The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-09-17
ELDER JOSEPH j. CANNON.

some very serious charges against the priests and
people of the state of Colombia, South America.
The venerable elder dwelt at unnecessary length on
the iteracy, the illegitimacy and the general de
pravity of the white, Indian and half-caste races
of the republic He gave his tabernacle audience
a grand stand finish when he declared that the IL
legitimacy of the people in these Spanish American
republics the result of the "exorbitant fees de-
manded by the priests for performing the marriage
ceremony
1t is not often that our Mormon friends drop
the attitude of self-defense to make an attack on
Catholics and their Church. In truth, their hands
are always up and they are always set to defend
themselves against the blows leveed at them by
those who like themselves, are not of the Catholic
faith
When Monday morning, July IS, read
non against the morality and civilization of the
people of Colombia, whose guest, he says he was,
we attributed them to the garrulity of vain old
man suffering from mental hatulence, and let it go
at that Since then it is reported that the guileless
elder has been repeating, terating and reiteratng
these slanderous attacks upon his South American
hosts, and we are of the opinion he ought to be
called down."
If the elder ever visited Bogota, and, to use the
language of the Palsy man. "we haze cor doots o.
that he must know that his statements peril
ously near to libels upon people who never did
him any harm. We lived for a time in Bogota
travelled extensively through the republic of Co
lombia and we have no false delicacy in proclaim
ing Elder Cannon to have been shamefully duped
and imposed upon by some party parties I'M
known to the jury"
The elder is one of an anti-Catholic company
who play to fanaticism, credulity and ignorance;
who occupy the center of a large stage, using an
obliging press for megaphone, and shouting for
help for the benighted Catholics of Spain, South
America and Mexico, while millions of their own
countrymen look upon them as grafters confidence
men and -four flushers''
How any man, even though he suffer from men
tai senility, can have the metallic cheek to return
from Bogota to Salt Lake and publicly denounce
the morals of the Colombans, is a problem which, |
like the peace of the Lord, 'surpasseth the under
standing of man."
The population of the state of Colombia is, in
round numbers, 100000. Of this number 10000 |
are pure Indian 100000 are of mixed blood,
negro mulatto, meztizo, and the others pure Span
sh with a sprinkling of foreigners-Ge |
Bogota, Medelin, Barrananquilla Does Elder |
Cannon expect from this heterogeneous population
as advanced civilization as that which obtains
among nations civilized for eighteen hundred
years?
The elder tells his audiences: '"Seventy-fve per
cent of Indian births are illegitimate This is not
true. Eighty per cent of the Indian population
are found in the mountains and their civilization
Is that of the Yumas, the Apaches and the Nava-
joes of our reservations. These Colombian Indians
have their own customs, habits and marriage rites.
Their children legitimate as are the sons
and daughters of the whites, for the natural con-
tract obtains. But here is the fly in the elders
amber: "They are illegitmate because of the high
fees of the church marriage, (notce this) the
priest demanding fifty to sixty dollars for per-
forming the ceremony" The veracious elder omit
ted to tell those listening to him that there is no
gold in circulation in Colombia, that paper cur
rency-the money of the state-has lost 80 per
cent of its nominal value, just as our own shin
plasters and greenbacks lost during the civil war,
and that 10000 pesos, or paper dollars, are today
in Colombia equal to one hundred gold dollars.
Now what does the "ffty or sixty dollars de-
handed By the priest for performing the cere-
nony' amount to!
Elder, word with you. Statistics prove that
he citizens of the United States are far and away
he most murderous people the face of the
Earth. For the past twelve years have commit
ed each year of the twelve 8,S13 murders We
lave in those twelve years murdered 1892 human
beings We murder every year more of our kind
han do Italy, Austria, France Belgium, Germany,
Inoland Ireland Scotland Wales Holland HIM
gary and Spain, whose united population are five
hundred and ninety-two millions There are more
men foully done to death in the state of Utah in
me year than in all Colombia in the same time
Utah has population of, let us say, 385,O00; Co.
ombias population is computed at 100000.
Now, elder, do you not think it would be wiser