Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 August 1894 — STATE OF UTAH. [ARTICLE]

STATE OF UTAH.

Had Brigham Young, at the time he led the struggling hordes of his deluded followers across the arid plains to the promised land beside the Great Salt Lake, been able to foresee the ultimate consequences of his actions at that time, it is more than probable that the Latter Day Saints would have been compelled to continue their weary march to other fields far beyond the possible jurisdiction of Uncle Sam, and beyond the possibility of interference from the influences of modern civilization and progress. Happily for this country, perhaps, he did not. His great energy and power of command over his people have served their allotted ends in the scheme of Providence, and opened the way and conquered the obstacles of a primitive country for the onward rush of a mighty people. The Mormon influence, and, to a certain extent, Mormon practices, still remain as an incubus upon the new-fledged State, but these ere long must pass away and join the procession of obsolete customs. Utah in 1890 had a population of 207,905 and probably at this time it has not less than 250,000 people. The bill admitting the Territory reserves to Congress the right to make and enforce laws against polygamy. Another peculiarity is that the law denies the new State representation in Congress until 1896. It is expected that Statehood will give a powerful impetus to the development of the re- ' sources of Utah. Already a railroad extending southwest to the Pacific Ocean, going through Arizona, is projected. It is said that genuine anthracite coal equal to that of Pennsylvania, and more extensive, is to be found in that part of Utah now to be developed. How ever this may be. it is no doubt true j that Utah will be opened up to general enterprise now as never before. LITERARY NOTES. Marion Crawford will have a paper in the August number of The j Century on “Washington as a Spectacle.” With all of his experience in the capitals of the world, he thinks that Washington has many charms and attractions that they lack. Mr. Crawford reads a letter to the American Parisian and the British New Yorker, who continually decry the city and its society. The illustrations to the article are by Andre Castaigne. There will be a controversy in the August number of the Century on a ; question that is just now attracting a large share of public attention. Senator George F. Hoar writes of “The. Right and Expediency of Woman suffrage,” and Rev. Dr. J. M. Buckley on “The Wrongsand Perils of Woman Suffrage. According to the terms of the discussion each one ‘ was shown the other’s article, and then prepared a postscript in answer to the arguments advanced by his opponent. The two writers discuss all phases of the question, from the moral as well as from the economic standpoint.