The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-02-13
YE LIE, THEY HURL BACK
The Ministerial Alliance Of Salt Lake
Makes lis Report.
THE AIM or THE CHURCH or MORMON
It's Colonization Scheme Is 10 Secure the Balance
of Political Power in The West Block
ing the Way Against Hostile
Legislation.
(By the Associated Press,)

Salt Lake, Utah, Feb. 1.-THE Minis
terial Alliance of Salt Lake has unani-
mousiy adopted the report of the com
mittee Of that organization appointed to
Investigate and report on the alleged
practice and teaching OF polygaIny by
| the Mormons at the present time. This
| report is to be used as a petition for the
passage of the constitutional amendment
prohibiting polygany and will be sent.
to the Judiciary Committee of Congress.
| The report, which is quite lengthy,
sets forth that positive evidence can be
! produced that polygamy is both prac-
ticed and taught by the Mormons at the
present time in open defiance of the laws
of the State. The document contains
numerous quoted statements alleged to
have been made by Mormon leaders, in,
which the practice and teaching of poly
gamy is advocated and urged, regard
less of man-made laws to the contrary.
| The report, after quoting a number of
Mormon leaders in favor of the practice
of polygamy, and giving the dates of
the same, dwells at some length on the
colonization schemes of the church,
which, according TO the committees re-
port, have two fold purpose. viz: TO
enable the A1ormons TO practice poly
gamy, where they will be free from the
scrutiny of their gentle neighbors,' and
to secure the balance of political power
in the sparsely settled States of the
West, thus blocking the way of any pro-
posed hostile legislation. The report
sums up as follows:
The returns coming from persons
whose reliability can in every case be
vouched for by members of this body,
show the following conditions prevailing
at the present time:
First, Polygamous' Capitalization as
evidenced by the birth of children or the
acknowledgement of parties concerned
or concurrent testimony of neighbOrs and
sometimes by all OF these, is proved to
continue in multiplied instances In Salt
/ Lake City, Logan, Brigham City, Provo,
Payson, Smithfield, American Fork,
Price, Sandy Tooele and elsewhere in
Utah, and also in Paris and Montpelier,
in Idaho.
Second, That plural marriages have
been contracted since the church mani
fcsto was issued lis shown by returns
giving names Of parties In several of the
above mentioned places, some OF the new
plural wives not having come to mar
riageable age as early as 1890, the date
of that document.
Third. That the Mormon authorities
do publicly teach and insist upon the
rightfulness of polygamy as proved by
public utterances of high officials"
Among the specified statements of lead
ers on the questions dwelt upon is the
following:
Jos f. Smith, formerly chief counsel
Tor to President and now President OF
churchs aid in 1896, while dedicating a
meeting house at Payson: Take care
Of your polygamous wives We do not
care for Uncle Sam now
President Smith made the following
statement to the Associated Press in re-
gard to this section of the report:
81 wish to declare emphatically that I
never said any such thing. either at Pay
son or any other place. / have expressed
my sentiment as to the families of men
who contracted plural marriages years
ago, that they should provide for and
educate and take care of them in every
proper way; l say so now, but the re-
mark attributed to me about Uncle
Sam never made. and the statement
that did so Is utterly and wickedly
false"
The News, the official organ of the
Mormon church, tonight denounces the
report of the Ministerial Association as
a mass of misrepresentation, built on a
number of stories. many Of them gross
~ false, most of them purposely exag- |
generated, and the whole related TO very
small portion of tn population of this
State and of the Mormon partSof it,"