Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-07-22
A WRITER or FICTION.

newspaper correspondence
his letters from Salt Lake and sign
ing his efforts Henry Russell Sinclair
,s industriously disseminating i1'Se-
hoods about the Latter-day Saints IN
der the pretense OF publishing ''e
,T,ru,h About Mormonism,' and MOT
,oors NJ salt Lake city" This cor
respondent, it seems. was commission
ed by the Manchester Chronicle 10 ue'
scribe the conditions IN Salt Lake CITY,
and he does this In a letter to the pa
per mentioned.
Tho following extract is supposed 10
he mart of conversation between Mr..
Sinclair and an alleged plural wife:
.1r YOU arc not happy" | said, why
don't you leave the place ana go pacK
to England,
you do not understand, she re
Piled, how difficult II is for anyone
To leave this city after having become
a Mormon. The chances are that !
would not be far away before would
be brought back. and be pointed at
among them"
oBut YOU are free. surely? There Is
nothing to hinder You, for instance
from taking the first train out of salt
Lake City. and getting OUTSIDE Juan
and off home?"
do not understand that wherever | go
| could not be out of the reach Of the
missionaries They would find me out
and compel me TO return 10 my nus
band Besides, would the world be-
Iieve the word Of one woman against
that of Mormon elders and mission
nries?'
This extract shows sufficiently tho
character of the letter-wrlter. The
probability is that no such conversation
ever took place. No one acquainted
with Salt Lake could write about tho
"difflculty" of leaving the City or OF
missionaries compelling any one either
to remain or return. The story is
silly IN the extreme.
The letter gives so much evidence of
ignorance as TO suggest the probability
that the author OF 1t never honored
Salt Lake with his presence. This is
the way he speaks of the Tabernacle:
''Of the Tabernacle. it might be said
that it is a gigantic building supposed
to be modelled on the plan of Solo
mons Temple, and IL has a magnih-
cent interior. In the main court Is Il
huge baptismal font, and the whole
building is most impressive one.
Then there Is Social Hall and the
Seventies Hall, and II must be said
that the life of the Mormons Is not
so solemn as might be supposed
The comparison between the Tab
ernacle and Temple OF Solomon, and the,
reference to the magnificent interior"
and the huge baptismal font in ''the
main court" show how imagination
can be drawn on when truth Is no
consideration. The reference to Social
Hall and the Seventies Hall might
have been suggested by some old guide
book, now out of date The writer
speaks of Temple street" az the hest
place to see "the female portion" of
the "Mormons' He is disappointed
with the buildings Of Salt Lake. The
most imposing erection he says. Is
the Tabernacle, and next in order
comes the Theater The Tabernacle
and Theater are historical buildings OF
which Salt Lake Is proud, but they are
not tho only ones to attract the
attention of tourists Sinclair has not
word to say of the Temple. the City
and County building, the magnificent
churches and residences along Brigham
street. the Federal building, or the
Newhouse skyscrapers. The Taber-
nacle and the Theater represent his i'm
presslons Of Salt Lake, from the archi-
tectura point of view. And yet this
rot is printed in England and copied IN
American papers We md substan-
TALLY the same letter In the Baltimore
Sun, of July u.
Wa learn from the Millennlal Star
that Right Rev Bishop Il. S. Spalding.
who is in England at present took
the pains of refuting Sinclair, in an
Interview which the Manchester Chron-
lclo was fair enough to publish Bish-
op spaIding, the Star says, gives facts
ana figures which completely contradict
the Chronicle mans assertions and
the Chronicle closes its account of the
Interview with this sentence; I'm con
ciusion The bishop said 1t was not the
ease that ,iormon missionaries were
eutrapping girls for immoral purposes"
The star adds
"That paper publishes also "A letter
from Elder Julian M. Thomas, of the
Manchester conference, who I'M "A pleas
ant spirit rldicules and rofutcs the sin
clair effusions. and one from william
Henry ByWater. who some time ago
was chief Of the lre department In Salt
Lake city, an Englishman who rs now
ON Visit To this country aud who
adds some items Of Information which
also put a uuletua on the nonsense
written hy Mr. Sinclair. good many
people have asked Latter-day Saiuts.
Have you seen The Truth about Nor
monlsm ion the Manchester Chruniclc?'
Tho saints are now responding; Have
you seen More About The Mormons I'M
the Manchester Chronicle? And there
is now another kind of "a smile ON the
faces Of the opponents of the Latter
day Saints"
We have men and women Of Titan
who, though not members of tho
Church, have Tho moral courage OF do.
Tending Utah and the I.attcr-da,
saints when they nnd them DETAINED
and slandered abroad. We have AN
other class OF people who live here
md do business here, who never oper
their mouth IN defense. though tho,
know that scandal-muugers are beartp,
talso witness against their neighhors
rhey are afraid ~ becoming unpopult
with q certain class. They are COW
ards who dare not take the side a