Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-07-18
IDAHO AND THE "NORMONS.n

THE Boston PoSt Of July I con-
tains long and newsy letter from
Soda Springs, Idaho signed y. g.
The writer is well known TO the
people Of Utah and Idaho as n cor
respondent on Mormon" affairs,
and, barring few peculiar notions
of his own, he usually presents his
subject in an impartial and able
: manner. We clip the following
from his communication TO the Post.
After describing the celebration OF
the Fourth at Soda Springs he
says:
1.-THE inhabitants are about equally
divided; half Mormons, who were the
original pioneers. and half 'Geniiles'
who have followed the track Of the
railroad. Over the principal saloon,
kept by one Of the latter-a place
where drunken cowboys coDEreGaie
and fight, and where three murders
have been committed in the past three
years-the American flag waves in all
its glory, and its proprietor shouts
.Hurrah for the new STATE OF Idaho!
tho Mormons. Now we've go;
en-"
J. {. thinks it doubtful whether
they have .'got 'em, = and that Con
gress, which Is the judge Of the cleo
ton and qualification Of its own
members, will yet have some knot
ty questions to settle connected with
test oath complications. He says
further:
'Tnero is no tyranny equal to that
Of a majority. The admission OF Idaho
under any pre;ence whatever, even il
4 fair vote Of her people had been re-
gistered, may nave been temporarily
polite from a partisan standpoint, but
tits not advantageous TO tine people IN
its bonds. They have foolishly list
ened to the buncombe Of their leaders
and have been Deguiled by an appeal
to the independence they would enjoy
as a STATE. Their leaders we're think
ing all the time only OF themselves. \
bakers dozen are probably all who
will be benefited by the change. one
man expects 10 be the Goveruor;twoo
three TO be Senators and Representa-
tives TO COngress;a few more to bejulE-
Is and hangers-on about the courts. The
salaries Of these latter not in Congress
which We're formerly paid 10y the gem
eral government must now Ice paid by
the state, and the same result will be
that which has come 10 pass in Ne
vada. where nearly one-half Of the
income OF its people is swallowed up
IN taxes. The consequence is that no
! body is going into that rotten borough.
but everybody tina: tan do so is get
ting out, and thus making the burden
heavier FOR those who remain.
doubt If the census will show that
there are more than 80 600 remaining
there. II Nevada could throw up
wha; she once considered the inesri-
mabie boon Of statehood, she would
most gladly do so, and so would
Idaho in less than two years from this |
time. Even under the most favorable |
conditions Of Territorial regime the 1
progress OF Idaho has been slow. The /
development OF mines which At one |
time favored Nevada may likewise I
temporarily favor Idaho. But /.
miners are uncertain, and they |
may peter out in Wood River and |
the COeur d'Alene, as they did in the /
Csmstocks:- The farms. which consist /
Of irrigated patches here and there,
are chiefly worked ny the disfran-
chised Mormons. whose growth is
more steady than rapid, and 10 whom
encouragement OF increase i vouch-
safed by Congress. The rest % the
population are sheep heriers and
cattle men. The former are few, be
cause one man is sufficient TO care for
three or four thousand sheep, and
cattle raising having already reached
its highest point is now on the de-
crease. The Big Four Of Chicago
have killed the goose that laid their
golden egg. They have ground down
the profits OF the ranchmen 10 such a
low figure that they lsave 10 i great
degree abandoned the business and
turned their attention to sheep rails
ing. In order 10 obtain admission
as State the population Of the Ter
ritory WIS vastly over-estlmated by
the promoters. II is doubtful from
the returns already at hand II it
viii greatly exceed lOJ, 900. and OF this
! great deal is migratory. As a Terri
DRY the taxes were not light, hut still
here was very gradual increase Of
numbers. As 4 State the taxes will be
and the increase % popu- {
alton will be likely 10 cease. 4 de- {
,rease will follow. and then the story ,
II Nevada viii be repeated. These !
are plain facts which present with /
'ut fear Of contradiction. They ford
/ sad but truthful exposition Of party
on the part Of Congress, Of
he rascalIty Of Idaho politicians, and
q injustice and stupidity one
Utmost as criminal as the other, :
WINGED by their misguided adher- c
,nts." c