The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-01-19
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
un,roRIAL OPINIONS OF THE LEADIEe JOURNALS
Upon CURRENT ToPIcs-CoMPILRD EvBRY
DAY RoR THE EVENING TRLBsRAPH'
The Dismemberment or Utah-A BLOW at
brigham HOungs


Brigham IOung'
From ne ~. Y. Times. M,
Tba nav Uouse bill to diminish the Terri
,ory of Utah ia the most vigorous attempt yet
made to solve the Mormon problem. AS Mr'
Wasbburne said it is a bill to "dismembet
Utah" 1t slashes into the Territory on all
sides-a huge slice here for Colorado, slice
for Nevada, a slice yonder for Montans, and q
slice for Wyoming. 1t is, in fact, general
onslRueht upon the territorial expanse OF
Utah: and whatever contiguous State or Ter
ritory may ask to "cut me a oantle of" from
Brigham Young's domains shall have it
straightway done.
AS piece of domestic legislation, therefore,
this bill Of the Committee on Territories is OF
The highest importance. 1t will not OF ltseil
solve the Mormon problem, but 1t will marcn
towards the solution; and keen as is the thrust
it gives to Mormondom in general, 1t pierces
deeper vet the personal pride and anol'louS
hope of Brigham Young. - 49,, A.,
Far more than a fanatic, far more tnan Che
head of q new religious sect, OF even VI an
1,niveysal Church. Brigham Young is now, as
he has for eight and thirty years aimed to be,
the head of State. He is, and is proud to
teel himself less the leader OF sect than OF
people. He calls himself not preacher or pro-
phet, but President. We never shall rightly
understand Mormonism, still less understand
1he character of Brigham Young, till we ap-
DToClAto 10 tu6 lull HIS ClalI1 anu ooPlioblOO
10 the role of empire-founder. In that lies the
secret OF his sturdy devotion to building up
Utah, making the very wilderness to "blos-
som like the rose."
His hydra headed proselyting machinery;
his missions all over the world-in Great
Britain, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Germany,
Italy, Switzerland, in the Sandwich Islands,
in Australia, at the Cape OF Good Hope, in the
East Indies, in New Zealand ITSELF his Euro
,,aor ouefaro of G,coufarannasc and EGdistriots
of conferences" and "branches" and ''dis-
tricts Of branches" working as accurately as
any direct political government; his home
organization of ''quorums of the seventies"
and quorums of the elders, the priests, the
teachers, and the deacons; his well-trained
and closely. governed commonwealth" in
Utah-all of these tend to one end, namely,
the perfecting of grander State of the future,
ruled by him or his successor. And hence, one
of the Mormon elders has publicly declared
that "nowhere can the Mormon movement bs
80 we'll understood as in its foreign missions.
In working out the problems of these, you
have the sum Of the whole. 1t is out of them
that the Utah community has grown; for,
even after its members emigrate thither, they
are but SO many organisms of missions
brought together into geographical unity;
nothing has changed but territory" And
he adds:-"They are all one great common
wealth, though scattered throughout the
whole earth, and Brigham is as much their
temporal and spiritual ruler in foreign mis-
sions as he is at home"
What is it, then, that Mr. Ashley's bill does
for Brigham Young's projects 1t seizes on
the lands, whittier he had designed sooner or
later to transport millions Of his followers for
settlement. In his imagination, he has seen
Utah compact, thickly- settled State, amply
able to demand admission, if he likes, to the
American Union. He has come to regard its
hills and valleys as his own, or those of "the
Church" He has already brought tens Of
thousands of settlers to Utah; but with one
expression of will he could add probably a
quarter of million TO its population within
year, having both the spiritual authority
to collect his Church throughout the world,
and the ready money to bring them thither.
Upon these very lands which he has de-
signed to be tenanted or owned in future by
his own Church, Congress is now preparing
to make inroads. Mr.. Ashley's bill, it is true,
does not interfere with the settled portions of
Utah; but its main object, as declared by that
gentleman, is to so give away its unsettled ter
ritory "that there would not remain enough
In Utah to make q State.' He even announced
that che originally drew up the bill to blot
out Utah, but yielded to the committee, who
thought "the Mormons should not be dis
turbed where they are." Polygamy is thus
treated like the doomed wild beast-not, in
deed, attacked in his lair, but surrounded with
fatal circle of fire.
That Brigham Young has foreseen the pos
sible necessity of giving up one day his pre-
tensions to ruling his commonwealth" hi
''empire," as an Independent political body, i
clear. That he has inwardly solved the ques
tion soon to be forced upon him by resolving
to make Utah State Of the Union, If possible
may be surmised; for no one knows bette
than he that it is that or ruin for him and hi
lifelong work. He must either mount on tn
wave Of Western progress, or be swampsd il
1t. Nor should we be surprised to learn that
if it came to the worst, he would give up tn
distinctive features of Mormondom, includin
polygamy ITSELF rather than lose all his power
But this new demonstration must alarm hin
1t is not only a crusade against MOrmondon
for that he might have endured, but direC
thrust at his State-fouuding schemes. Til
dream of many of his people (perhaps it hs
been his OWN is that Brigham Young will or
day be President OF domain as broad as til
continent. What will they, what will h
A.. now think to find the chief part of Utah pa
celled away to other Territories, and the rem
nant that is left "not even enough to make
State ?''