The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-03-15
HOW TO DEAL WITH UTAH.

When the Republican party, in its early
organization, pronounced slavery and polyg-
amy twin relics of barbarism, a great truth
was uttered. But, while slavery was the
result of violence, polygamy is the creation
of ignorance. Now while we may, as we
have done, use force against violence, we can
only employ education and persuasion against
ignorance. Towards the last, force only ag-
gravates that which we seek to DESTROY
Polygamy is in such deadly antagonism to
the Christian civilization of the age, that it
can exist only when far removed from its in
huence. Brigham Young and his delu!ed
followers fled from the midst of civilized life
to the depths of an almost unbroken wilder
ness. So long as they could live cut off from
the moral and social influences of the outside
world, they fiourished; but the moment the
railroad stretched out its iron arm and
touched the pollution, polygamy began to
fail. The public sentiment of the country
says to the people of Utah:-"What you do
is not reasonable, it is not decent;" and al
ready we learn that a grave division has oc-
CURED in the Mormon Church, that large
portion Of the Mormons are out in opposition
to the degrading practice, and that every day
the ranks of the malcontents grow stronger.
This railroad is great enemy of Brigham
The trains arrive crowded with likely young
men on their way to the mines; and the Nor
mon girls, seeing the supply, are not inclined
to take part of a man when each girl can
secure to herself whole husband. Under
these circumstances common sense would
teach us to leave the evil to its natural and
speedy death. But Mr.. Cullom, of Illinois,
introduces a bill in the House of Repre-
sentatives at Washington confounding the
crime of bigamy with the insane religious
belief in polygamy, and proposing to pune
ture it with the bayonet. This means
war All attempts to correct religious error
through force result in war. The revolt
now raging in Utah against Brigham, and
gathering strength every day, will end at
once on the passage of such bill, and the
MolmoIs will once more present an unbroken
front to the enemy. The prophet will cut
the railroads; and our late war has demon
strated that in face of such force as the
Morn on leader can rally, forty thousand
troops could not keep open our lines of COM
muLicatiCn II. We are threatened with an In
dian war, and Brigham would not be slow to
take advantage of the situation. Our remote
settlements would be destroyed, our frontiers
disturbed, and the entire Pacific coast once
more separated from the Eastern States And
for whai do we run these risks?
No man can answer. We have put up
with poly gamy for twenty years, and now
that it bids fair to die out of itself, we sud
denly rush into this crazy action Is it that
these railroads have made the Mormon pro-
peIty d. sirable, or that certain gold and silver
mines lately opened by old Brigham have
| been found to be so exceedingly rich as to
stir up our religious enthusiasm
Utah is said to contain over hundred
thousand inhabitants-a very sober, hard
working, thrifty people. The better way is
| to admit her as State, and leave the immo-
| rality of her people, as we do the immortality
of tho miners and border rufians, to the
schoolmaster and missionary, who will find
less to do there than with the people of any
adjoining region.