Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-08-29
MORMON MARRIAGES.
A Mormon Missionary in Denver Who
Talks About the Mormon
Religion.
He Saws That He Has Seventeen Wives,
And All Are Satisfied With
Their Lot.
He Thinks That He Could Secure
Seventeen More In Denver LII
He Wanted Them.
From the Denver News, August q. ]

reporter noticed on the register Oh lIle
Windsor Hotel last evening. The name
is common one and would have been
passed by unnoticed had it not been that
''Salt Lake" was written opposite. Even
then his name would have been passed
by had not the clerk said, ~ believe that
old fellow is Mormon. l will introduce
you to him and you may get an interview
ont OF him.
An introduction followed and the
reporter was not slow in getting
into q conversation, and Mr.. Han
sen proved TO be as loquaciOus
AS ANY NEWSPAPER MAN WOULD DESIRE.
Mr.. Hansen is 4 man of robust build,
silvery hair, flashing blue eyes, q long
beard of tawny hue streaked with grey,
and a most magnetic voice.
"And you are really Mormon" was
asked.
"Really, and truly, If that is any help
to you"
"How long have you lived in Utah ?"
twenty-five years"
''You are muchly married, [ suppose ~
''Well, if having seventeen wives is
being married to any considerable extent,
suppose can come in that category"
GLOW is it you have never been prose
cuted for bigamy?"
There's where the joke comes in. Do
you know that there hasn't been a single
prosecution for bigamy in Utah that
hasn't been instigated by women. Some
cranky female
BECOMES JEALOUS OF HER HUSBAND,
Not receiving as much attention as she
desires, and makes fuss which comes to
the ears of the Federal officials, and the
result is her husband is arrested and
tried, and in some cases conviction fol-
lows. Women that are satisfied with
their husbands never squeal."
"But can a number of women be salts
fed with one husband?"
ri say yes, though there are thousands
to dispute me- Talk about heart aches,
jealousies and everything OF that kind.
It's all nonsense. Why, | have never
had bit of trouble in my households.
The matter with the women is simply
this: If they are treated right they are
all right, and if they are treated wrong
they are all wrong. 1t would be useless
for me to enter into a disquisition on
woman. Everybody knows what she is,
but it takes good man to so understand
her that he can get along with dozen or
two"
~ suppose you have had quite an ex-
perience in courtship?"
81 never courted but one girl in my
life. That was my first wife / courted
and married her in Sweden. OF course I
was foolish enough to believe that loved
her. l was young-only 10 years OF age
and she was year younger. We were
poor, and |, like every other young fellow,
became enamoured of q pretty face,
and married. Two years later a Mormon
missionary
CAME INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
And we became converted to the faith.
We went to Utah, and l, like every other
man l have ever known, looked upon
polygamy with favor, though it had not
been preached to lis when we were, con-
verted. Strange to say that when l con-
cluded to take another wife my wife did
not protest. She may have had some
objections, but she didn't make them
known"
"Did you marry young woman?",
~ did. [ didn't have her sealed TO
me, as a great many OF my Mormon
friends would say l married her. 1
believe that 4 man can marry as MANY
women as he wants to-
"And love them?"
"Pshaw. Love is all nonsense. As |
told you, all q woman wants is IL good
home. A man that cannot provide for
woman has no business to marry. There
are plenty OF women I'll admit who have
good homes who want to marry, but they
comprise only
\ SMALL PORTION OF HUMANITY.
There are so many poor women who have
to struggle along for living that they
would be glad to be the forty-second wife
of man if they knew they would be well
provided for"
'That is all nonsense
you may think so, yet | will wager a
cigar that | could go out in Denver to-
morrow, tell women who l am, that | am
a Mormon, that | have seventeen wives
and want seventeen more, and l would
find no difficulty in procuring Them
''ln the language of the day, you have
your gall with you
81 may have, but | have had more
experience with women than you have,
and know what / am talking about.
Now, have, as l told you, seventeen
wives. 1 provide well for them, and they
ask nothing more. When one of them
wants new dress she asks me for it. and
II she needs it | give it to her. OF course
! discourage extravaganza, but l have
found out that the most extravagant
woman in the world can be taught to be
economical if she has the right kind of a
teacher
"You must have had quite an expert
ence i'll courtship?"
81 never had any experience at all
except with my first wife. NY other
wives | have married simply by asking
them to have me- According to the |
tenets of our faith. we have a right to
have as many wives as we want. They |
talk about the Mormon religion being
IN IT'S CHARACTER Is ALL BOSH
We are polygamists and practice what we
preach. The true cause of the war being /
made against the Mormons is the desire |
Of few thieves to possess our lands. We i
went to Salt Lake and made a paradise
out OF desert. We are thrifty people
and deserve credit for our enterprise, but
the longing eyes of few worthless agita-
tors have been cast on our possessions and
Ihey are trying to excite indignation
against us, so we will be driven out of the
country We possess in order that they
nay inhabit it. This cry against polyg-
any has become popular, but as I tell
Tou It has been raised by thieves. They
AN send me to the penitentiary il they
want to for bigamy, but if they do it will
De Tor the gaining OF the possession of my
property and not because | am trans
yressor
AGAINST THE LAW
| believe in the Mormon religion. The
Mormon religion teaches that noIvoo,,,,-