New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-06
THE MORMON PROBLEM.

fran, tho statesmen of other Lations and other
n.riods They are not endowed with supreme
wisdom they are not infailible. Nome Oh our
nolitical problems-and we should not be the
uneasily active, the mentally alert ana proput-
sive people that we are, did we not nave SIGH
problems coming before us in constant sue
cesson-none OF these problems have ever been
solved by a master stroke of genus or the glow
of n snddcn great inspiration. They nave peeh
laboriously and painfully worked out through
much misrepre sentuton of methods ana mis-
convention of motives, 10y processes that
seemed slow and tedious. The impatlencc with
which they sometimes have been watched was
well illustrated in the dispatch from Governor
Yates. of Illinois, to President Lincoln urging
the immediate issuance of proclamation Oh
emancipation during the dark days when the
Presidents mind was more full OF that ques-
ton than of any other. And the sublime pa
thence to which moro than To anything else We
are indebted for the final solution of the great
problem then in hand was equally illustrated III
tho wise, deep payfulncss OF Mr.. Lincoln
answer: stand still, Dick, and see the saliva
ton of the Lord The greatest problem we
ever had To wreStle with since We became ma
ton was that OF slavery. All sorts % attempts
10 solve il by sudden inspirations were maze
without result There were compromises oil
every variety. Our Washingtons Jehersons
and Adamses puzzled over IT in the first period
of our history our Clays, Wcbsters and Cal
bonns attacked it more earnestly hut unsuccess-
fuliy in tie next; and ut the beginning 0f the
third. Mr. Seward laborcd under the deluson
tunt lie had discovered the short aud easy pro-
cess of working il ont in ninety days. lie
nation reached il finally 10y nc inspiration what
ever. but only through the travail of It's soul.
The problcms of reconstruction and finance
of rehahiitating tho rebcllious Sta.es aud 0f
rnising an irredccmable currency Ia par with
gold and establishing the credit of Govern
mrut seriously impaired 10y the burden OF tre-
,ptpdou. N,ional debt-were less laborously
and painfully solved Bat the solution OF
these came by tedious processes ana not oy
sudden inspiration. Concerning reconstruction
| President Johnson and bis advisers lad what
| they believed the sure aud only solution. Sen
ator sumner and those who acted with hlm
stoud at the other extreme with another IN
which they had equal couhdence. Each WAS the
short aud easy way. Through neither OF them
wa, the problem solved. il indeed we may ven
tufe even now 10 call 1t solved. 1t was only
! through tentative processes, through biunder-
ing and the slow discovery of blnndeTs, with
tho still slower recognition Of them, that we
worked on, way out Of oil that maze and tangle.
| In matters of finance how many inspir atiOus
did our statesmen nave! How many snort aud
easy proccSsrs there we're To get ourselves out
OF debt, resume specie payments and establlsn
upon "A sound and permanent basis the National
credit One of the earliest WIS Mr.. PendlctOns
scheme 10 pay the debt in greenhacks; one ot
the latest the proposition OF Mr. Bland, of Mis-
souri To issue unlimited silver CURRENCY; with
| an infinite variety of plans iuspired-iuter-
yening But we came 90 sUlvency and to es-
Labljshed credit at last through no statcsmans
iusuirntion only through the paintll expert
| euce of tho financial collapse of 1878 and tho
subsrouent Liquidation. Our experience in the
solution of these problems might REASONABLY
teach US that tho ms iraion of craftsmanship
is very poor dependence foI the sudden settle
ment OF great public questions.
We do not look for any immediate sltisac-
tory solution of the Mormon problem. Some of
us believed that with tho opening of the Pacific
Railroad. in 1869, the consequent Eruption OF
| "Gentilesr into Utah, aud what it was antic-
mated would be an irrcdiation of the Territory
ilization. the shame and disgrace of polyganIy
wouId disappear. if indeed the whole system of
Mormonism did not fade away and disappear.
But the Territory bas been open to Gentle i'm
mig,ation now for nearly fourteen years, and
| 40 fai 10 can be learned the Mormon Church is
stronger with the institution OF pOlygamy m0Ie
| firmly rooted than ever before Laws against
| pulygamy have been enacted by Congress az
various times, but with no visible result. We
| are apparently rs far as ever from establishing
the fact that for that Territory polygamy is u
crime Nor can any intelligent person look
upon Sundays congregation in the Mormon
tabernacle ut Salt Lake City and observe the
preponderance in that great assembly of young
! persons whose only claim To Legitimacy rests
upon the legality of pOlygamous practices
/ without being convinced of the impossbility
OF procuring the assent Of that people to any
law which denounces them as lllegltnate while
pronouncing polygamy CRIME. 1t Is this
! aspe of tie question which we fear has been
too little considered. Ii seems to Ills to be its
| most Troublesome feature. Still the problem
! presses for solution, and statesmen who,
| though unnspired, are sincere, are aF work
| upon it, One thing at least ~ certain: that Mr..
Jere y. Blacks theory recently promulgated to
the Judiciary Committee of the House, before
whom he appeared as counsel, that Congress
has no right to interfere in the Territories in
matters relating TO marriage divorce, egiti-
macy OF children and succession to property
will never be admitted by the American peo-
rple
The problem is a complicated ono and not
easy of solution. We are certain, however
that il never will be solved by tho admission
of Utah as u state without some very definite
provision against polygamy. For the rest, we