The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-08-31
.vl0Uo EHT EHtN
They Give Their Version OF the Al
fair With the Ladies Living on
the South Side.
the South Side

Editor Republican: Will you kind
ly give me Il few inches of space in
which to set right some of the un-
Warranted misrepresentation made
concerning the work O! the Mormon
missionaries in an article il your pa
per a few days ago.
The article is signed by Mary j.
Bailey and several other ladies in the
south part of town. 1t refers to
some misunderstanding that one OF
the missionaries is allie ed To nave
had with the ladies whose names are
attached to the article. am the
Individual who was implicltea iii
perpetrating the act which these
ladies would have the public b ieve
was a great outrage, but in re lity
! amounted TO nothing. desir 10
repeat what the Mormon mission
alies in Mitchell have stated hun
dreds OF times during their hNe
( weeks stay in the city. namely. that
while the doctrine Of polyg amy is
one of the cardinal ptii ciples Of oar
church. we never advocate it. nor
teach it, nor preach it. in all OF our
missionary work. but as it is fully es-
tablisled in our church creed we IN
variably defend it if the question is
raised by anyone. AccordinglY, If
any one asks us questions regarding
4 ,,olv,.,nv Ua ncwar Them 10 Tho
oest of our knowledge and belief.
otherwise we never mention the
plural marrige question i'll all Our
work. That is a Uniform command
from our superiors in the work. and
we have clretully followed instruc-
lions along this line while we have
been in Mitchell.
Not a single person to whom we
have talked while here, if they tell
the truth, can say that we have
%broached the subject of marriage in
a single instance. In quite a mum
Der of cases WI have been asked
about it and we have answered the
Questions by stating our position.
In nearly all cases have the persons
who asked US questions given re-
~spectfEl attention to our eXplana-
tions. In fact we are we'll pleased
with the treatment that we have
received in Mitchell.
In the case of Mrs. Bailey and her
friends the writer said nothing
about the marriage question until
he was questioned by them regarding
it, and when he proceeded to answer
the inquiries put to him he was
ordered out OF the house and after
ward prosecuted and misrepresent-
ed. In this connection l desire to
state that no matter what merit
polygamy may or may not possess,
such conduct is entirely out of
harmony, to say the least. with
professed follows Of Christ-at least
t is not the way Mormons under
stand Christian civilization.
| wish to say, further. chat Mrs.
Bailey's representations Of the state
ments made in the article printed in
the Republican are misrepresenta-
lions of what was said, the pun
pJ e of which is quite apparent, and
| challenge her or any n else to
produce proof to the contrary. Not a
single Mormon missionary in Mitch
ell has ever said that we were not
members of the Salt Lake City
church which believes in plural
marriage, and the reporter OF the
ARTICLE, headed "Mormonizing
Mitchell." AND did not say so. What
he did say was a correct report Of
what was told him and that is the
fact-tne church of Jesus Christ Of
Latter Day Saints believes in plrual.
marriage, but it's missionaries say
nothing about it unless the question
is brought up and then they defend
it.
The article, which was an inter
view with our Elder Brewer, further
stated that one reason why we do
not teach it, o preach it, is because
we no longer proctice 1t, and that
it is contrary to the laws of this
country. How a lady plead
ing the cause OF motherhood as Mrs.
Bailey presumes to do a ueliiler-
ately misrepresent the facts in the
face Of the records is something
quite difficult to understand.
In conclusion and in behalf Of my
co.workers i'm Christ. i take this
opportunity Of thanking the great
majority of the people OF Mitchell
Tor the kindness with which they
have received us and courtesy that
they have shown us. AS we had
practically completed onr work be-