The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-11-08
A Park City Correspondent
Writes of 1t.
A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE PAST,
aYour Cause is just, but Can do
Nothing for YOU" said Presi-
dent Van Buren,.
To the Editor of TIE HERALD


take a deep interest in everything
which affects your prosperity, and, par
ticuiarly, note every movement in tn,
religious crusade which is being cruelty
and relentlessly waged against religi
Gus people. l was greatly surprised a
the ignorance and stupidity, or vii
full duplicity, OF Judge Zane. when re
Gently in giving vent to his usua
cowardly trade of abuse, he assured {
prisoner that the laws of bis country
would protect him anywhere, az home
or abroad, when the whole history o.
the Mormon people gives the lie to the
assertion. When in Missouri they were
thrice driven from their homes anC
robbed of all they had, the lands they
had bought of the government, and al
their improvements thereon, and when
they appealed to President Van Buren,
for redress and protection, his answer
was, Your cause is just. but | can de
nothing for ou." And still Judge Zane
decides that the law will protect them
any where. In Nauvoo, in the judge S
own State, with whose history he ought
/ to be slightly acquainted, Joseph and
Hyrum Smith. John Taylor and others.
were decoyed under the secret pledge
of the honor of the Governor and State
for protection, and given into the hands
of the mob to be shot down like dogs
and two years after, mob with all the
pOmp and clamor of war, and with the
full knowledge of the State authorities
marched against, and after several days
fighting, took the defenceless and al
most deserted city of Nauvoo, destroy
ing an immense amount Of property
and several lives, and still this spawn
from that dishol pred and law-breaking
State tells a Mormon prisoner that the
law will protect him anywhere and that
if he will not promise his highness what
he is under no obligation to promise,
he ought not to be a citizen
as If the mobbed and the robbed, were
the law breakers, and the mobbers and
the robbers the law abiding citizens.
Their love of law and their consistency
is the same to-day as it was forty years
ago, when the motto was 1.-THE law Will
not reach them but powder and ball
shall" The same class, possessed OF the
same spirit. assert that they will de.
stroy by law if possible, If not they will
invade YOUR little city with both the
Union and Confederate armies, mil
lion and half of men. Associated In
these laWlesS meetings are these same
u. S. officials, who pirate so much OF
law but whose real sentiments were ex-
pressed by Representative Horr OF
Mich, when he asserted, that in dealing
with Mormons, he cared not for the
Constitution and presidents. We see
in the results of the mobs IN Tennessee
and Georgia the protection the law
affords Mormon, and We also see the
humiliating spectacle of priests and
press, justifying or finding excuses
for those murders. 1t is now considered
a great honor to have been an Old-time
abolitionist, yet the term, underground
railroad" now used with so much de-
rision, originated from their secreting
negroes and running them to Canada,
in defiance and contempt of law as IN
terpreted by the Supreme Court, rea-
soning that there was higher law than
the Constitution which told them to
feed the hungry and clothe the naked,
but if a Mormon, under the same right
eous law dares to feed his own wives
and little ones in his own house, when
he can feed them no where's else, these
same lovers of conscience will distort
their faces with holy horror and declare
that man who viii live up to the best
intelligence and conscientious princi-
Piles which he has, is not worthy to be
citizen, and that it is noble to part hus-
bands and wives, fathers and children,
if they are white, when it was a fearful
crime if they were black.
Every thing proves the present crus-
ade to be simply religious persecution
First. like those crusades of centuries
ago which cost Europe millions OLIVES,
the sole object of which was to get pos
session of hole In the ground, and, in
fact, as it has been in all prosecutions,
it was inaugurate6 by priests, who Iail
ing in reason and argument, determined
to accomplish by force what they could
not BY truth. So 100, 900 well-fed priests,
who annually cost the country $780,
900 900 to proclaim the truth of the
Bible, openly declared that through ex-
element and popular prejudice they
would force Congress to pass a law to
prevent a people from believing and
practicing i S preceI is, known &, as they
stated It, that the first question asked
bv every Congressman was, "Am [ to
be re elected" The second proof that
the crusade is a religious one, is that
like in all religious prosecutions its vic
tins are required TO renounce their
faith; become one Of US and. viii
cease turning the thumb-screws, stop
the rack. or cease to kindle the devour-
ing flames, otherwise we viii inhict
the extreme p nalty which the
law will permit, and have
ne doubt that agents to burn
and torture, could be found among Of
fcials to-day as readily as years ago; in
fact think a sweat box for the purpose
equally as barbarieus and
heathenish an institution as the rack.
Men are now fined $500 for eating with
two women and sent to the Penitentiary
for six months for not covenanting to
break their covenants. This IS to force
them 70 change their religious views, as
no court dare esta blish a rule IN really
cases to abate one-half or two
thirds the punishment for promises Of
future good behavior Third-Eyery
which has been made upon
established customs has been met with 4
all the opposition the laws and civiliza-
ton OF the various ages could give it. (
The strong can always pass laws to op-
press The weak, and as l recently saw il 1
emphaticaly stated government is I
force y and this force has q lxvax1S bpnr J