n elders, and was put to ignominious
flight; no wonder that he appeals to force. Having failed in
argument, he calls for artillery; having been worsted in the appeal
to Scripture, he asks for the sword. He says, failing to convert,
let us kill; and he takes this position in the name of the religion
of kindness and forgiveness.
Strange that a minister now should throw away the Bible and yell
for a bayonet; that he should desert the Scriptures and call for
soldiers; that he should lose confidence in the power of the Spirit
and trust in a sword. I recommend that Mormonism be done away with
by distributing the Old Testament throughout Utah.
_Question_. What do you think of the investigation of the Department
of Justice now going on?
_Answer_. The result, in my judgment, will depend on its thoroughness.
If Mr. Springer succeeds in proving exactly what the Department of
Justice did, the methods pursued, if he finds out what their spies
and detectives and agents were instructed to do, then I think the
result will be as disastrous to the Department as beneficial to
the country. The people seem to have forgotten that a little while
after the first Star Route trial three of the agents of the Department
of Justice were indicted for endeavoring to bribe the jury. They
forget that Mr. Bowen, an agent of the Department of Justice, is
a fugitive, because he endeavored to bribe the foreman of the jury.
They seem to forget that the Department of Justice, in order to
cover its own tracks, had the foreman of the jury indicted because
one of its agents endeavored to bribe him. Probably this investigation
will nudge the ribs of the public enough to make people remember
these things. Personally, I have no feelings on the subject. It
was enough for me that we succeeded in thwarting its methods, in
spite of the detectives, spies, and informers.
The Department is already beginning to dissolve. Brewster Cameron
has left it, and as a reward has been exiled to Arizona. Mr.
Brewster will probably be the next to pack his official valise.
A few men endeavored to win popularity by pursuing a few others,
and thus far they have been conspicuous failures. MacVeagh and
James are to-day enjoying the oblivion earned by misdirected energy,
and Mr. Brewster will soon keep them company. The history of the
world does not furnish an instance of more flagrant abuse of power.
There never was a trial as shamelessly conducted by a government.
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