The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-03-19
A MORMON WIFE's VIEWS.

wife, writes of Mormon affairs in the
New York World as follows:
My maiden name was Morilla Marks
Young. My father and Brigham Young
were first cousins. l am not Mormon,
and none Of our branch of the family is
a Mormon, but we've always kept up
with our relatives and l ave a warm in
terest in tie Mormons.
My ONE used to be in Dover, n. H.
am a Yankee-used to be a Yankee
''scool-marm." l studied law and have
been an attorney for twenty-five years
My home is in Chicago, and I've travelled
all over the world
/ am free thinker / don't belong to
any of the churches. They all look alike
to me. There is a lot of good in all Of
them. Ny old friend. Bob Ingersoll, didn't
belong to any of them and he was as
good a man as ever lived.
1 have a great many friends in Utah,
and I've come here TO give them my
moral support. I have frequently visited
my relatives in Salt Lake. / used to
stay there at the home of my cousin,
Brigham Young. 1 knew all his wives
well. 1 was entertained especially by his
as rule, good. honest, simple, thrifty
Industrious people. There are good Nor
mons and bad Mormons, just as there
are good gentiles and bad Gentiles, and
good Jews and bad Jews. When you're
as old as I am and have travelled about
the world as much as l have, you'll I'M
derstand that the Irishman was right
when he said that "one man is as good
as another and sometimes a blamed sight
better
The Book of Mormon teaches polygamy.
So does the Bible? Was it nine hundred
or a thousand?
In the old days Mormonism had it's re-
deeming features. The women believed in
it. Yes 1t was to them a religion sent of
God. Their souls were in it.. Women art
the heart of every church; and they're
the heart of the Mormon church Male
Mornons are like male members of most
churches. They married their wives be-
fore the manifesto and they've chung to
them in spite of the law
You know what Tennyson writes of
Launcelot:
His honor rooted in dishonor stood
And faith unfaithful kept him falsely
tru,"
Well, that's the way with these old fell
lows.
The younger men are obeying the law.
Here's Mr.. Richards. He's a good man.
He has only one wife. He has lovely
children. Polygamy is dying out. I al
ways said that the railway and the tele-
graph would kill il. and they have. 1t
toll vi oh 20
wife. A good many wives nowadays leave
their husbands because they are unable
to support one wife Civilization will cor
rect the evil Mormons are ceasing to be
clannish Mr. Richards has two daugh-
tiers. and both married Gentiles. Didn't
you see how the thing is working itself
out?"
There's Mr.. Smoot. He's a good man.
a nice mana true man. He has only one
wife: and hes rich. too. Don't you know
a lot of rich men would like to have
more than one wife; and lot Of poor
men, who, If they were rich, would like
to have more than one wife?
Now. about the church being a politi-
cal hierarchy. That's all bosh. It's no
more a political autocracy than the Cath
the Episcopal church. or the Presbyterian
church, or the Baptist church. or any
other church. When men unite they gain
strength; and there are some men who
are always eager to abuse the power.
Mormons are no exception. They want
finger in the pie. and they get it. All
this talk about the Mormon church being
a menace to our institutions is mere agi-
tation
Suppose you brought the dignitaries of
other churches here and made them an
ever these questions Don't you suppose
you'd find that these Christian churches
would be put in pretty bad light? Don't
their bishops and others in authority ad-
wise the people what TO do? Don't they
NEEDLE in politics? II we go after the
Mormons. where are We going 10 stop
You see. I'm uBprejudiced. I don't ask
any bones Of any OF them There's good
In ell of them. None OF them is perfect.
Let US judge not that we be not judged