1880-08-13-New York Sun-Bismarck and the Mormons
Bismarck and the Mormons
- New York Sun, 13 August 1880, p. 4
Opinions as to the Reported Action of the German Government.
A cable dispatch from London mentions the report that the German Government has expelled from the empire some Mormon missionaries, on the ground that they are making proselytes to the Mormon faith, and are inducing the new believers to emigrate to Utah.
W. C. Staines has been for more than thirty years the Mormon agent at 8 Battery place, New York, and has forwarded to Salt Lake City thousands of Mormons from Great Britain and other parts of Europe. He said yesterday that he had received no information regarding the reported expulsion of missionaries from Germany. He received a letter from Europe not long ago stating that Elder Peter Anderson, who had been making converts in Norway, was arrested in Copenhagen, Denmark. The elder was discharged, as no charges were brought forward by which he could be held.
"It is not impossible that the German Government may have taken these extreme measures," Mr. Staines continued, "because William M. Evarts several months ago sent a circular letter from Washington, acting in a semi-official capacity for the United States Government, asking foreign Governments to prevent or at least to discourage, the immigration of Mormons to this country.
"If the German Government means to seriously interfere with the preaching of Mormonism in the empire, it perhaps will succeed in checking the missionaries' efforts in public. But the promulgation of the doctrines of the Latter Day Saints cannot be prevented in any country. The preachers, even though they cannot speak openly to the people, can at least address individuals. In this way the work would be sure to go on and prosper."
"What effect did Mr. Evarts's letter have?"
"I have seen no effect whatever, and I know of no step taken by any Government in the matter. The arrest of Elder Peter Anderson was evidently at the instance of some overzealous private citizen, who found that the day for religious persecution is past. The average number of Mormons who cross the ocean to this port in a year is 2,000, and there has been no falling off this year. The steamship Wisconsin, which arrived on the 22d inst., had on board 758 Mormons. More than 1,000 have come to this country since the last of May. The system of transporting the converts to Utah is complete, and it has taken many years to perfect it."
The Mormon agent added that it would not surprise him to see that the report is verified by subsequent despatches. He had expected something of the kind. Yet the Mormon missionaries had not, so far as he knew, been more zealous in Germany than elsewhere, and he was sure that they would not bring reproach on their cause. Mr. Staines thought that the Germans could not sustain their reputation for fairness and toleration in religion and their belief in civil liberty if they should attempt to banish Mormon preaching.
The German Consul, Mr. Schumacher, did not believe that the report that the missionaries have been banished is founded on fact. He believed that a Berlin correspondent of a London morning newspaper had written an imaginative article on the subject, and that the cable despatch was suggested by the London newspaper's publication. The Consul did not believe that the German Government would notice the Mormons.
