The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-11-15

1f slant wonder appears in his face !
9s he reads the first one; the second |
he inagines a strange coincidence,
md the third urges him to make in
1nirv. The effect is indeed peculiar. |
irhc devices are no less strange from
their wording than from the taste dis
DIayed in their arrangement. Inc
sign for each is
HOLINESS TO THE LORD!
ZToE75 COOPERATIVE MERCANTILE
INSTITUTION.
Til is surmounted with on ALI
seeing eve. which is styled by the
irreve mt Gentiles the Bulls Eye.
The system was organized am per-
fected with the object OF driving al
Genaile merchants and traders froL- |
the city. It is claimed BY the leaders
to be protective association Tor the |
purpose of furnishing merchandise to
the people at cheap rates. The real
object, as all must see, IS to turn the
money into the hands of the leaders,
/" freeze out" the Gentiles, and bind
the people more closely to them BY
the power of debt and pow
erty. IF such is not the case,
then why are men who belong
to the Church, men who are
most terribly in earnest in their re-
ligion forbidden to purchase goods
from Gentiles, on pain of expulsion
from the Church? Why should they
desire to trade with those hated Gen.
tiles. unless they could save money by
so doing? Il is their first duty to
look after self-interest, and IS but nat
ural that they should desire to do so.
But the Church has created a bar
rier which none dare pass. Brigham
Young and other leaders of the
Church are at the head of this move
ment and have put in one common
fund a large sum of money, some in
vesting as high as $1OO, 600 to $780,
900 with which to purchase the neces-
sary stock for a frst-class Who'll sale
store. From this M n establishment
each ward retail store is furnished
its stock, and these il turn supply
residents in their particular wards.
The movement is said to be peculiar
| Iy oppressive to the poorer class of
citizens, and, it followed up and a
strict conformance with the rules ex-
acted, will yet cause a serious diVl-
sion among the people. 1t seems
very questionable, if this prescription
continues, whether the tact and indi-
vidual magnetism Of even Brigham
Young will avail. IF it be true that
"whom the gods would destroy they
| first make mad, one would think
that a fair start toward destruction
had already been secured by those who
| inaugurated this movement. To show
with what pertinacity and arrogant
power they enforce their peculiar the
| cries, I subioin the following Ber-
mon" preached by Bishop Woolley,
of the Thirteenth Ward, some time
| since, in my hearing. 1t is a good
| type Of the regular Sunday service,
and Will give a correct idea of Nor
mon preaching:
want to speak tonight Of this co. OPP
erative movement and system. When
am walking up Main Street, / see
many Of our people, who are around
about patronizing those auctions there.
| see many Of the citizens of this
| Ward there who break their
covenant and patronize those men,
| who are not of AS. They have
never improved farm, nor
built house. and never would, il
they lived in this Territory till dooms-
day. They will take all our money
out of the country, aud return noth-
| ing for it. Now, [ want to tell you.
| that when the Bishops took hold oil
| this cooperative movement, they took
hold of it in earnest, and they all
/ determined that these rules shall be
enforced. They met again last Thurs
day night, and their instructions are,
that you must live up to the covenant,
or your membership ceases. You
must support each other and let out
siders alone" Pausing a moment and
looking over his audience with pc
culiar light in his restless gray
| eyes, he added, IT would not
have you persecute them, but let
only the trade which legitimately &c
ion to them, and that of their kind
of people, they would soon stsrve out
and be compelled to leave. In this
| ward there is much illegitimate trade
going to them, which must be stopped.
When I have been going up Main
| St eet (the street where the Gentiles
have their stores), | have seen many
from this ward there buying of those
who never did nor never will do us
any good. l tell you now, if it is con-
tinued in, We shall make it question
of fellowship with you; for he who is
not for US is against US, and he who
throws his money to those travellers
| throws it AGAINST the Church. IN
our ward we have a good store, where
a first-class assortment is always
on hand. Thirty or forty years
ago it would have been called very
large store for the country, and here
we sell as cheap, and as good an
article as can be found in the city.
When you come to our store for an
article, if we have not got it, we will
get it for you at slight advance on
first cost. You must buy with us, for
if you give your trade to our enemies,
you throw your influence with them
and become one of them, and are not
in .llowship with rs. You are not
judges OF the goods; you are liable to
be cheated by them. When you
think you buy q cheap article of
them, you will find out that you are
cheated, and that they have made a
profit on the goods; and you will find
out that you could have bought
better goods of US for less price.
| These goods look soft and nice,
on the outside, but they are not good
they are shams and cheats. When
you think they are selling goods to
you at sacrifice, they are making a
higher profit than ever-bigger than
we do on our regular sales. Now I
tell you, if this is not stopped you
will be reported and your fellowship
viii cease. / tell you, go0 are matched,
and will be reported # caught, for we
are in earnest in the matter, and if
evidence of your breaking the Cove