The Mormon Abomination.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THIS subject is being widely agitated at the present time. President Garfield's sentiments in regard to it were well known, and it is to be hoped that the efforts to root it out, which would have been made had he lived, will not be allowed to relax. We can heartily endorse all well-directed efforts against this blot on our civilization, although we do not believe in legislation in regard to religion. The Mormons as a class of people, are not the object of attack, but their criminal practices. The laws of the United States punish adultery in the individual, why should they not punish it when practiced in a wholesale manner? The sinfulness of crime is not diminished because it is indulged in by many people. But it is not going to be an easy matter to stamp out this evil. The Mormons have a vast amount of money at their disposal, which they are not slow to use, and it is as true of a Congressman as of anybody else, that "a gift blindeth the eyes." Besides this, they have been keeping a record of the lives of those in authority at Washington, and many things have been noted that, to say the least, would not appear well in print. This is held as a club over the officials, to influence their votes. A guilty conscience will doubtless cause many to exaggerate the extent of this knowledge. The wickedness of the system would be plainly shown by the means employed to uphold it, if in no other way; and it is a sad showing for our Government that such base efforts are likely to prove successful. E. J. W.