Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-10-23
TO7TERING WALLS.
The Shattered Substance Of the Nor
mon Church on the Verge
Of Failing,
Activity Of the Governments Prosecu'
lion Of the Lieeniious Saints.
and Its Results.
Rather Than RcBounce Their Faith Thes
smilingIy Plead Guilty nnd
Go to jan.

Go TO jan.
SAT- LAKE, trrAH, oct l2.--Nobody
can look upon the situation In Utah
to-day without feeling Of anxiety.
Affairs are Ia a deplorable condition, and
are daily growing worse. The struggle
between civil law and the morality Of
Western civilization on the one side aud
religious fanaticism and the immortality
Of the far East on the other is being
fought desperately. There was never be-
fore, in the stormy career OF the Nor
mons, time when they were crowded
into such close quarters as now. Mobs
have driven aud despoiled them, aud
occasionally the executive and Judicial
forces of the government have spasmOd-
ically asserted themselves in efforts TO
eradicate the evil of pOlygainy; but on
every occasion the Saints have come out
ahead, their triumphs giving them Now
hope, new courage aud greater strength
with which TO enter the next contest. The
Mormon books of sermons are full of
Boosting discourses, detailing how the
Lord led them out OF tiils difficulty
showing how the Almighty thwartcd
their enemies on that occasion and tell
INK iIh lIt f1dlniN AtilN VI uuLt- hflf
brought about BY Divine interposition In
their behalf These boasts and the cum
nng turning Of Incidents and events
which elsewhere would have gone by
without exciting note or comment into
evidences of Gods protecting care have
made thousands of converts to Mormon
ism and strengthened the faith of the
weak and doubling. People have
L. 60.
moment.
II Is Just year since the government
bt gan in real earnest to solve the "Mor-
mon problem" so called, by enforcing its
laws, which for over twenty years had
done no more than mi a page OF the stat
ute books. The years operations have
been terrible in their consequences 60
1nE CHURCH NND INDivGDCALS.
In the pursuance Of It's one idea, to crush
the Mormons. the government has been
determined, unyielding and merciless; 1t
has shown disposition to be considerable
only when there has been complete sur
render ON the part OF the individual
surrender that was humliating and an
manly; that was equivalent 10 public
rccmtation and nm open ayowal or con-
icssion by the person that his life had
ana women, his moiCsscd religion being
only cloak for his immorahtics and
Olfcnses against the saCredngss of Che
Christian family circle a few have ne
ccplcd tue degrading terms and, as their
followers express In, "guur backn on
their religion, DENYING their fuilh and re-
cciying judicial nbsolutiun aud forgive
ness. But niue ont of ton OF the Nor
mons OF high and low degree, as between
the rccaumtiou required and a term ln
the ppuitcntiary, have mhesitatugly
chosen the hitter.
The more determined the hght on the
part of the government, the more I'M
Welding the church Al first there was a
manifest determination TO stavc off tho
slorm-nn inclination To rive and take.
John Taylor went 50 far in the dircc ton
OF compromise that he asserted in the
tabernacle that he had nut away his sur
plus wives with the exception Of pro-
yidiug for their Suppurtand maintenance
he said lc had Obeycd the law as fully us
IL was possible for him to do and no,
abandon his wives and children to
THE MERCIEs or Az uNFEEIING WORLD
! Having done this as an example he ad
yised his followers to do likewise and
put their households In order that thcl
might escape the penalties and infection,
that the law provided for the crrmg
This was going u long way in the direc
ton of a surrender; it was going 50 ia
| that Taylor, head of the church thougl
/ he was, came I'm for much private and no
little public ccnsurc at the hands of hi
oNn people. However, it is believe,
here If the government had shown a dis
position To accept the offer and extent
the immunity TO those who did as Tuylo
had done and rs he advised, there woul,
have followed an almost general scpara
ton of families, the husband living witt
but one, though providing for the others.
third of generation would have sccl
the virtual abolition of polygamy, an,
the cure of the evil would have cost com
lparatiycly little money and been ATTENDED
by no hardships, \ close obscrver sal,
to-day: "rhc nation owes these deludc,
people something In the way of consid
Grafton. The evil of polygamy la.
grown To its present proportions almos
under the fostering care of the govern
mcnt. No Intelligent effort has brci
made to enforce Las that I, twenty
three years old, and the impression ha,