Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-07-19
PRESERVE RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM.

THE following excellent articl,
is taken from the Chicago Times
We commend it 10 the attention oI
our Hebrew citizens who join in the
"Liberal'' attempt to steal the prop
erty Of the "Mormon'' Church, and
the "Liberal, scheme to rob the
law-abiding "MormOAs" Of the cleo
tive franchise. One error occurs in
the Tunes article which calls for cor.
rectiOn. That is the statement that
the mormon" religion "for a pure
ly secular purpose taught polyg-
any, When the doctrine OF
plural marriage was taught and adj
vOcated 10y the Elders Of the Church
il was from a religious, not a secular
standpoint, and the ceremony was
shown to be purely ecclesiastical,
seeking no recognition or sanction
from the secular law. In other re-
spects the article is worthy OF strong
cOmmendation. The Tunes says:
THE second expedition OF Column
bus to the new world was furnished
forth in part with funds gained by the
wholesale confiscalion OF property be-
longing to Jews who were banished
from CASTLE by Leon. Mankind's
sense Of Justice condemns justly this
robbery Of race whose only
ofTense was rigid adherence
TO the religious belief and prac-
tice OF the fathers. Yet at
the close Of the fifteenth century it
was thought no great crime 10 despoil
men who denied the divinity Of Chris;
and held tenaciously to that ancient
faith which is the foundation OF Chris
tianity. Thus to have robbed and ex-
pairiaied the Jew Is now regarded
will ahho=rs.cc IS both imp,l..ic and
unjust. Spain was then not a consii-
tuiioral but an absolute monarchy.
All ChristendOm was bSrbarously set
against the descendants Of the chosen
people, who persisted in denying the
divinity Of Christ, and il WAS then
thought no crime 10 deprive them OF
their worldly possessions. We know
now that this, as all anti-Semitic
Legislation and despolia;ion, whether
prlcticed in England or OH the CONT
neni; whether drastic or merely pro-
hibitory Of those civil rights which
Jews hold in common with all repu;-
able mankind, was n horrible invasion
OF personal right. The civilization Of
our own lime reprobaies it as cruel.
scandalous. rapacious, unjustiliable,
atrOcious. And so il was. But let US
sec how genuine is our progress in re-
ligious liberty.
Despite the glorious declaration Of
religious freedom conveyed in our
fundamental law, declaration which
has been Of incalculable benefit no;
only in building up the republic but
also IN assuring peace and order with
in its augmenting territory. we have
solemnly decreed the spoliaiion OF a
religious sect. Their property is es-
cheated to the state, and in certain
territories they themselves, it is pro-
posed, with the assent Of the Republic
can majority in Congress, shall not
possess the franchise common to all
male mankind who, not felons or idi-
OTIS, have reached 81 years ofsge. The
Mormon in the United States IS under
the harrow as was the Jew in Spain.
20 years ago. Our boosted progress
does not save him against the horrible
intolerance Of party protesting to
serve God and morality. True, his
individual property is not coufiscmed.
but be has been denied the franchise
in Idaho merely because he is a Nor
mon, a proposition TO which the Re-
publican House assenis, and with the