PERILS. — MORMONISM. 11;' 



its members or devotees or any other persons to commi: 

 the crime of bigamy or polygamy." A similar law in 

 Utah would undoubtedly be sustained by the Supreme 

 Court, but of course such a law can never be enacted 

 so long as the Mormons control the territoi'ial legis- 

 lature. 



The other decision of the Court sustained tiie consti- 

 tutionality of an act of Congress, passed in 1887, by 

 which the territorial charter of the Mormon Church was 

 repealed, the corporation dissolved and its property, in 

 excess of $50,000, escheated to the United States, to be 

 used for the support of public schools in Utah. Under 

 this law a receiver took possession of nearly $1,000,000 

 worth of property. The power of the hierarchy has been 

 enhanced by the great wealth of the church. The 

 sequestration of that wealth, therefore, must in some 

 measure disable the hierarchy. But the power of the 

 priesthood existed before that wealth was accumulated. 

 It was their power which made such accumulation pos- 

 sible. This blow, therefore, does not go to the root of 

 the matter. Indeed, it is liable to strengthen Mormon- 

 ism as much on one side as it weakens it on another, 

 for the public schools are taught almost whollj" by Mor- 

 mons, and this great sum of money will, therefore, be 

 applied to teach Mormon doctrines unless Congress 

 places the public schools of the territory under the con- 

 trol of the United States. If this were done and all 

 Mormons were disfranchised as they should be ( except- 

 ing of course the Josephites, who are loyal), much time 

 and labor would yet be required to complete the work. 

 " Let him who thinks that the Mormon problem is 

 almost solved be undeceived. Even when Congress and 

 the courts shall have done their utmost, it will take half 

 a century yet of the gospel in the hands of missionaries 

 and teachers to dig up the roots of this evil. The public 

 has not yet grasped the proportions of this problem. 

 The present laws and Christian forces at work in Utah 

 still have a problem before them much Uke that which a 

 single company of sappers and miners would have who 



