New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-03

lance II is indeed impossible TO acquit Smith
of mposture wholly since the characters which
he submitted as copied from the golden book
belonged to no language, ancient or modern, anu
were. almost certainly, a confused assemblage OF
letters and parts of letters from several aphaoets-
taken as has been slrewdly suggested, not I'M
probably from the back of dictionary.
Some of Joseph Smiths first supporters appear
to have cou bined, like their leader, certain
real exaltston and faith with cunning and deceit
The laity of the new Church, however, were
undopbtedly sincere and upright in their purposes,
and the best proof Of their integrity CONSISTS III
the feet that persecution-which confronted them
at the very outset-only drew them closer 10
getber and gave more stability to their ialth
They were of course ignorant, and inclined 10
fanaticism but IN neither Of these respects couiu
they I've said to have taken a new departure
Those who prosecuted them were assuredly noo
less Ignorant and not less fanatical They pro
fesscd to be devoted to freedom, yet they were
prompt to pcrsccutc for opinions sake. NO
weight can be allowed 10 the early reports oil
the immortality practised by the Latter Day
Saints Precisely similar legends have sprung
up concerning every religion which has at any
time broken with the conventional creed The
real offence of the new sect was that II was
peculiar: not that IL was ethically bad. Polygamy
had not then been thought Of and though some
Of the Saints held their goods in common, there
is no evidence that their lives were not pure
1t is, however, quite evident that such religion
could not have taken root at any later nme.
1t may pe said to have availed itself OF the lasb
remnants or popular superstition. After IL had
become established the time for missionary WORK
in the United States had passed forever, anu
thenceiOrth the cause had 90 be recruited Ill
EnrCre anG from among the least advanced
communities. When the exodus from Nauvoo
took place, moreover, full half Of the population
of that tOwn failed to join the rendezvous III
the Salt Lake Valley, and the presumption Is
that the majority Of these abandoned the con-
nectiOn.
The history of Mormonism UP to the expulsion
from Nauvoo is one of alternating peace ana
persecution, during which the cause gained stead
lily in despite because, of the bitter hatred Wth
which the Mormons came to be regarded, trst at
Independence then at Kirkland, and later at
Nauvoo. Mr. Bancroft dsmisses the theory that
their moral conduct offended their neighbors IN
Missouri and Illinois as untenable; for he is able
to show that, in fact, they were more moral, H.
dustrious, thrifty and peaccable than those who
opposed them. He comes to the conclusion that
their exclusiveness was the essential cause Of the
fanaticism, which led them into Boosting and
predicting their speedy triumph over the
"Gentilcs,' served TO infame public opinion still
further. Then, too, they were assailed constantly
by the most scandalous reports, which attributed
to them every crime in the calendar, and which
had as much foundation in fact as the later legend
which accused them, when at Salt Lake, of offer
ing human sacrifices in the Endowment House
However the sentiment originated, Its consequences
were in the last degree disgraceful TO both the
people and the authorities of the States under
whose jurisdiction they were, and nothing in the
history of persecution exceeds in brutality, fe
rocity, inhumanity and lawlessness the deeds by
which they were driven from their homes again
and again. One turns in disgust from this mel
anchoy chronicle of savage intolerance to con-
template the unconqueTable faith and hope which
inspired the victims to renew, on the eve of each
calamity, their long and patient struggle, and
which nerved them to such feats of industrial
creation and organization as would have done
honor TO the highest civilization, developing under
the most favorable conditions.
The assassination of Joseph Smith at Carthage
was so far from being an injury to the cause that
it gave it fresh energy and vigor. For it brought
to the front by far the abest man Mormonism
has Produced that Brigham Young who led his
lshed self-supporting community under the most
| adverse circumstances Joseph Smith was the man
of sentiment and the visionary. lie had no adj
ministratve ability, and little tact or judgment.
He relied chiefly upon the assumption Of super.
natural powers, and his government, like that Of
Mahomet, of constant revela-
tons, each suited to the mode Of
the hour His system might be termed
one of supernatural opportunism. IL rested upon
no well-defned purpose. and was therefore eX-
| posed TO many dangers. within, as we'll as without.
| Brigham Young, on the other hand, a thor.
Oughly practical man and born administrator.
lie would have made his mark in politics. finance
or the conduct of great industrial enterprises.
| His bent was material not spiritual. He never
| pretended to be a prophet, but by his masterful
| will, his strong sagacity and his knowledge of
men he ruled the Church and achieved for his
people large measure Of comfort and prosperity.
His organizing faculty is manifest from the first
day of his elevation to the hcadshlp of the Church
| In the discipline and the wise precauton which
distinguished the Mormon passage across the
| plains, and which saved them so much suffering
and loss Of life; in the arrangements for settle
ment when the Sht Lake Valley was reached
| in the Indian policy so firmly maintained, and
| with such good results; in the whole missionary
and immigration machinery, through which a
steady stream of the most docile disciples was
poured year after year into Utah, the remarkable
capacities of the first president plainly ex-
hibited. Not less was his Judgment shown in the
choice of immigrants The majority of these
were brought from Scandinavia, Germany and
| England, and from the needicst and least ad
vanced classes in all these countries The abb
solue submission TO theocracy which was de-
manded of the Mormon laity could only be sup
Piled by men and women who in their native land
had never known freedom to whom authority OF
some kind seemed as natural as breathing: who
| Inherited no tendencies toward insubordination
and no ambition beyond the satisfaction Of their
material wants.
The doctrine Of plural marriages is fully dis
cussed by Mr. Bancroft, who makes il apparent