The Ottawa free trader., 1889-02-09
THE MORMON STATE.
They Have Been Forty Years at Organic
ing 1t.
TSpecial Correspondence.l

Especial Correspondence
CoRINNE, Utah, Jan 30-The saints of
Deseret have been at it long time, and as
far as the Impractical Gentle eye can see
they are no nearer to securing their state
government than at their first dash in 1919.
Come to think it isn't quite forty years, but
it will be when the Firty-irst congress meets
in regular session and rejects their petition,
as it surely will.
The pioneer company of Mormons, the adj
vance of the 10000 or more who left Nauvoo
early in 1916, reached the site of Salt Lake
CITY on the 2ith of July, lSi1 and by the
autumn of 1919 there were perhaps l5,OOO
ueople in that and the adjacent valleys. So
they called convention ''of the people OF
that part of California east of the Sierra Ne
vadas,n and that convention framed and
adopted constitution and organized 1.-THE
state of Deseret.n II was modest affair,
Its territory included all the present Utah,
all of Nevada, all of Colorado west of the
dividing summit of the Rocky mountains,
and considerable sections of the present Wy
oming, Idaho, Arizona and California. And
to congress 10y the hand of a trusty elder.
In the deep recesses of its soul, it is to be
presumed, congress whistled and said, 30
ratsr' What it did, however, was 10 shear
down the self constituted state to the region
between parallels 81 degS. and Il degs,, and
between the SUBMITS of the Sierras and
Rockies and make it the territory of Utah.
Nothing daunted, the Mownons 0oa;ed their
state organization on to the territory, made
the officials the same, acted under the con
gressional act only 50 far Us they were
obliged to and called it "Descret' They
maintained the state organization also as
long as Brigham Young lived And all these
years they have been persistent in demanding
II state government.
The nearest they came to il was III lS'l-12,
when it was first proposed to adopt consti-
tuition forever prohibiting polygamy, and
the idea captured several members of con
gress; but Brigham showed his hand little
too soon. 1t was proclaimed from the house
tops at the start that every citizen male and
female, should be at perfect liberty to vote
on the proposition rs he or she peased-just
as perfect freedom is now claimed-and so
few liberal Mormons voted against it and
signed statement issued by Gentiles that the
movement was premature. Then the fury of
the church fell on them; they were cited"
held up to eNeCratiOu III the school of the
prophets aud compelled torecant or be "cut
off, A list OF the finally impenitent was
published in The DCserct News, church or
gan, that the faithful might boycott them in
business and society.
Congress did not take kindly to that brand
of freedom. 1t also dawned upon the wisest
that "Deseret" could come in with her anti
rolyGamy constitution, then repeal or ignore
that clause and the United States could
whistle for each state makes its own mar
r!age laws, and ignores or euforceS them just
as it pleaSeS, and there is nothing in the ma
tonal constitution to forbid any state adopt
ing a religion if it sees tit. As matter of
fact several states did maintain state relig-
ions long after the present Union was estaO-
yished, and Massachusetts did not entirely get
rid of hers till about lS?4 And it is the iron
rule of an established church that we Gen
ltItS are III anu OL' uOl lbID Sdluy
| couldn't enumerate the different schemes
the Mormons have worked at many different
times to get their "Deseretn admitted. Quite
lately Elder Richards, Delegate Caine and
others have been to Washington to reopen
the case: and, as usual, the Gentiles have sent
"Old Baskin" and other well seasoned anti.
Mormons to combat them. 1t is perfectly
safe to predict that no congress will give the
Mormon hierarchy two senators at Washing
ton; for that is just what it would amount to
there Here it would subject every Gentle
to the absolute rule of the twelve apostles If
they did not like fellows style they could
run him out of the state p d. q. Wouldn't
their state courts have fun with Gentle
estates and property rights generallyi AS for
Baskin, or any man of his kind, they could
convict him of treason, murder, robbery,
arson, rape, burglary and breach of the
peace in half day-as soon as they could de-
tail brethren to swear to the necessary ''evi-
dence." No, no, brethren of the states, don't
you consent to it for some time yet.
LEGRAND GRoTAIT.
4 l.