St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-02-24

heSOCeu, nat Tor the sake OF the /
thousands of the wretched victims of |
this bondage and barbarism for the |
protection of the neighboring states |
and territories from the spreading can |
Ger; and for the nations honor and |
safety, we respectfully urge the Con- |
gress of the United States to make all |
haste to complete the legislation now
so auspiciOusly begun, for the speedy |
suppression of poly gamy.
ReSOiced, That we recognize with |
pride and gratitude that senator from
Vermont has the honor To lead this i'm
portant movement: and we tender to
him and the rest of our delegation in
Congress our thanks for their efforts in
its behalf.
WALTER L. SMITH, ESQ,
was the next speaker, and he devoted
himself mainly to the legal aspects of
the question, handling the subject elo
quently. He said: Our constitution
provides that Congress shall pass no
law for the establishment of any relig- !
ion, nor prohibit the free exercise there |
of. Under the shadow of these words !
pOlygamous Mormonism has contended |
for existence the last 81 years. be |
lieve if there is any thing of which
this country is justly proud, it is the
liberty which it gives to all religious
denominations. This government is
not warning against the inspiration of
Mormonism but it has some
thing to say when. under the garb of
religion, vices exist. crimes are com
mitted, and the youth of the land are
being corrupted, and those things be
ing done which bring disgrace upon the |
nation. This is what the government |
is trying to prevent but the MormOns
have resisted for 30 years. Let us en-
quirc what sort of an institution Nor
mOnism is. From its birth to the pres
ent time it has been constantly on the
move; and whenever, by the force of
progress it has come in contact with
the rest of mankind, it has moved, I'M
til now we find it at Salt Lake City.
The author of this evil was born
in 1905 in 1893 he received the first
vision from the angels; in 1897 the
''plates" upon which were the princi
plies of MOrmOnism came into his hands: |
in 1880 the first nucleus of the church
was established with only 30 members.
in Manchester, n. II. The speaker
then continued to trace the career of
Joseph Smith, his barbarouS treatment
of his own legal wife, and his sO-callcd
revelations" That is the kind
of a man who has been sowing the
seeds of this religion for the last 30
years. We find them now at
Salt Lake City. Their own numbers
have increased to nearly 2O0.OOO. PeO-
pie are beginning to talk about that in
stitutiOn, and say there is something
ont there not in accord with our ideas
and the spirit of our civilization it
isn't anything that should he allowed
to grow and exist in this country. The
MormOns importume Congress to make
them Il state. so that they can he self
governing and do us they please. But
as yet Utah is not IA state. and | trust
it will never become one so long as this
institution of Mormonism exists there
in its present form.
Mr.. Smith then referred to laws
which had been passed by Congress in
regard to MormoniSm he spoke in
complimentary terms of the Poland
bills against MOrmOniSm, and regretted
that they failed. He closed by hoping
that Vermont's last greeting to the
Mormons, through Senator Edmunds.
would prove effective in removing this
evil; and hoped that the meeting
would heartily endorse the resolutions
offered.
REV. MIR. TILLOTSON
was the next called up, and spoke
briefly i'll favor of the resolutions. We !
are a Christian people and must deal
with this sin in the spirit of Christian
ity. He thought the Mormons had
some virtues, for which they should he
given due credit; they train their chill !
dren in habits of industry and temper
ance, and do Il great many things that
are proper. He spoke of some of the
atrocities committed 10y the MOrmOns,
and denounced them as too terrible to
be allowed by national authority. Two
features of the Mormon religion he
despised was the complete power
the priests have over the people, in
making them believe in revelations
| from heaven direct to the priests and
elders the other feature Is the polyg
amy. He thought one wife was enough
| for any man if she was Il bad wife
she was Just one too many. It'll
seems that the evil started here in Yer
mont, so let the remedy be started here.
and these resolutions heartily backed
up by us tonight.
HON. FRANKLIN FAIRBANKS
next spoke briefly concerning the loca
ton and surroundings of Salt Lake
City, the seat of Mormonism. He de
| scribed the city as Il very beautiful one,
| located ut the base of Il mountain, and
having the appearance of a city in a
garden. He took issue with the pre-
vious speaker concerning the virtues
of the MormOnS. and said that nowhere
on the face of the earth had he seen
such wretchedness, such drunkenness
and such profanity, as at Salt Lake
City. Everywhere upon the street
men, women and boys were to be seen
drunk. He referred to the Gentle
residents in and about Salt Lake City,
and said many of them were laboring
earnestly to counterfeit the evils of
Mormonism. He described in detail
the tithing system by which the Nor
mon church is supported, and referred
feelingly to the inhuman treatment of
! the wives Inv the elders. he had neyer
seen elsewhere such perfect AFFECTION