The herald., 1897-05-09

| polygamy. With these facts it's utility
can be readily seen. Land there was IN
plenty, crops were abundant. prosper
ity seemed but lurking In the back
ground, and the sole needful thing
needful to insure the propaganda, to
prevent the intrusion of those not want
! ed, and for the general safety OF the
comnunity-was population.
Then it was that Brigham Young re-
proclaimed. the doctrines that had
caused Joseph Smith so much trouble
and such large detection in the ranks
of the church. For 1t must be remem-
bered that up to that time and since
the first proclamation by Joseph Smith,
the doctrine of polygamy had been sup
pressed by the leaders of the church.
But here. Brigham Young argued, it
was necessary, and himself set the ex-
ample by wedding In a comparatively
short time nineteen women-a)l OF whom
he kept in one house. By these and
fourteen others he afterwards had six
ty-three children. For these latter he
built an especial school house and en-
ployed two teachers to insure their in
struction in "civil, commercial and re-
ligious affairs"
| The plan was successful. The injunc-
tion, increase and multiply" was lit
orally fulfilled and in the succeeding
years the vast family of Mormons, many
of whom were bound to one another by
ties of blood as we'll as by those Of re-
ligion and those which misery binds
about those whom she seizes, increased
at an incredible rate.
This, too, was directed by Brigham
Young. So soon as the young man ar
rived at the age of discretion he was al
lotted a plot of ground and commanded
to espouse az many as he could support
Whether or not 1t may be taken as a
| proof that conditions accommodate
themselves to necessities is impossibl.
to say, but 1t is fact that from that
| time and to this day the birth rate of
girls is in excess of that of boys and no
man in Salt Lake need want for a sweet
heart.
The rate of increase may be better
| imagined when it Is known that In
March Of 1S4S, less than one year after
the settlement of the valley the 140 plo-
neers had increased to 1870 souls and
before the end Of the year this latter had
increased to 5000 men, women and chill
| dren.
A proportion OF this increase, of
course was due to fresh arrivals, but the
share polygamy had in 1t may be better
imagined when 1t is known that for
many years the number of children far
exceeded that of the adults.
The streets of the city were not neg
lected and at some time during every
year every man was required to pay a
stipulated poll tax in labor on the
streets. Indeed it was but little while
before quite a city nestled on the shores
of the inland sea, between the purple
washed slopes of the Wasatch and
Oquirrhs.
OF the wars with the United States
and the Indians and OF the many stir
ring scenes that were enacted there
after Mexico ceded the territory to the
United States there are many admirable
histories. These incidents did not ser-
iouSly retard the progress of the city
Indeed the most calamitous thing that
| happened to the growing community
was the death of Brigham Young. He
had been so long at the head Of affairs
was so much the STAFF upon which all
his fellows leaned, that his death, which
occurred August 29, 1877, came as dire
blow and for weeks the entire city
mourned.
Before leave Brigham Young, this
ancient history. and the days of the past
to take up the modern city, the city of
today, 1t might be we'll to say that the
old leader has been the hero of many
stories. Some of these are humorous
and tend to show the character Of the
man and others are slanderous The
latter are of no concern.
His nursery stock deal Is a laughable
one and may point moral. I have for
gotten the date, but he heard that q
nurseryman in New York had failed.
He bought the stock and little while
before 1t arrived promulgated an order.
which he said he had by divine inspira-
tion, that all Mormons should plant
trees in their yards and on the streets
in front of their homes. OF course the
trees could be had from no one but him
self and snug profit was the result.
should have promised that in those days
Brigham was a prophet and that the
majority of men and women in Salt
Lake really believed that he had special
advantages for communicating with the
Almighty. The remainder of his nursery
stock is to this day growing in park in
Salt Lake City.
The paint deal is another and a similar
transaction. The Union Pacific con-
tractor who was at that time quartered
at that city suddenly found his stock
Of red paint, the kind used for box cars
exhausted. He sent to Omaha for more
but the order was misunderstood and
two carloads of green paint were sent
instead: The contractor had no use for
that and the prophet heard of it. Later
he purchased it and yet later received
another revelation that the faithful
should paint their fences, homes, barns
and outhouses green that they might be
distinguished from interloper and Cen
tile. From this, of course, more profit
resulted.
Other stories there are of the same
nature, but it was never alleged that
he harmed the city Certainly his tree
planting plan harmed no one, as those
have noted the arboreal appearance Of
Salt Lake will testify.
But leaving the old Salt Lake for the
new. its $4,000 population. numer-
GUS banks, fine commercial houses Of
all descriptions. its magnificent temple
and palatial city and county buildings.
its wide thoroughfores and comforta-
BILE homes may be said to have been
built by the one phrase adopted every
where and by everyone throughout