The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-04-08
FROM THE CAPITAL.
Munchausen Montgomery and
His Fairy Tales.
PARBONs BY THE PRESIDENT
An Universally Interesting Letter
Concerning the Situation at the
Capital-Genersl Notes.

WASHINGTON, D. c., ApriI 9.-[Special
to The HERALD. l-Of all the volunteer
witnesses who have assailed the Senate
committee on Territories with the
meaningless repetition of words, none
has been more thoroughly and disgust
/ ingly wearisome than the
REV. NJ. W. MONTGOMERY,
who gave his unsolicited testimony q
week ago. He claimed to represent the
American Home Missionary Society,
an organization controlled and sup
ported By the Congregational Churches
of the land. His particular duties
called him to labor among the Scandi-
navians, and he regarded himself as
being in every way a competent witness
To be sure, he had only sojourned in
the Territory for three weeks, but in
that period he had accumulated over
whelmning testimony as to the general
worthlessness of everybody that did not
agree with him on religious and moral
questions. He,was so full of informa-
ton that he hardly knew where to be-
gin, but after a little training by the
chairman. he started out with the pro-
position that II 800 900 church members
were
LONGING AND PRAYING
for the disintegration of the Mormon
belief, and the scattering of its princi-
Piles, preachers and followers over all
quarters Of the globe. He then took
up the moral phase of the question
and pursued it as it always has been
pursued -blindly, and in an unreason-
ing manner that has never failed to
secure the support of those highly
moral people who knew nothing. but
believed everything. Every statement
he made was qualified, however, and
there was no direct force in any of his
testimony. Territorial schools were
discussed, and the reverend gentleman
evidently thought he had scored a great
point when he stated that in 467 public
schools in Utah, all the teachers, with
one or two excep tons, were Mormons.
Aud yet, at the same time, he was ad-
vosating measure which provides for
an exclusively Gentle legislative COM
mission to govern a Territory where
three-fourths of the inhabitants are
Mormons. According to his reasoning
( p was all right for the Gentiles to
control everything in Mormon Terri
tory, but it was all wrong for the Nor
mons to control their own affairs. Mr..
Montgomery acknowledged that
he KNEW NOTHING HIMSELF,
nor had he acquired any of his infor-
nation by experience or actual invesii-
cation; it had all been gained by as
ISOLATION with those who desire for their
own gain to see the Mormon Church
destroyed. He had been in some of the
Mormon public schools, bat of them he
knew nothing except that their teach
ers were thoroughly incompetent. His
ultimate knowledge of what the Terri
tory needed, and what it ought to have,
frequently caused smiles even among
the majority of the committe, and the
majority was on his side. He said that
the government had been dealing with
Mormonism as religion, when it
should have been dealt with as crime,
and then he added TRADE of abuse,
that was nothing but the emptiest
trash, against the Mormon Church, the
Mormon people, and everything else
that was Mormon, which was closed by
Senator Payne's informing him that he
was not giving facts; he was arguing
the matter.
Senator Stewart, too. was little
severe when he quietly called attention
to the fact that the witness had lived in
Utah for three long weeks.
In response 10 Senator Stewards in
quiry, MIR. Montgomery said that
THE GENTILEs OF THE TERRITORY
would average as well for intelligence,
for uprlghtness of character, and for
ability to legislate, as the citizens of
any State in the Union. He denied
NEST strenuously that they were ad-
venturers, although, of course, his
three weeks residence did not allow
him to speak with any degree of Ger
gainty as to their term OF their resi-
denca. One of the most ludicrous of
Mr.. Montgomery's statements, excited
Senator Buffers incredulity, and the
reverend gentleman was asked to ex-
plain his meaning when he said that if |
Utah were admitted as State, it would
be an unsafe place for Gentle to live |
in. In reply, he simply reiterated his |
statement, and said that the lady teach
ers of the Congregational schools in |
the Territory live in constant fear of the |
passage of bill admitting Utah as |
State, and they were ready to pack |
their trunks, and start any day that |
it should take place.
Senator Cullom was evidently sorry
to see his witness in such situation, so |
be tried to help him out, but the failure |
was very noticeable.
To give the readers of The HERALD
some idea as how far this three weeks
WAS WILLING TO GO,