Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-02-15
THE pgRFIDY OF IT ALL.

Ine local any anu dpulvblHl AoT the
Ministerial Association Of this city, in
its efforts 20 malgn the "Mormons'
and misrenresent Utah, has been en-
gagged for some time In It's old business
Of attacking and siandering the Dese-
ret News. This forms the greater part
OF its editorial labors. We do not in
tend to devote much time or space to
this Improbable subject, but will pay
q little attention to its latest attempt
TO place this paper IN a false light be-
fore the public.
Unable to substantlate, directly, the
woeful mistakes and deliberate I'M
truths contained In the Ministerial Adj
dress, our wrathful contemporary re-
sorts 10 lis common tactics. II sets
up a straw dummy and proceeds with
vehement onslaught to knock II down
and stamp II into the mlre 1t first at
tributes 10 the News a statement
which this paper did not make, and
then pours forth a deluge OF confused
sentences at great length in refutation
OF its own hypothesis, Here Is an Illus
trauon. Referring TO the comments OF
the News" on the Ministerial Address,
II says.
For instance. Il declares that the
statement In the address saying there
was any specified condition that living
In pOlygamy should be done away with
as a pledge to obtain Statehood is a de-
llberate and premeditated falsehood'
Reference to the article In this paper
which Is thus distorted, will show that
we said nothing Of the sort. Our denial
was directed against the statement in
the address which declared;
oIn the sworn testimony OF the Presl-
dent and leaders OF the Church. before
the Master in Chancery, In order TO re-
cover the escheated property OF the
Church. they pllghted their sacred hon
or that pOlygamous relations already
contracted should absolutely cease
To this allegation. which everybody
who has read the official report Of the
testimony given on that occasion knows
is entirely untrue, the News" made the
following RESPONSE
I'VE have the full testimony before
the Master in Chancery on the escheat-
ed property case. and II contains no
promise Of the kind mentioned. The
questions propounded and the answers
given were solely as TO the scope and
meaning Of the Manifesto OF September
"a. 1890 as understood by the witnesses.
There was no plighting OF sacred
honor about anything. The paragraph
we have quoted from the address was
manufactured for deceptive purposes
by It's very pious authors
Observe, the Deseret News was sim
ply replying TO the assertion that the
alleged Solemn pledges, used so often
TO deceive the American public, were
made before the Master In Chancery.
Our contention was and Is that no
pledges Of any kind, shape or form were
made before that court, or required or
asked for Nothing In the nature Of
pledge" was then demanded or given.
The gentlemen who were Intercepted
simply gave their understanding OF the
Specification OF the Manifesto, issued by
President MILFORD Woodruff Sept. 2ith,
1890.
The Ministerial Address further stat
ed that those Solemn pledges before
the Master in Chancery were ratified by
Mormon" conferences. In reply to
that untruth we quoted the exact Ian
guage OF the Manifesto and the resolu-
ton adopted by the Conference. Nei-
Their the language Of the Manifesto, nor
that Of the resolution warranted the
assertion In the Ministerial Address,
and the date OF the examination before
the Master in Chancery proves beyond
truthful dispute that the ministers as
sertion Is false. The Manifesto was
ratified by the Conference oct 9th,
1880. The case before the Master in
Chancery occurred oct 1924, 1891
All the rawlings and slurs and out
bursts OF the Tribune against the Nor
mon" people and their leaders, based on
the sentence we have quoted from its
editorial. amount 20 nothing but the be-
laboring Of its own man Of straw. 1t
deals in pledges, pledges, " pledges"
enough to set up half dozen pawn
shops. only they are all OF its own man.
ufacture. We will now add that the
solemn pledge" Of the people OF Utah,
II such II may be called, Is contained in
the State Constitution In the language
required by the Enabling Act. There Is
no other, and II relates to but one sub
jeet-the prohibition OF 'polygamous or
plural marriages, nothing less, nothing
more.
We here repeat. however. the an
nouncement We have made on several
occasions that the laws as well as the
Constitution OF the state are to be OBJ
served and respected, and that law
breaking Is not countenanced by this
paper or by the Mormon" Church,
Utah can regulate It's own internal az
fairs without aid from the national gov
ernment, and will doubtless do 90 Of It's
own accord and in rs own way. There
Is no need TO misrepresent or exagger-
ate conditions here. and it will prove
ofno beneit to anybody
When professed ministers OF the Cos.
pei get down into the mire In order TO
fling mud at a Church. which they de-
sire to destroy because they cannot
either convert Its adherents or contro-
vert its doctrines, 1t becomes necessary
TO show the character OF the missiles
they employ No matter how false, and