Mormon Plans for Southwestern Domination
A RECENT dispatch from Washington to the New York Times speaks of the prospect of Mormon domination in the proposed new States of the Southwest, and gives reasons for believing that a systematic effort is now being directed by the Mormon hierarchy to secure that end. It says:— Advices received in Washington since the recent meeting of the authorities of the church in Salt Lake confirm the suspicion that there is a movement under way to strengthen the church politically in the proposed States. One of the first evidences of this appears in the decision of the presidents of the church to hold out inducements to lawyers of the Mormon faith to settle in Arizona and New Mexico, and build them up in influence professionally and politically. The failure of the Statehood bill to become law, it seems, was quite satisfactory to the church authorities. They now have time to make their plans and get them in operation before it will be necessary to choose United States Senators and a representative to the House from either of the proposed new States. One of the first moves along this line was to invite a promising young lawyer of Salt Lake, named Crosby, to go to Arizona and set up in practice there. He was openly asked by President Udall, in the Salt Lake conference, to make himself a citizen of the new State, because there were nine thousand Mormons there, and they needed lawyers and political leaders of their own faith. Mr. Crosby, it is announced, will begin as the prosecuting attorney of one of the Mormon counties in Arizona. It is expected that a number of other young Mormon lawyers will follow his example, and respond to similar invitations.