The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-06-20
A NATIONAL REPROACH.

The Denver Republican, Notwithstanding
the abuse to which it has been subjected
for having been courageous enough to say
thatit is wrong for the United States gov
eminent, because it is bigger and stronger
than the Mormon church, to deprive the
latter of its property, continues to de-
nounce the robbery. Our Denver con-
temporary's namesake, the bigoted Spring
field EMass.) Republican, having approved
Senator EDMUNDs' plan for disposing of
the plumber, the Denver paper devotes an
other leading article to the theft, as fol
lows:
1t is strange that newspaper of the stand
ing of the Springfield (MaSs.) Republican in
dorses Senator EDMUNDs' plan for transferring
the escheated property of the Mormon church
over to the public schools of Utah. 1t is still
more strange that it urges that provision be
made to prevent the Mormons from controlling
the public schools of the territory after this
money shall be transferred to the school fund.
One does not have to be a defender of Nor
monism to see in this close resemblance to
the policy pursued by the prosecutors of the
Protestants in the sixteenth century. 1t is the
old theory over again, that government has a
right to take away the property of people whose
views on certain questions do not accord with
those of the government. That this is unjust
and immoral cannot be denied by any fair
minded man.
The fact that the Mormon church teaches
polygamy has very little to do with the case
Apart from its teaching of the doctrine of poly
gamy the Mormon church has as much right to
| exist and to hold property as any other church
organization in the United States. 1t is also
true that great majority of the Mormons are
not polygamists. and that the greater part of
! the property of that church was contributed by
or collected from people who are not poly
gamists. The church as religious organiza-
ton and the NJ ormons who are not polygamists
have rights which are as much entitled to the
protection of the government as the rights of
any other church or of any other church mem
| berS
The truth is, that the Springfield Republican,
like ninety-nine out OF a hundred of the other
newspapers of the country, is blinded by pre-
JUDGE against the Mormons. Beyond all ques-
ton the Mormons have done much to forfeit the
respect of the American people. They have set
at defiance the laws of the country over and
over again. The polygamists among
them have sought to avoid pun
ishment by setting up the plea that polygamy
is with them a matter of religious belief The
defense has very properly been rejected by the
courts. No man should be permitted to plead
his religion in defense Of a crime. But on thu
other hand, no man should make an opponent.
religion an excuse for mistreatment of him
The men who are guilty of polygamy in tn,
Mormon church ought to be punished, but tn
men who are not guilty of polygamy ought no
to be treated as though they we've guilty. l
the property OF the Mormon church shall b
, taken from that church society and turned owe
to the public schools of Utah, or if it shall b
in any way taken out of the hands of the Nor
mons, the act shall stand as a national reproach
Coniscation can never be justified, except it b
as a last resort in the national defense. To sa
that the Mormons are so great menace to tn
American government that the confiscation O
their property is justified, is absurd