The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-03-20
PRIEsTLY HOSTILITY TO MINING

| we quote from DeSeret news cul-
torial of last Friday evening the fol
lowing statement with respect to early
mining in Utah:
Sometimes it has been said that the
pioneers OF Utah were opposed 10 mining
| enterprises. and that 1t took military
| force 10 open up the mines in utah.
This is another piece Of fiction, the pur-
pose OF which is to array easily infu-
enced people against the church.
| The leading spirits among the pio-
necrs foresaw clearly the necessity of
| establishing agriculture and other food
producing industries before the people
went to prospecting.
1t was necessary, as the News says,
that the people who first made perma-
ncnt settlement IN this valley devote
themselves to the cultivation of food
products; and ii was not so particularly
wiso as it was perfectly natural for
the "pioneer' leaders TO advocate this
branch of industry first. But let us
look into the history of the case in
order to get at the facts.
The first Mormon company came here
in July, 1s47 and they were soon fol
lowed by others. The first thing done
| by the first companies was 10 plant
seed for the purpose of reaping as good
a harvest as possible the first year,
and to better prepare the land for
crop raising in The year following. AS
| Hon. w. c.. A. Smoot said at the Amer
lean love feast on last Thursday even
ing, the land was rich and produced
readily, Mr.. Smoot was one of the
first company, and he knows whereof
he speaks, In his official report, under
date Of July 21, 1864, General P. Ed
ward Connor, commanding at Camp
Douglas, described the persistent efforts
he was obliged TO make to assist in
opening Utah mines, saying: ''With
! this view / have bent every energy
and means of which / was possessed,
both personal and official. toward the
discovery and development Of the min.
ing resources of the Territory, using,
without stint, the soldiers of my com
mand wherever and whenever 1T could
be done without detriment to the pub.
lie service. This report was made
seventeen years after the arrival of
the first Mormon company. Agricul-
ture was well under way; the scrops
were fairly good; and the principal diff
fculty then encountered was to find a
market for them, so that money could
be obtained in order to do away with
the old trading in chips and whetstones.
The condition had arrived when one
farmer had nothing to trade TO the
other farmer but what the other farm.
er possessed Consequently the situa-
ton was stagnated and required money
producing enterprises in order to stimu-
late industry. Notwithstanding this
fact, however, Brigham Young and his
ecclesiastical satraps bitterly opposed
mining, because he could ''foresce
clearly" that the prosecution of that
industry would bring in large Gen
tile population that would finally break
his political power, at least i'm certain
localities. He placed all manner of
difficulties In the way Of mining, and
hampered the miners by every means at
his command; and IL was necessary, as
General Conuor says, to utilize the
United States soldiery in many instances
to protect the industry and facilitate
its development.
In the year 1869 (morc than twenty
years after the arrival of the "pio.
necrs,'' and at time when agriculture
was still further developed and more
firmly cstablished) the Utah Magazine
printed an editorial advocating mining
development here That was weekly
paper published by Messrs. Godbe, Har-
rison and Lawrence. Brigham Young
had admitted that there was plenty Of