AFFAIRS IN UTAH.
Curious Correspondence between Brig-ham Young and the gentile Traders.
The following curious correspondence appears in the Salt Lake Telegraph:
To the leaders of the Mormon Church:
GENTLEMEN: As you are instructing the people of Utah, through your bishops and missionaries, not to trade or do any business with the Gentile merchants, thereby intimidating and coercing the community to purchase only of such merchants as belong to your faith and persuasion, in anticipation of such a crisis being successfully brought about by your teachings, the undersigned Gentile merchants of Great Salt Lake City respectfully desire to make you the follow-ing propositions, believing it to be your earnest de-sire for all to leave the country that do not belong to your faith and creed, viz.:
On the fulfilment of the conditions herein named, First—The payment of our outstanding accounts owing us by members of your Church.
Secondly—All of our goods, merchandise, chattels, houses, improvements, &c., to be taken at a cash valuation, and we to make a deduction of twenty-five per cent, from total amount.
To the fulfilment of the above we hold our-selves ready at any time to enter into negotiations, and on final arrangements being made and terms oi sale complied with, we shall freely leave the Territory.
Respectfully yours, Gilbert & Sons, Walker Brothers, Bodenberg & Kahn, Wm. Sloan, C. Prag, of firm Ransohoff & Co., Ellis & Bros., by J. M. Ellis, McGrorty & Henry, J. Meeks, F. Auerbach & Bros., Siegel Bros., Oliver Du-rante, L. Cohn & Co., S. Lesser & Bros., Klopstock & Co., John H. McGrath, Glucksman & Cohn, Wilkin-son & Fenn, Morse, Walcott & Co., J. Waiters, J. Bauman & Co., M. B, Callahan, Morris Elgutter, Thos. D. Brown k Son.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 20, 1866.
REPLY OF BRIGHAM YOUNG.
GENTLEMEN: Your communication of Dec. 20, ad-dressed to "The Leaders of the Mormon Church," was received by me last evening. In reply, I have to say, that we will not obligate ourselves to collect your outstanding accounts, nor buy your goods, mer-chandise and other articles that you express your-selves willing to sell. If you could make such sales as you propose, you would make more money than merchants have done in this country, and we, as merchants, would like to find purchasers upon the same basis. Your withdrawal from the Territory is not a matter about which we feel any anxiety; so far as we are concerned, you are at liberty to stay or go, as you please. We have used no intimidation or co-ercion toward the community to have them cease trad-ing with any person or class, neither do we contemplate using any such means, even could we do so, to ac-complish such an end. What we are doing and in-tending to do, we are willing that you and all the world should know. In the first, place, we wish you to distinctly understand that we have not sought to ostracise any man or body of men because of their not being of our faith. The wealth that has been ac-cumulated in this Territory from the earliest, years of our settlement by men who were not connected with us religiously, and the success which, has attend-ed their business operations, prove this. In busi-ness we have not been exclusive in our deal-ings or confined our patronage to those, of our own faith. But every man who has dealt fairly and honestly, and confined his attention to his legitimate business, whatever his creed has been, has found friendship in us. To be adverse to Gentiles because they are Gentiles, or Jews because they are Jews, is in direct opposition to the genius of our religion. It matters not what a man's creed is, whether he be Catholic' or Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Quaker or Jew, he will receive kindness and friendship from us, and we have not the least objec-tion to doing business with him, if in his dealings he act in accordance with the principles of right, and deport, himself as a good, law-abiding citizen should.
There is a class, however, who are doing business in the territory, who, for years, have been the avowed enemies of this community. The disrupture and overthrow of the community have been the objects which they have pertinaciously sought to accomplish. They have, therefore, used every energy and all the means at their command to put into circulation the foulest slanders about the old citizens. Missionaries of evil, there have been no arts too base, no strata-gems too vile for them to use to bring about their netarious ends. While soliciting the patronage of the people, and deriving their support from them, they have, In the most shameless and abandoned manner, used the means thus I obtained to, destroy the very people whose favor they found it to their interest to court. With the rogularity of the seasons have their plots and schemes been formed; and we are warranted by facts in saying that, could the heart's blood of the people hero be drawn and coined into the means necessary to bring their machinations to a successful issue, they would not scruple to use it. They have done all in their power to encourage violations of law, to retard the admin-istration of justice, to foster vice and vicious institu-tions, to oppose the unanimously expressed will of the people, to increase disorder, and to charge our city from a condition of peace and quietude to law-lessness and anarchy. They have donated liberally to sustain a corrupt and venal press, which has given publicity to the most atrocious libels respecting the old citizens.
And have they not had their emissaries in Wash-ington to misrepresent and vilify the people of this territory? Have they not kept liquor and surrep-titiously sold it in violation of law, and endeavored to bias the minds of the Judiciary to give decisions favorable to their own practices? Have they riot en-tered into secret combinations to resist the laws and to thwart their healthy operation and refused to pay their taxes and to give the support to schools re-quired by law?
What claims can such persons have upon the pat-ronage of this community? And what community on the earth would be so besotted as to uphold and foster men whose aim is to destroy there? Have we not the right to trade at whatever store we please? Or does the Constitution of the United States bind us to enter the stores of our deadliest enemies and pur-chase of them? It so, we should like that provision pointed out to us. It is to these men whom I have described, and to these alone, that I am opposed, and I am determined to use my influence to have the citi-zens here stop dealing with them and deal with hon- orable men. There are honorable men enough in the world with whom we can do business without being reduced to the necessity of dealing with the class re-ferred to.
I have much more to say upon this subject. BRIGHAM YOUNG.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 21, 1866.
The Telegraph (the Mormon organ,) commenting on the correspondence, says:
It cannot be a matter of surprise to any person who knows the history of this Territory, to learn that some of the persons signing that ca[?] are anxious to sell out and leave the place. Their course in the past has been such that they know fill well it has been calculated to secure for them the ill feelings of the community. They have been striving with all their might to bring trouble and distress on the com-munity, have expended largely of the means which our citizens have out into their hands, for the express purpose of supporting in Washington the avowed en-emies of the community, while such enemies were doing all they could to incite the Government to undeserved and bloody action against the people here.
We only say that we are by no means astonished that such merchants are found signing such a docu-ment, for their malicious course has stirred up an opposition which will eventually swamp them financially. WE are surprised m however, that the people have thoughtlessly sustained by their patronage such unworthy characters so long as they have.
We are also surprise to find the names of other persons on the document, for, so far as we know any-thing about them, we never heard anything un-pleasant betweeb them and the community. We can only conclude that these persons have been drawn into a course of action which they will live to regret.
There are also some names put forth in this con-nection, of which we know nothing, and which we question if one person in a thousand in the commu-nity know anything about. What could induce such persons, if such there be, to join in the manoeuvre in question, we cannot say. Probably they have their own reasons and are satisfied with them.
For a long time back it has been very evident to us that certain persons in business, and others, in this city, were working with desperate recklessness to creat trouble between the Government of the United States and the people of this Territory.
We have been familiar with many of their acions here and elsewhere, and to much of their language ventured in their star chambers we have not been entirely a stranger. It is not strange to find a Judas among good men, and it is a common thing to find a leaky vessel among bad men. Without searching for the latter-and from the indiscretion of their organ-it has not been difficult to keep track of the move-ments of certain parties who have earned an excel-lent title to be considered the bitter enemies of this community.
It was very plain to be seen that with the depart-ure of the roops from Utah, business could not fail to be affected, apart from the general decline through-out the country, the inevitable reaction from the flush times of the war, when enormous expenditures were made throughout the country, and we citizens should resent the desperate efforts made by certain merchants here to secure the presence of a large number of troops near this city, and a consequent large and needless in-crease of expenditure, even though to secure their end it should bring on a conflict between the people and the Government.
Annual Message of Gov. Durkee-Pro-gress of the Territory.
Gov. Durkee, of Utah, in his annual Message, alluded as follows to the mineral resources of that Territory:
“During the past year some progress has been made in the development of the unquestionably great mineral wealth of out Territory. Assays and other experiments would seem to demonstrate that the Cottonwood, Rush Valley, Bingham, Kanyon and Minersville mineral districts are equal in richness to any yet discovered upon the continent.
The Pahranagat mines, too, much more extensive, as far as worked, have proved equally rich, and, al-though probably soon to be annexed to the State of Nevasa, will yet, by their contioguity to out settle-ments and avenues of travel, be to a great extent, equally dependent upon us for supplies, as those within our borders.
The value of these mines to our people, both from their rich products and from the home market furnished for our surplus agricultural products, can-not be over-estimated. Although the highest degree of success in their working cannot be looked for until the completion of the Pacific Railroad shall inaugu-rate the era of a cheap transportation and supplies, yet much will meanwhile be accomplished by the en-terprising capitalists of our own and foreign count-tries.
The great importance of creating a home market for our products is evident to all; and for that reason, as well as others, the development of our mineral wealth should be encouraged and protected in every manner possible by prudent and fostering legislat-tion.
I would respectfully again call your attention to the desirableness of taking immediate steps toward forming an ample collection of mineral specimens from all portions of the Territory. The proprietors of mineral lodes would gladly donate such specimens, and a collection could thus be formed, although with-out cost, which would be of great value, as exhibiting truthfully to our people, and to strangers visiting the Territory, our great resources in the department of the precious metal.”
