customs very different from those of their
ancestors. Mormonism then will cease to
be disgusting, though it may not become
rational.
THE PRESIDENT NO MANS MASTER.
From the N Y. sun.
Judge Lewis Dent, brother-in-law of Presi-
dent Grant, and candidate for Governor of
Mississippi, doesn't like Secretary Boutwell,,
and has written a letter to abuse him. This
is all right Mr.. Boutwell, is a statesman, a
patriot, and an honest man. Dent is an ad-
venturer looking for anything to turn up, and
anxious to run for Governor of Mississippi
under false pretenses, claiming to be Repub-
lican when he has never been ANYTHING but a
Democrat. But Judge Dent is not merely
dishonest politicians he is funl1ey and we
might even say fool. His language to Mr..
Boutwell, is such as only fiunlley could en-
ploy. ''Your organ, the New York S,llt," he
says, ''in the same breath ridicules the capa-
city of your master, and dwells with emphasis
upon your peculiar fitness for his office"
Mr.. Dent is slightly mistaken when he calls
the SIN the organ of the Secretary of the
Treasury, but this isn't of much consequence.
Indeed, we feel ourselves rather flattered by
Dents assertion What we want is an honest |
and high-minded administration of the Gov |
ernment. We desire most ardently to see the |
Executive Department raised out of the inn |
potence and disrepute to which it has been re- |
duced We hate and denounce the system of |
bestowing Office in return for presents and |
appointing to important places men like Au- |
gustus Ford who cannot hold their commits |
sions a moment except in defiance of the law.
We desire to see the United States stand forth |
before the world as the champion of republi- |
can ideas, and the friend of every people that |
rise against slavery and oppression, as the peo-
pie of Cuba have done. This is our programme, !
and If it is Mr.. Boutwelrs also, we are glad of
1t; and the Sun will always zealously CO.
operate with him OF any other leader who is
bold enough and firm enough to stand by
these ideas in these days of donation-party
politics. pOr111Dt bagtOyUol Of office and