Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-06-14

mons to mob tGentiles' because they
| were Gentiles. or in other words
that 1T was Mormon VS.. non-Morrnon
fight. Such was not the case By any
! means as none Of the parties are Nor
mons the Bakers all being Presby-
terians. Regrettable and upjustit able
as II is, the affair is such as is quite
| likely to happen in any community utl-,
der similar circumstances.
1.-THE despatch Is a libel on the people
of Masrath In stating that their relig-
ious belief is the cause of 1T. The
| person who sent that despatch must
have done 1t with intent to cast re-
| Election on the Mormon people, hoping
10 hide behind the regular correspon-
dents to the outside papers who natur-
ally Mould be blamed for sending the
despatch There Is no doubt that a
good deal of harm has been done by
the false report sent out and II is inns
possible to have contradictions given
as much prominence as such startling
news receives. Newspapers should have
their regular correspondents confirm
such wild dispatches sent by irresponsi-
bles before publishing them. The
Telegram got scoop, but the other
papers which withheld the item for
combination got the facts.
The Lethbrldge News OF May rs, in a
special dispatch from Magrath, dated.
( May Is, gives the following account
Of the incident:
This town was In ferinent today
over the attempted kidnapping of
baby Messrs. James Barclay, Dun
can Harrison, and Mrs. Robertson of
X Lei 90 ptr
with the evident intention Of taking
Jennie Barclays CHS wife's) three
&,nonths-old baby away from her with
results disastrous to themselves. Jen-
ME was In the house OF her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, when Barclay
called and asked@t see the baby. The
baby was brought out and placed in
3 his arms, The man Harrison then
engaged Jennie in conversation while
2 Barclay worked his way out to the
+ sidewalk where Mrs. Bolderson, u Sis
Z ter of Barclays, was waiting In a rig.
Suddenly the two, Mrs. Bolderson and
Barclay We're seen to be making off
With the half-dressed, half-sick baby,
Mrs. Barclay, who Is still in a very
delicate state Gof health due to her
long Illness and recent confinement,
fell in a sMoon. Her mother, who had
been warned by Jennie's friends to-
look out for Barclay IL he ever came
around, ran off and called on the
5neighbors for help In recovering the
child. In a very few moments half
che town seemed to be afiane with
Indignation and men on horses, on q
foot and In rigs were In hot pursuit,
accompanied by the officers.
1T Is told that Harrison ran after
and attempted to climb into the rig
as it was leaving but WAS caught up
by Mrs. Baxter and given stiff
Wit
she had and he failed to get in.
barclay was overtaken before he
got out Of town by the llverymanf
who owned the rig. He took 1t away
leaving the man and woman in a mud
hole in the middle of the road. Short
" after the officers arrived and placed
them under arrest. Mrs. Bolderson&
took the baby into the home of Mr..
Adelbert Rich close BY where 1t re-
celved careful attention.
In a short time number of ill.,
,dignant women gathered and later
Mrs. Barclay, who was so overcome
with grief and excitement she could
her baby Of her stster-n-l law who
said she would not give 1t up. Nor
would she do SO until compelled to
by the officers, who was acting under
the instructions from the j. p, Mr..
JAS. Staccy. ss5 KS
n due time the whole bunch were
ordered to- leave the town to save
TO the station by the town marshal
Melvin Godfrey.
'The whole town seemed to he
a1aine with Indignation and BY train
time a large crowd had gathered at
the depot. 1t is reported that some
I Barclay and Harrison. whereupon \.
they showed fight. hen the eggs
began to tiy. a general mix-up fol-
lowed which Godfrey had az hard
time to subdue. Finally the eggs ran
out and quiet was restored. When
the train drew up. Barclay and Har-
rison were placed on board. looking
failure OF their enterprise.
The whole affair might be summed
ur as a case of Mormon and non
Mormon sentiment outraged and turn
ed loose in del Tense of a non-Mornlon
girl whom every body likes and re-
spects as agood young woman |"
The paper from which this is got
ed adds:
Enquiries made by the News in
dictate that the Baxter family are
not members of the Mormon Church.
but strong Scotch Presbyterians, so
any talk OF 1t being a Mormon riot
against Gentiles is worse than absurd "
The Canadian papers quoted have
done their best to correct the inn
preston which was first created, at the
instance we presume, OF the young
man involved In the incident. II 1t
was his intention to escape censure
by exciting anti" Mormon prejudlces
behind which to hide. he has utterly
failed.