The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-10-18
THE MORMON QUESTION.
A Son OF the Prophet Makes Out a
Plausible Case fer His People

A Son OF the Prophet Makes Out n
Plausible rs fer His People
[Moncure D.. Conway in Philadelphia Times-1
In conversation with an intelligent lawyer
OF New York he mentioned to me that John
w. Young, the son of Brigham Young, was
on the train and that he wculdSbe glad to in
uoduce me TO him. / readily accepted his
offer and in the course of a day or two had
frequent interviews with mr. Young. I
found him an affable and handsome gentle
man, with a great deal of that kind of intelli-
gence which u man gets only from the uni
versity Of life and experience. There was a
certain sternnes about his mouth, but his eye
was light and genial. He received me kindly,
surrounded by his young sons, who, l
may remark, were polite and well-behaved
lads. 1 told him that 1 should probably use
my conversations with him in writing for
the public some account of my journey, and
with that understanding we at once entered
upon a conversation on the burning question
Of polygsmy. He held in his hand a book
recently written about his people, by Phil
Robinson, and also the statement of Judge
jeremiah Black, whose death the Mormons
now lament. freely agreed with him that
there was much in masculine human nature
which accorded with the Mormon system and
which had a disastrous development in great
cities. TIL evolution of man in conquering
the lands and seas Of the world, his life in
camps and in ports have tended to make him
a national ~polygamist,
Young said: You can't go contrary to
human nature" Butt answered, imam
is only half tho human nature in the world;
there is the nature of woman, whom oil the
conditions of life have tended to make a
~monogamist, There have been forces which
have sometimes suppressed her instinct in
that manner, as in the s%warming populations
of the far east, where there is no career for
her and no support but in marriage, and
where the excessive number of women seems
to suggest polygamy as a necessary social
economy; but these conditions having
been left behind to a large extent, the
question arises whether the charm and
beauty and morality of life are not to be Sc
cured rather by the loyalty of one to one in
matrimony." He then said: "Woman is
necessarily the inferior of man. There are
religious reasons why she should be the one to
surrender her feelings in that respect" But
Is 1t not found,n l asked, 'that the romance
of life and the charm of the relation between
man and mnid is diminished by this plurality
of wivesr he said: "Courtship goes on
among us the same as in London l believe
in love, but not in infatuation. Whatever
woman may suppose that she loses by being
Oue hulOuR OlntT WIVES, Sue ID COhl-
pensated for in a greater devotion to
her children, for, in our system, the maternal
feelings are regarded as supreme. These
feelings are very early developed and form
the chief earthly happiness Of women. They
also increase the affection of man, who can
not fail to feel a deep tenderness for the
mother of his children. 1t must be remem-
bered that in our faith this feeling concern
ing the production of the race is a profoundly
religious feeling, and brings happiness
which we believe is not realized where the
relations are merely worldly"
l asked him whether, in tho growth of
society in Utah, it was not found that there
were not enough wives for all, and was not
this, to some extent, a reason for the hostility
Of the gentiles toward the Mormons. He re-
piled: 1.-THE men who settle in this region
are largely Adventures; they do not wish to
settle down in permanent homes; they no
doubt desire our women for immoral pur
poses, but they are not generally Of the mar
rying kind" He dwelt largely upon the
good order, the freedom from crime, which
marked their settlement, even though many
outsiders have come among them, and, I'M
questionably, Mr.. Young a out a very
plausible and no doubt sincere case for his
people.