Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1869-11-04
SOME CLOSING OBSERVATIONS on THEIR INDUSTRY
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. BEFORE THE LAW
Co-opEgAIIos.



NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. BEFORE THE LAW
COOPERATION.
SAN Francisco, October %.
Everybody praises the Mormons for tkeir in
dusiry. This is reasonable enough, and In some
degree just enough, yet the fact that they are in
dustrious is not at all surprising-it would be
very strange, on the contrary if they were not.
They are gathered for the most part, among the
European laboring classes, who are Injured to toll,
and whose migration to SO distant home is it.
self proof Of their courage and energy. From the
first Of their conversion to Mormonism the me-
cessity of labor is impressed upon them; the EN-
blein Of Mormon Utah is a bce-hive and when
they arrive at their new home, it absolutely re-
qulrcs hard work to keep bodies and souls to-
gethcr. In the winters, the poor suffer severely,
and am told that in the outlying settlements
tue condition Of many is very squalid and uliser-
able In your inspection from Uiutah to Salt
Lake City, you sec the best part of the Mormon
progress.
But the development Of the valley Is, I think,
much oyerrated and ovcrpraised. II is not my
Ideal oil pastoral picture. The great mountain
WAITS on herside loom up grandly, their brown
sides covered lat the time OF our visit with gray
moses, aud studded with occasional clusters Of
brilliant NAPLES. Viewed through the clear at
mosphere, which gives a soft purple haze to their
proportions this part Of the landscape smposin e
and delightful. But the lands in the valley must
be irrigated, in order to produce crops, and this
is at best IA limited and tedious process. The
| mountain streams flow freely throughout the
year and the rapldity of their fall makes II prac.
tcablc 70 direct them IN long reach of artificial
channels. But where the prairie farmer would
break up hundreds of acres of deep loan. these
people content themselves with small fields
patches, II would seem more reasonable to
eau thcnl-oi sorghum, or grains. The houses
arc small and unhandsomc; the general coloring
oi Tue surface Is not bright green but yellow and
brown; and the whole aspect Is that OF difficult
aud laboious life. Nature does not bloom she
| yields. She is not bounteous and cXuberaut. nor
even gracious her face seems painful and unsat-
lsiactory. Only the gurgling streams, with their
fruits and flowers.
such as IL is, however the Mormons are attach
| cd to their system of irrigation, and they view
WIN some CONSERVATION the greatly increased
ram lal oil the last few years, and the steady rise
IN The level oil the lake which has resulted from
that or from the increase Of tho hidden sources
which feed that strange reservoir. All this val
| ley was once the bed of great sea- and far above
your heads, fifty feet up on the side Of the noun
lalns, You can see the plain mark of the original
| water level That sea had-so scientific obserya-
ton asserts-its periods of increase and subs-
| dence, the interval between the extremes being
probably long series Of years. Now, for Tia
last four years the lake has been filling up, and
large tracts OF pasti3 lands, along the shores,
are submerged. Is tiis rise TO continue7 Is il to
reach or even approach, the ancient water mark
| on the mountainss II So there will be novel
and most conclusive solution 10 the Mormon
problem in this valley. And with so strange and
| unique manifestation of nature as this great in
| land lake, With density of sadness far beyond
that OF the ocean, though It's level il thousands
oi iect higher who shall say what its future lis
| tory may not be-
The rainfall Tor several years has been incrcas-
| ing, as have already said This Is attributed by
men TO the planting of trees and their growth but
though they are numerous, their size and CON.
| ilafalive extent seem To me not great enough To
produce any great influence on 80 large valley.
AZ any rate however, the Mormons say they pre-
Ter 10 irrigation rather than receive more rnn
| The former they fully understand, and have un-
| der ready control the latter falls when and
| where, Other Wisdom, than that Of men, NAV
| direct.
So many strangers and among them so many
prominent and influential gentlemen, have visited
Utah since the opening Of the railroad, that the
| character OF Mormonism has been thoroughly
called into public notice. Its characteristic, the
the Keystone OF its structurc-poygamy-
come lace TO lace with the Judgment aud con-
| science of many Of our representative men, And
| In every case, so far as have observed IL has
forced the conviction that Congress must promni-
~ take cognzance of the state of affairs IL Utah
| what measures can be or ought TO be adopted
am unprepared to say, but they must refer prom
inently, to two evils: first the lack of personal
protection TO non-MOrmons; second the con-
FINANCE OF polygamy. OF course the latter Is the
| more difficult problem. / have already said
that Mormonism IS polygamy, and during the
| last Two o. three years, since the evils of the
system have been more thoroughly exciting pub.
| lie attention, the Mormons, Themselves. under
foung's influence, have boldly met the issue. and
stood forward to advocate the doctrine, in all It's
| iuncss. There has probably never been time
when they showed, apparently, so rcsoulc q front
IN its behalf. The efforts of Congress can, [
should say, only refer to the future the married
relations now existing, 1t would perhaps be un-
Wise To legally sever, for the injury done to
women and children, the latter entirely and the
former mostly, innocent of any responsibility,
would be very great. Ii the law should declare
the second wife an aduteress and her children
illegiimaie, and should punish her for the oicnse
which she called marriage, ii could scarcely he
fortunate in its results. We must treat facts Us
fhcts. Our cxertione must be directed TO Inc
prevention OF more polygamy, and the laws for
the purpose, while they should be prudent and
careful, must be strictly drawn, and rcsolutcy
enforced. Inc time has come Tor the performance
OF these duties.
A late and most important development at Sail
Lake is the system of cooperation that Is
the establishment of Mormon stores, and the re.
quiring OF all Mormous to trade there and moi
/ elsewhere. This has two results 1t profits III,
close corporation called tho "Zlon cooperative
Association" of which Brigham is the head-ol
course; and IL breaks down not only the GENTLE
merchants, but the Mormon individual firms
Several of both these classes have had 10 give vi
tue contest and leave the field, and though The
most important GENTLE firm in the city, Walker
! Brothers, arc now rcsolutcly fighting the co
operative associations, by selling goods at cost 1
seems to me very doubtful-nay, almost impossi
blc-that they should succeed. Co-operation
among these people, will be even more eliectly,
J and thorough than elsewhere, for they keep thei
ranks well formed and closed. II. NJ, j,