The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-17
THE MAYOR AND THE MORMONs.
Unjust discrimination Against Them Ai'
lcEed hY the PACING Coast Historian.

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Unjust Discrimination Against Them Al.
legged by the PACING Coast Historian.
TO THE EDITOR or The SrN--Sir! In your
report Of Mayor Lows order SURPRISING
Mormon preaching on the streets Of New York,
nothing is said as TO the cause for such action.
other thnn that Mormon elders. under per-
J mts obtuncd. were preaching the doctrines
of that Church" thnt hereafter such permits
would be denied these people and any other
who. III unknown, must present letter from
the pastor of some city church vouching for
| him. "A sort of trust in religion. II Is not
alleged that the Mormon elders were pres
elyting for polygamy. or in any other way
exercising an influence antagonistic to the
laws Of inc United States. and do not know
whether such was the case or not.
! have no more respect for Mormonism
than for any other creed, and am not an ndvo.
cato of the fc-plurality system 1t simply
occurs to me that while our country Ia giving
to the world so fine an example of national
integrity. Of humanity in war and sincerity
In diplomacy. 1t is to be regretted that there
lnSer In the public mind certain ncongruities.
rs, for example the undue exatation OF the
negro. the unjust discrimination against the
| Chinese in favor OF the far inferior Japanese,
denying admission to this country of the best
and most inoiYansive laborers In the world,
while admitting ship loads OF assassins and
flood ing our streets and filing our prisons with
the scum Of Europe Christian missionaries
who 60 TO heather lands and stir up strife
nus, must have batteshiP behind them to enforce
for sSS saea tsrHsHss
hammedan or Buddhist has behind him no
battleship he cannot enforce his sentiments
upon r o.! our street peorl,, .,
Mormon ism. which is the most logical
"nd consistent. Of al ohristian oreeds
Bible from Genesis, to- Revelations. with
the manuscript! Of the Rev, Mir spauldinR
rom Of The Ten Lat Tribes Of Israel u
IIndians. tackled to and called the Book Of
| author or some one else into barrel with other
rubbish IN the rarret OF house in western
FFInlibIIs yet With no n!en, ?t tyst Of setting
covered IL in cave on the hillside directed
thither by nm angel of the Lord. The writing
wns nsrrl2eb IN strany" characters on me,n
! and laced behind a screen. where Joseph
benz IL the spirit read i of to some one who
more seen, Ana 1t would be as di,'cult ,9
as to prove that there we're never any stones
brought down from the mountain by Moses
WITH the Ten Commandments written on
More likely the Span ing manuscript was
HANGED intact to the printer, who ioncied he
him for making IL into book. Then, indeed,
feli The spirit on Joseph, the spirit OF lies and
he n nd his 80 woTss and
true prophet OF the Lord He was facle
tnlSer. and from tlis time; as has been the
and revelations from on high rs frequent as
| VAS Necessary.
| Thus far. polygamv lad apparently not been
| thought OF until ufipr tho Mprrnnns had
been driven OUT OF western Now York and out
o. Ohio into Illinois. where revelations from
| much 70 their sorrow s,nd ANNOYANCE. as those
revelations said that all the men who could do
thus race suicide Would be az averted red wv
soon aI'sr 'sis Smith vas as. sho1 BY an lnoi;
| then 70 Salt Lake. under the leadership OF
BrtHham Young, who was a far ADLER man than
Joseph smith, and who was really the author OF
1t was not polygamy, therefore. that en-:
RACES the people, of western New York and
ONO against the MormoNs. any more than it Is
! polyeamy that now incites the Mayor of the
city Of New York to refuse them hearing on
listed or was thought or talked Of. and nothing
OF the kind exists now. OF which Mr.. Low has
knowledge. What was it then, and what is 1t
1t was then becaus. the Saints all voted one
war, easily carrying elections and ruling their
district The cause OF Mavor Lows order
! and the excuse on the part of those that inst-
gated II, rs have said. do not know, II j.
not the wife plurality system. for there is no
more of that among he Mormous than among
he so;onlled orthodox Christians. only the
are divisions in the Mormon Church as in
most other CHURCHES and by far he larger
number OF Mqrmons At present denonncG
am at n loss to know by what authority or
upon what principle Mayor Low ISSUES sucll
OF his ofice TO weigh the merits OF the ancient
prophets against those OF N, modern. aud
ds , lpr Greater New York what /, good
The English and Du itch came here Tor free
dom OF Thought and speech. and called il
i, when tn. Mayor OF New York orders ,pde of. on
the street AS earnrs ST ana honest and unoiTend
gary. and whose coarse ninisirations may or
may net 4 be pleasing to the Almighty. i
leading colleges supported alike by secular
and sectaran donations. whose manavers.
pla ces for punishinv those under them. by
disgrace or expulsion, who transGress their
rules Of enforced reli ion in the fern Of COM
pulsory chapel attendance.
New Yonx, May H. - ''''"''
To THE Ep!ToR OF THE SUN-Sir: The Hon
Seth Low, Ly the grace oia>Providence which
works in n mysterious way. is Mayor of this
city and by virtue of his Nice has the power
of permitting or forbdding street preaching
by issuing or Withholding preaching permits
He has in his opacity o! ma gstratc now set
m n city religion not a state religion, for he
is not vet Governor. His city religion is OF
n rather negative character. being: Thou
shalt not preach Mormonism.
Now. Mormpnism IL not ii particularly
savoy religion hut It'll il ia based on the
Bible and is in almost all essentials identical
With wha, We know as Christianity. Why.
therefore. il the salvation Army md other
sectsrians ARE permitted to preach oil tn.
streets, should not Mormonism be there
preached; Why discriminate, and on what |
grounds? Ia our Mayor o,ir censor in our |
religions? Street preaching is nuisance.
but why should not one sect be pei mitted to |
make a n uisancc oi Itself MS freely as another? |
The official de,isions IF the Judges Of puri- !
tan times beca ne the Inv; hence tho Rev, |
"a muei Pet.r.'s Blue Laws. while no, statu-
tory, were the real Ia ~ Vt The Colonies. Have
we another In maxim Judge IN the City Hall Il
Our State and National Constitutions forbid |
discrimination by officials in religions. Where |
does Mr.. Low get authority 80 discriminate !
against sects which do not please hiint
r. VI, MACDONALD.
NEW York. May Is.