The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-06-02


Two attempts within the last six days to
assassinate our correspondent at Salt Lake
City will be thought by the public to JUSTIFY
/ some plainness Of speech from the HERALD
to the Mormon hierarchy. On Saturday
evening last, as Mr.. Stillson was returning
to the Lion House from drive, he was shot
at by stealthy miscreant who had con-
cealed himself behind tree at a distance OF
| fifty feet from the point where the buggy
was passing. The intending assassin missed
his aim and fed. On Thursday last the
same individual or another gained access to
Mr. Stillson's room at the hotel, and, under
pretence of delivering . paper, stabbed at
him with knife. failing of his purpose by
the interposition of a portemonnaie, two
photographs and suspender buckle be-
tween the knife and the breast Of the CORE
spondent. There is only one conceivable
motive for these dastardly and repeated at
tempts at assassination. Our correspondent
is gentleman in his bearing, who never IN
his life provoked personal hostility. His
letters and kilograms from Utah have been
extremely offensive to the Mormon chiefs,
md Sunday or two since were made the
sopic Of an indeccntly vulgar and Infatuated
aarangue in the Mormon Temple The at
tempts on his life are, of course, conse-
quence of his exposures and the indignant
commotion they have stirred up among the
Saints" Now. we submit to the Saints
that they are going too far. The assassina-
ton in their capital of truth-telling
correspondent would bring upon them
swift destruction, which they have no reason
to court To do them justice, we are slow
to believe that they are seriously plotting
new addition to their hundreds of muir
ders under present circumstances. The
Mormons are not deficient in shrewdness,
and they know too we'll that the assassina-
ton Of newspaper correspondent. who is
sexciting the attention Of the country by ex-
posing them, would inevitably be ascribed
to their instigation and raise universal
cry for justice and vengeance. 1t is more
probable that they wish to alarm the CORE
spondent and Brighten him away Having
tried to win his favorable opinion by cour-
tesies and Establishments on his first arri-
val and failed, they now resort to terror
We believe they have mistaken their man as
egregiously in the last appliance as they did
in the first
sort OF strategy before. Five years ago 1t
undertook to ascertain and publish the truth
in relation to the instruction in Cuba. The
world had been deceived and bamboozled
by the Spanish accounts, and we under
took to send correspondents within the
rebel lines to explore the situation and
state the exact truth. The first man we
sent did not quite come up to the mark
of enterprise and daring which is the
usual characteristic of our plucky employees,
whether among the savages Of Africa, on
the Indian frontier, in the interior
Of Cuba or in the great wars on
both continents within the. last six
teen years. The first correspondent
we sent to Cuba was partial exception to
an otherwise pretty uniform experience.
He allowed his fears to be practised upon
by the Spanish officials at Havana, and
made sudden retreat from the island
which equally mortified and surprised us.
This disappointment was but transient
interruption of our plans. We at once
despatched on the next Havana steamer
correspondents incapable of finching One
Of them, Mr.. O'Kelly, was treated with great
courtesy by Ceballos, the Governor General
of Cuba, who signed passport giving him
permission to visit every part OF the island.
But when Mr.. O'Kelly applied for safe
conduct Coballos put him off with
courteous excuses, telling him that
he could easily get in Havana from
deserters and prisoners all the information
possible to be had within the rebel lines
Being under imperative instructions from
this office Mr.. O'Kelly proceeded at his own
risk without safe conduct, but whom he
reached the camp of General Morales no
was told that If lie persisted in prosecuting
his inquiries he would expose himself Ito
be shot as spy" The HERALD correspondent
told General Morales in return that he would
do such an act at his peril. He was warned
that the shooting OF an American citizen who
had violated no law Of Cuba would cause an
outburst Of public indignation in this
country which wonld force the government
into measures of redress.
II requires no special courage for jour
nal which successfully defied the Spanish
government to persist in it's efforts to expose
the pestilent nest Of Mormons. Even ii
they should assassinate Mr. Stillson he
would be followed by successors as ener-
getic, intelligent, determined and plucky
as himself For tho Mormons to eyade ex-
posure is qnite impossible now that the
public mind has been so awakened, with
scores of sharp fearless men at the CON-
mand of the HERALD. The Mormons may
be quite sure that whatever may DO the
fate of any particular correspondent VIC