MORMONISM.
GENTILE OPINIONS UPON POLYGAMY.
INTERVIEW WITH BRIGHAM YOUNG.
CONDITION OF THE MRS YOUNG.
ELOPEMENT OF THE WIVES,
Interesting Accounts of Mormondom,
Etc., Etc., Etc.,
[Salt Lake City (U. T.) Correspondence (June 17th) of the Chicago Tribune.]
During the week we have received every possible attention from our ever attentive hosts. On Mon-day evening the city band gave us a fine serenade, after which Mr Speaker Colfax, Mr Richardson and the writer, addressed a very large crowd of people. On Tuesday a large number of leading Mormon gentlemen, with a few of the principal "Gentile " merchants, rode out to Great Salt Lake with us, 20 miles distant, where we had a bath in the briny waters. This water holds a much larger amount of salt in solution than that of the ocean. We also had a fine sail and a very refreshing colla-tion, and attended a pleasant meeting of the Salt Lake Literary (Gentile) Association in the evening. On Wednesday, Brigham Young, President of the Mormon community, with "The Twelve," called on us, and we had a very interesting chat for nearly two hours, after which we visited Camp Douglass and spent a most interesting afternoon, and were hospitably entertained by Col. George Dr Reid, Capt. Stover and other officers. The camp is in the very best order in all its departments. These soldiers are essential to the good order of this and surrounding portions of the National domain, and their continuance here to protect the Overland Mail will be indispensable for a considerable time to come. On Thursday forenoon we attended the funeral of Gov. Doty, and in the afternoon our "Gentile" friends took us out to visit the Rush Valley mines, forty-five miles distant. On Friday forenoon we took a thorough tramp through the gorges and over the high ridges, examining the mines by the way, returning to Salt Lake City in time to accept the kind hospitalities of Captain Hooper in the evening. I mention these things to show that we have mingled freely with the people, both "Saints" and "Gentiles"-all the Jews are classed as gentiles-in order to get accurate infor-mation, and to speak advisably of the matters of which we are about to write, and first of the char-acter and rights of the
MORMONS.
They are very industrious, energetic men. Com-ing to this valley seventeen years ago, then a waste, covered only with sage brush, they have built up a large, beautiful city of, say fifteen thousand inhabi-tants. They have filled it with pleasant residences, urge stores and shops of every kind; they have surrounded their dwellings with large gardens, filled with fruit trees and flowers; in the valley of the territory there are thousands of farms, hun-dreds of mills and manufactories and in all nearly a hundred thousand people have made comfort-able, many of them beautiful homes, where less than twenty years ago it was thought impossible for any beside savages to live. The amount of la-bor they have done, and the extent and variety of their improvements are truly amazing. They un-derstand and practice all the arts of civilized life, so far as their isolated position will permit. Of course they are earnest and apparently sincere men. Men will not labor and endure what they have if, as a people, they did not believe what they profess. Men there may be, probably are, among them, who are not sincere, but the masses are real Mormons. As to their leaders we have the best of reasons to know that they are sharp, shrewd, and very able business men. Intellectually they will compare favorably with the same number of lead-ing men in any city of the land. And we may add that, with the exception of their abominable ideas concerning marriage, they appear to be moral men. During the last week certainly the city has been as peaceable and as orderly as any city we ever visited. Then as to their rights; they have made their farms and won their homes from the desert, and they have a right to them. To attempt to drive them out of the territory, if they obey the laws of Congress against polygamy, as they were driven from Missouri and our own State, would be a stupendous crime, no matter when or by whom attempted. In fact, they have a right to all they have (their religion as well) except their
POLYGAMY.
On this subject we have had a long, frank and very free conversation with Brigham Young and several of his leading men, and at various times during the week with a very considerable number of the Bishops and Elders not present at our inter-view this afternoon. In all these conversations Mr Colfax and all his party have not hesitated to express their condemnation of the system, and to say that it is under the ban of the entire civilized world. In some of these conversations we have told them frankly, that in our judgment the nation would never sanction it by receiving Utah as a, State until this whole thing was wiped out. The law of Congress on this subject, as all other laws, we assured them must be obeyed. After exhaust-ing all topics in regard to the history, resources, topography, and extent of the territory, President Young himself introduced the topic of polygamy, and for an hour all the arguments for a plurality of wives were presented by Brigham and his friends, and all these at the command of Mr Colfax and his party, were manfully plied against the polygamous gentlemen. Sharp retorts were abundant on both sides, and it is very likely, both parties at the close believed as firmly as ever in their own peculiar dogmas. As to the facts we have been able to gather, our convictions in regard to the demoral-izing effects of polygamy, are, if possible, more de-cided than ever before. The men who practice it have been educated by one father and one mother, and, therefore, the full results of the sys-tem will not appear till long after the present gen-erarion of adults are dead, should it continue to be tolerated by the Government and the people of the nation. The want of proper parental instruction that must exist where polygamy is practiced, and the utter degradation of woman, incidental and in-separable from the system, will as surely, in the end, fall upon Anglo-Saxon polygamists as they do upon the Orientals or any other Heathen nation. As at the South slavery was practiced by the wealthy and influential, so this peculiar vice is in-dulged in mainly by the leading and wealthy men among the Mormons-some say one-fourth, some think more and some less-while the majority, and some of the leaders as well, have but one wife each. While the men who have two or more wives pre-tend to be thoroughly convinced that they are do-ing right, we are assured that there is not an intel-ligent Mormon woman in the Territory who, when her real sentiments can be known, approves of po-lygamy. Whatever opinions we may form of the men, all who know anything of the misery they suffer, must pity the Mormon women. To us they appear dejected and many of them heart- broken, and as time rolls on, the essential evils of the system must become the more apparent and revolting. To degrade woman from being the companion and the crown of her husband, to a life of mere serfdom, ministering to the lusts of men, and merely giving birth to other human animals, as the inevitable tendency and sure result of polygamy-an unclean, abominable thing, which must not and cannot be permanently tolerated in this civilized, christian Republic. The sooner this determination is un-derstood by those who practice it, the better; for, like all festering sores, the longer it is endured, the more difficult of removal and the more dan-gerous it becomes. Our conversation with Brig-ham Young and his leading men leads us to be-lieve that they begin to understand their position, and in parting all of us expressed the hope that as they claimed polygamy was permitted, and in some cases commanded, by a new revelation, their high priest might have another, peremptorily for-bidding the system. This would certainly be a peaceful and most happy way to remove to last foul blot upon the national character. Let the rev-elation be speedily made, and Brigham Young will complete one of the most eventful and the most wonderful personal histories made during the present generation.
BRIGHAM YOUNG
Is a man of about medium height, with an im-mense chest, giving assurance of tremendous vital energy. His head is large, forehead high, round and broad, his hair and whiskers incline to auburn, and though he is 64 years of age, scarcely a gray hair can be seen, and not a wrinkle detected upon his red and expressive face. His nose resembles the hawk's bill, and his lips, firmly closing, with his blue and at times flashing eyes, betoken the great force and indomitable energy which he has always manifested. As some one said of Napoleon, "he is one of the favored few, born to command." He is also one of the shrewdest and most cunning of men, and sensible to the power money gives, and withal possessed of business talents off the highest order, he is now, it is believed, one of the wealthiest men in the nation. While he lives, the Mormon community-unless he and they deter-mine to defy the laws of Congress on the subject of polygamy, will grow and prosper; but that firm hand and iron will must ere long, despite his regu-lar and strictly temperate habits-he uses no to-bacco nor liquor of any kind-tremble and bow before the resistless march of time; and when Brigham Young sleeps with his fathers then will come the searching test before which we predict the whole Mormon fabric will crumble to the dust. It may, and doubtless will continue to exist as a religious sect, but as a compact and tremendously effective organization, its power will cease when Brigham Young's heart is forever still. In the settlement of his vast estate among his two score and more of wives and some sixty children, there is ample room for quarrels and law suits potent enough to break up the entire community. But let the future solve all these problems as an all-wise Providence shall direct.
BUSINESS, MANUFACTURES, &c.
The business done by the merchants of Salt Lake City is immense. Wm. Jennings, Esq., a, leading Mormon merchant, told us that his freight bill alone this year will amount to $150,000, and that of Walker Brothers will not be less. The stocks of goods embrace a wide range; but ex-tent and value they would not fall much below many of our leading Chicago houses. Both leath-er and shoes, and flour are manufactured largely in Utah. Cotton is raised quite successfully in the Southern portion of the Territory, and there are factories for manufacturing it. One or two woollen factories are in operation. Brigham Young has also a paper mill a few miles from the city. The Mormons have shown their wisdom toy de-voting themselves to agriculture, manufacture and trade, for the demand for food and goods from Idaho, Montana and other surrounding Territo-ries has made them rich and independent.
[Salt lake City (June 18th) Correspondence of the Spring-field Republican.] How do the Mormen women like and bear polyg-amy? is the question most people ask as to the in-stitution. The universal testimony of all but their husbands is that it is a grievous sorrow and bur-den; only cheerfully submitted to and embraced under a religious fanaticism and self- abnegation rare to behold and possible only to women. They are taught to believe, and many of them really do believe, that through and by it they secure a higher and more glorious reward in the future world. “Lord Jesus has laid a heavy trial upon me,” said one poor, sweet woman, "but I mean to bear it for His sake, and for the glory He will grant me in His kingdom." This is the common wail, the com-mon solace. Such are the teachings of the church; I have no doubt both husbands and wives alike often honestly accept this view of the odious practice, and seek and submit to polygamy as really God's holy service, calculated to make saints of themselves and all associated with them in the future world. Still a good deal of human nature is visible, both among the, men in embracing po-lygamy and in their wives in submitting to it. Mr Young's testimony on this point is significant. Other signs are not wanting in the looks and character of the men most often annointed in the holy bonds of matrimony, and in the well-known disagreement of the wives in many families. In some cases they live harmoniously and lovingly together; oftener, it would seem, they have sepa-rate parts of the same house, or even separate houses. The first wife is generally the recognized of society, and frequently assumes contempt for the others, regarding them as concubines, and net wives. But it is a dreadful state of society to any one of fine feelings and true instincts; it robs mar-ried life of all its sweet sentiment and companion-ship; and while it degrades woman, brutalizes man, teaching him to despise and domineer over his wives, over all women. It breeds jealousy, dis-trust, and tempts to infidelity; but the police sys-tem of the church and the community is so strict and constant that it is claimed and believed the latter vice is very rare. The effect upon the chil-dren cannot help being debasing, however well they may be guarded and educated. But it is a chief failing, even a scandal to the Mormons, that, plen-tifully as they are providing children, who swarm everywhere as did the locusts in Egypt, they have organized no free school system. Schools are held in every ward of the city, and probably in every considerable village, in buildings provided for evening religious meetings under the direction of the local Bishops, but a tuition fee is exacted for all who attend, and the poor are practically shut out. The anti-polygamists should agitate at once and earnestly to reform this evil-it is a strong point against the dominant party, and a weak point in the welfare of the Territory. It is a good and en-couraging sign to learn from intelligent sources that as the young girls, daughters of Mormons, grow up to womanhood, they are indisposed to polygamy, and seek husbands among the Gentiles rather than among their own faith.
The soldiers of Camp Douglas, near this city, are illustrating one of the ways in which polygamy will fade away before the popular principle. Two companies who went home to California last fall, took about 25 wives with them, recruited from the Mormon flocks. There are now some 50 or more women in the camp who have fled thither from the town for protection, or been seduced away from unhappy homes and fractional husbands; and all or nearly all find new husbands among the soldiers. Only to-day a man with three daughters, living in the city, applied to Col. George for leave to move up to the camp for a residence, in order, as he said, to save his children from polygamy, into which the bishops and elders of the church were urging them. The camp authorities tell many like stories: also of sadder applications, if possible, for relief from actual poverty and from persecution in town. The Mormons have no poor-house, and say they have no poor, permitting none by relieving all through work or gifts. But the last winter was so long and so severe, with wood at $30 and $40 a cord, that there was much real suffering, and the soldiers yielded to extensive demands upon the charity that the church authorities had neglected to fulfil, or absolutely denied.
Your readers are aware, I suppose, that a large proportion, perhaps the majority of the people of Utah are foreigners,-recruits by missionaries sent out and over the whole world. The larger propor-tion are English, from the factory towns of Great Britain. But Germans, Swedes, Finns, Scotch, Icelanders, and even East Indians, are here. Mr Young boasts that fifty different nationalities are represented among his people. The bulk of them all are of the peasantry, the lower classes of work-ing people at home; and so the congregations of the Mormons do not exhibit the marks of high acuteness and intelligence. The audiences at the Tabernacle to-day and last Sunday, and at the theatre last night, were what would be called com-mon-looking people. The handsome girls were few; the fine-looking women even fewer; intelli-gent, strong-headed men were more numerous; but the great mass, both in size, looks and dress, was below the poorest, hardest-working and most ignorant classes of our eastern large towns. The gatherings and the services, both speaking and singing, reminded me of the Methodist camp meetings fifteen or twenty years ago. The sing-ing, as on the latter occasions, was the best part of the exercises, simple, sweet, and fer-vent. "Daughters of Zion," as sung by the large choir last Sunday, was prayer, ser-mon, song and all. The preaching lass Sabbath was by Mr Samuel W. Richards, who was of Mas-sachusetts origin, but has been a Mormon leader and missionary for many years. Beyond setting forth the superiority of the Mormon church sys-tem, through its presidents, councils, bishops, el-ders and seventies, for the work made incumbent upon Christians, and claiming that its preachers were inspired like those of old, his discourse was a rambling, unimpressive exhortation, such as you hear from a tonguey deacon in any country Baptist or Methodist meeting house. The Bible, both old and new tastament, is used with the same authori-ty as by all Protestants; the Mormon scriptures are simply new and added books, confirming and supplementing the teachings of the original Scrip-tures. The rite of the sacrament is administered every Sunday, water being used instead of wine, and the distribution proceeding among the whole congregation, men, women and children, and num-bering from three to five thousand, while the sing-ing and the preaching are in progress. The prayers are few and simple, undistinguishable, except in these characteristics, from those heard in all Prot-estant churches, and the congregation all join in the Amen.
Brigham Young's preaching to-day was a very unsatisfactory, disappointing performance. There was every incentive to him to do his best; he had an immense audience, spread out under the "bow-ery" to the number of five or six thousand; before him was Mr Colfax, who had asked him to preach upon Mormon doctrines; around him were all his elders and bishops, in unusual numbers; and he was fresh from the exciting discussions of yester-day on the subject of polygamy. But his address lacked logic, lacked effect, lacked wholly magnet-ism or impressivness. It was a curious medley of scriptural exposition, exhortation, bold and bare statement, coarse denunciation and vulgar allu-sions, cheap rant and poor cant. So far as his statement of Mormon belief went, it amounted to this: that God was a human, material body, with like flesh and blood and passions to ourselves, only perfect in all things; that he begot his son Jesus in the same way that children are begottten now; that Jesus and the father looked alike and were alike, distinguishable only by the former being older; that our resurrection would be material and we should live in Heaven with the same bodies and the same passions as on earth; that Mormonism was the most perfect and true religion; that those Christians who were not Mormons would not necessarily go to hell and be burned by living fire and tortured by ugly devils, but that they would not occupy so high places in Heaven as the Latter Day Saints; that polygamy was the habit of all the children of God in the earlier ages, and was first abolished by the Goths and Vandals who conquered and con-structed Rome; that Martin Luther approved of it in a single case at least; that a clergyman of the Church of England once married a man to a sec-ond wife while his first was living; and that in England now, if a man wanted to change his wife, he had only to offer her at auction and knock her off for a pot of beer or a shilling, and marry another. [This last statement called out a voice of dissent from an English working-race in the audi-ence.] A good deal of boasting of the success of the Mormons, their temperance, frugality and hon-esty, and a sharp denunciation of the "few stink-ing lawyers who lived down in Whiskey street, and for five dollars would attempt to make a lie into a truth," were the only other noticeable features of this discourse of the President of the church of the Latter Day Saints. It was a very ma-terial interpretation of the statements and truths of Scripture, very illogically and roughly rendered, and calculated only to influence a cheap and vulgar audience. Brigham Young may be a shrewd business man, an able organizer of labor, a bold, brave person in dealing with the practicalities of life-he must, indeed, be all of these, for we see the evidence all around this city and country; but he is in no sense an impress-sive or effective preacher, judged by any stand-ards that I have been accustomed to.
His audience, swollen one or two thousand more, couuld not have helped drawing a sharp contrast-dull in comprehension and fanatically devoted to him as most of them probably are-between his speech and his style, and those of Mr Colfax, who, at a later hour this evening, delivered in the same place, by invitation of the church and city authori-ties, his Chicago Eulogy on the Life and Principles of President Lincoln. He spoke it without notes, and with much freedom and fervor to an audience unused to so effective and eloquent a style, and more unused, we fear, to such sentiments; and he received rapt attention and apparent delighted ap-proval throughout the whole. Mr Colfax's other and informal speeches here, and his whole inter-course with the authorities and people of all par-ties, considerate always but frank and ever consis-tent with his principles, had won him the respect of all and the affection of many; but the pronounc-ing of this eulogy has increased the feeling in his favor to a high enthusiasm.
Rev. Mr McLeod, of the Gentile congregation here, gave a memorial sermon upon the late Gov. Doty to-day, and had a crowded audience. The Mormons are quite anxious as to Gov. Doty's suc-cessor; they would like Col. Irish, who is now the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and a Pennsyl-vanian; he is no Mormon, of course, but he has proven agreeable to them; but it is not probable he will be promoted to the vacant place. A new and more independent man is desirable, capable of lead-ing and directing the delicate affairs of the territo-ry, Gen. Conner expects to return to Camp Doug-las in the fall, and to winter here with 2000 to 3000 troops; and with him and them, and a governor of statesmanlike qualities, cooperating with the other Federal officers in the territory, and putting the Government influences all firmly and clearly, but as inoffensively as possible, on the side of law and good morals, we may reasonably expect to see the polygamous nut cracked before spring.
