Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-08-20

Klingan Smith and the few other Nor
mons, and how speedily would he have
investigated the matter, fixed the blame,
and punished the guilty But he did not,
and he now has the effrontery to say that
he never knew of the affair at all, except
from public rumor; that when Lee at
tempted to report TO him he stopped him
peremptorily, lest his feelings should be
narrowed up. Everything every member
of the church does is well known at head
quarters, as in the case ofa well-organized
and disciplined army in the field. And
yet a regiment of the church army
marches fifty miles under its regular Off
GERS, and exterminates an emigrant train
of 130 persons, and Brigham Young never
knew aught about it except from public
rumor. And, if Lees action on that occa-
sion was taken to save and not to destroy
the emigrants, why did Brigham Young
make him the scapegoat in the case
two or three years ago by cut
ting him off from the church? Brigham
says the reason he didn't investigate it as
Governor was because he was Just then su
perseded in that office, and that he offered
all the assistance in his power to the new
officers. The truth is, Judge Cradelbaugh
held the first court in the district after the
Intellectual scolding, was obliged TO dis
miss his Mormon Grand Jury because
they would no nothing. Probably the
bones of 200 murdered persons were then
bleaching in the district; yet they would
indict no one. Cradelbaugh got detail
of Johnston's troops for personal protec-
ton, went south, and with bench-war-
rants and soldiers, dragged the butchers
from the woods, and ferreted out the facts,
such as the world knows them. And this
was how Brigham Young assisted him.
Had he said to that Grand Jury that he
wanted the guilty punished, it would have
been done in short order. But how could
he have his Bishops and Presidents
hanged for living their religion?" More
over, Cummings didn't succeed him as
Governor until nearly year after the mas
sacre.
But, say it was not in his power to pun
ish or to report to Washington as Governor
and comptroller of Indian affairs, it was
in his hands as head of the church to fel-
lowship or otherwise these women -assassi-
mating and baby.eating priests of his
church. And he fellowships them all to
this day, except Lee, and he fellowshiped
him as long as he dared to- Counsel for
the defense say it was preposterous that
the church should have preached and
"blowed" about it if they had intended to
murder the emigrants. Preposterous or
not, the published discourses of the church
show that not only then but always, the
church has taught murder (under certain
circumstances, of which the church was
alone the judge as part of their religion.
And, as TO blowing" there never was
such a set of crazy braggarts before under
TpS S,,,if
himself as a candidate for the Presidency
as soon as he had secured a respectable
body guard of dupes illustrates the spirit
of the church from its founder down.
But from time to time the world has
been told that the emigrants were abusive,
that they poisoned a. spring and sold
poisoned meat to the Indians. The de-
fense attempted to show these things; but
the testimony to that effect fell into shreds
at the touch of cross-eXamination. So that
the defense established nothing that could
be urged even as a preteXt. Nothing
could palliate il, eXcepta similar attack by
the emigrants on the settlements The de-
fense knew their jury and confined them
selves principally to abusing the witnesses
for the prosecution. If they were as bad
as represented the wonder is their brethren
didn't find it out till they left the murder
ing church.
The prosecution fairly established, on
the other hand, judicially, the facts of the
massacre as it long since passed into his
tory. Their witnesses disagreed only in
two or three insignificant matters such as
they would have been likely to agree
about had they been telling lie. 1t is
proper to say that Klingan Smith aban-
dOned the church soon after the butchery
and has since lived in California, whence
he was brought by the prosecution as a
witness. He was a Mormon Bishop in
good standing at the time, and he tells the
whole story no doubt as it happened.
| There was no attempt to rebut his testi-
mony, to break it down or to impeach
him. But all the speeches of the defense
were loaded with abuse of him-indeed,
contained little else. -1s
Lee is to be tried again next term. And
after him, if they are ever caught, Haight
Higbee, Stewart and others-all priests OF
the Latter Day Thugism. Dame is in Gus
tody, and it is to be hoped he will not
cheat the gallows by dying without a trial
The others have fed the Territory. They
send back word. through their attorneys
two lawyers from Michigan, imported by
the church to do its work-that they are
innocent and can prove it, but they DOM
want 10 get into the clutches of the United
States Marshals. We have not reached
the end yet, and our progress is nothing
to boast of; but, if Congress will give US
the Mormon Jury law which prevailed
here for twenty years, will give us fret
ballot and repeal the Woman-S Suffrage ac
of Utah, we will do better in future.