Omaha daily bee., 1911-04-16
Origin, Migrations and Virtues of the Mornons

Cosmopolitan for March and April one
might think he had been looking too
long upon the wine when It was red" but
on reading along we see he was only
'skeered" OF the Mormons lie proceeds
TO tell us what every schoolboy has known
for years, viz: That the Mormons had
built a pretty city. a great temple, an inn
inense tabernacle with wonderful acoustic
properties and a great organ.
However, he made one important dis
covery, towit, the most polite and ac-
coinmodatng hotel clerk ne had ever met
This should have allayed some Of his fears
But what did surprise was the dense
ignorance he alleges exists in the east,
especially in New York as to western al
fairs, owing to the nOncirculation Of west
ern newspapers there. Now, ! had been
under the impression that New York kept
pretty close tab on affairs all over the
world and when I was east a few years
ago l could find Chicago. omaha or Den"
yer papers at the newsstands and fire.
quently at the hotels in New York, Phila-
delphia and Boston.
Again, Mr.. Lewis should remember, Nor
monism is not Of western origin. On the
contrary, IL was Matched in the east, and
its founders were the sharpest kind OF
Yankees. And IL Joseph Smith saw fit to
have a revelation, he was only following
"a custom that had prevailed for more than
1900 years and in some Of which appeared
creatures almost horrible as those
illustrating Mr.. Lewis articles
Now, we old-tmers who have lived away
past our fourscore years-mingled with all
sorts OF people and saw the country on
the verge OF ruin so often-are beginning to
doubt If any considerable part of the peo-
we find them wonderfully like other peo-
pie and although they style themselves
Latter Day Saints, 1 have not met any
who wore halos.
To most people, the word Mormon
means polygamy This need not scare peo-
pie, as II is not compulsory, in fact, 1t is
on the decline. / can hear Of no one now
having half as many wives as Brigham
Young And when he was In his glory, his
harem compared with that of Solomon,
would look like 30 cents and our Sunday
school teachers told us Solomon was the
wisest man that ever lived.
Again. the Reorganized church, with
headquarters at Independence. Mo, and La
moni, Ia. with Joseph Smith, son of the
founder, its president. has long been re-
nounced polygamy, and in fact 1t being in
violation Of law Of nature and degrading
TO womanhood, 1t should perish.
Again, Mr. Lewis is alarmed by their
rapid inciease in number. which he esti-
mates at 10000. Now what does he think
the 100000 Catholics, 25,OOO,OOO Protestants.
100000 Agnostcs and 100000 Jews will be
doing all this time? Why, one of the newest
churches, the Christian Science. so far as
increase of membership is concerned, is
beating Mormonism to standstill and
that without its founder. the late Mrs.
Eddy. having had a vision received a
revelation.
Now as everyone is entitled to a hear
ing we will look back little at the Nor
mon history.
The Elder Joseph Smith, having organized
his church in New York state came with
quite following and located at the little
village of Kirkland. Geauga county, Ohio,
about 1880 This part of the state was
settled almost exclusively by people from
the New England states, who in religious
matters were extremely orthodox. After
rthe Mormons had reared their temple and
@bccame quite numerous. the prejudice be-
came strong and annoyance so great
that they finally left and went to what was
then the far west and located in jackson
county, Missouri Before leaving Kirkland,
Joseph Smith. himself was subjected to
coat of tar and feathers at the hands OF
some young men led by one. John Johnson.
Mr.. Johnson told this to me, himself, pre-
vious to his death some thirty years ago
His reason was that Smith was laborIng
with his father to join and turn his prop
erty into the church fund I'm common, after
the manner of the early apostles which
proved so unfortunate for Ananias and
Saphira, his wife. They took him into a
cornfield In the night and while applying
the dose. Smith, who was a powerful man.
recognized johnson, who at that time was
young Hercules, and remarked John,
YOU can't fool me, / know that grip of
YOURS" In this instance, as Is frequently
the case. the mother sided with the boys,
and furnished the feathers by taking a
pillow from one of the beds
" Missouri the prejudice was stronger
than In Ohio and eliminated In mobs in
which men were killed, women mistreated
property stolen or confiscated until they
were compelled to retreat which they did
TO Illinois, where they built the city of
Nauvoo and again reared their temple.
Missourians have denied the story of
their persecution while there but subse-
quent acts by the border ruffians and
hushwhaokers that swarmed from that
section during the Kansas troubles and
civil war. and later furnished the James
and Younger gangs, lead us TO believe the
Mormons
AT Nauvoo their troubles. in which their
president and his brother We're murdered.
have become matters Of history
What part of the blame for this trouble.
that almost amounted to a war, should at
tach 10 the Mormons, we shall probably
never know. but seeing their case hopeless.
after parley. they agreed to leave the
state within given time II permitted TO
do so peaeeably with which they substan-
tally compiled by crossing the river with
what they could save from the wreck of
their homes Their most objective point
was Council Bluffs, and they made the
best possible preparation. using wagons for
Transporting provisions, the sick and
women with young children. while the
men went on foot some driving stock and
some pushing loaded hand carts and wheel
barrows.
Think II we can of a more pathetic pic
ture; A whole community in which were
the aged, the sick. and women with tender
babes, starting thus equipped, on a more
than 2OO-uAfla Of