The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-04-16
MORMON NEWS.
The Late Trustee in Trust Trusisd Only in
Himself and His Progeny. ALVEY
Row About the Spells Of the
Church.

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SALT LAKE CITY, April Ii, 1878.
There is a pretty kettle of fish stirred
up here just now in the Momon outfit.
When Brigham Young died he was
possessed of a large amount of property,
a considerable portion of which he was
holding, according to his statement, as
trust~ee-in-trust for the Church of Lat
ter End Saints. But be always, and
up to the last, forgot to state specifical-
ly just what property he was thus hold
ing for the church, and in his will he
devises, in great detail, the vast prop
erty which he had accumulated from
the poor ignorant saints, to his ume
GUS wife and child, adding that any
other property There being none other
left should go to the church. This
was hardly a fair deal for the church,
which had afforded him the opportunity
to accumulate his means, and so Presi-
dent John Taylor, the present head,
began to investigate affairs, and found
that the estate was indebted to the
church in the SUN of nine hundred and
ninety thousand dollars. 1t is true
that Brigham had offset this debt by
credit of Services" but nobody can
find out just what these services were,
nor how they could have been so valua-
BILE, and so President Taylor brings suit
against the estate, and wants all the
property of which Brigham died pos
sessed, except about ten thousand dol
lars worth, transferred to himself, as
trustee-in-trust for the church. Brig
ham'snumerous wife and child aforesaid
now appeal to the Gentle court for an
order restraining the executors of the
estate from making this transfer, or any
portion of it, and Chief Justice Schaef-
fer yesterday granted their prayer.
1t is really an open eight . between
the head men of the church, who want
to get the property into their possession.
and the Young family who wants to
keep 1t.
Those who side with brother Taylor
and the heads of Mormon business vir-
tually say that they believe Brigham
came by this property improperly, and
dishonesty tried to devise it away. On
the other hand, the Young family,
which still has great influence in the
church, claim that their father was the
bulwork and builder up of the Mormon
religion; that his services were many,
and great, in comparison with which
the poor p~ittance of a million is moth
ing.
Their following, which is large and
influential, is very bitter ver Taylor's
attempt to wrest the property out of
their hands, as may be understood by
their resort to the United States courts
to prevent it; and altogether, the pros
pect is that this matter will do more to
create scandal and schism in the church
than anything that has ever occurred
in it.
There is no sort of question but that
the great bulk of the property left by
Brigham was obtained by him by dis
honest means-wrested out of the toll
and labor of his ignorant followers, who
believed him the second Christ. And
the care which he took, in his will, to
prevent this property going out of his
family, Notwithstanding his assertions,
while alive, that it was all for the
church, only proves him to have been,
what everybody except his deluded peo-
pie know, a great knave and rascal.
RANGER.