The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-10
Sarah comstock In Golfers Weekly.

Sarah Comstock In Golfers Weekly.
N S LONG as can remember hear
\P0 ing of Mormons at all 1 have
y always heard of 1.-The Mormon
woman's tragedy" and now that l had
penetrated to her very headquarters
recalled that familiar phrase and began
to wonder what 1t meant. For the most
MORT the women whom I met day after
day were as cheerful looking as one
could desire to see not in the least sug-
costing a secret and gnawing sorrow.
,rhev did not seem brow beaten, as l had
ALWAYS heard: many instances, such as
Sister C-'s husband making the soap.
and Sister G-'s husband running the
washing machine out under the ng tree
were upsetting this theory. The women
busted themselves happily about their
homework and their church and their
charity; they delighted in their Dances
they found a solemn, altruistic jay In what
from our point of view is their fantastic
rite of baptism for the unsaved dead. But
having been reared in the belief that
there was a secret sorrow, l naturally
looked about for signs of the gnawng.
than 70, was the first one who ever talked
with me Intimately on that subject which
has made the Mormon woman's life q
matter of interest and wonder for SO
many years Now I'll tell you about
polygamy," she volunteered one day, after
explaining to me many points of doctrine,
all the way from Our Father Adam,
whose hair is white like the pure wool,
to the most mysterious subject in Nor
monism, that of the marriage of the dead.
DO" I said moving up little closer
and trying to keep back squirm of an
ticipation.
There's three OF u.s." she went on.
"He's dead. ] was the first one, and the
second lives up In Iron county, and the
third lives here. We love each other and
we always did, even when he was alive
and we all lived together And we hardly
knew our children apart, it was so much
like one family. They called their own
mothers mother but they all called me
ma whether they was mine or not"
Were you married long before your
husband went into plural marriage?"
"Ouite a long time. But at last we de-
cided he ought to, so he says to me: Who
shall 1t be?' He didn't want another wife
and he didn't want to pick her OUT
1t struck me that the simplest way of
solving this difficulty would have been to
remain homogeneous, and I said so.
my dear, you don't understand" she
responded. "Many's the man as walked
the floor the night through because the
and they felt they must do their duty, but
they didn't want no more wives. Many
of ems glad to take advantage of the
manifesto nowadays and have only one
to support"
This did not understand, either, for
as 1 believe 1t is an accepted fact that
one wife saves money for man should
think that two wives would save twice
as much money. But I was eager to
learn how the problem had been solved
in Brother D---'s case.
1--WE talked 1t over" the little woman
said, land we talked 1t over. and at last
told him wanted Vilate for the second
wife. She was my best friend and
loved her. Don't you like her? l asked
him. oh. yes. like all the girls in the
| choir he said. She sung In the choir
where he was choirmaster So he mar
ried her and later he married Hannah.
IT'S real convenient sometimes to be
| in polygamy. Now there was once he
wanted to go to Georgia, and he says to
me: Come along let's GO But 1 didn't
want to; my babies was little then, and
they'd bee such bother. So says: oh,
| l don't want to go; take Hannah; she'll
| keep you company And he did
; Ne strolled along hx thu Little tr1c-