Epistle to the Public, 12 February 1898
AN EXPLANATION TO THE PUBLIC
There have been many communica-
tions of late in the newspapers concern-
ing Colonel Isaac Trumbo and his af-
fairs. Charges have been made, ema-
nating from various sources, that there
has been some financial connection be-
tween himself and the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has
been repeatedly stated in years past,
and the story has been revived of late,
that Colonel Trumbo has had large
amounts of money in his hands and
under his control belonging to the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints; that he has been its agent in
the expenditure of funds for the ac-
complishment of certain ends that were
desired to be achieved.
We have remained silent upon this
subject. It is well known that from
time to time charges are made and
circulated concerning us and our af-
fairs, which we deem it unnecessary
to notice. It would be occupying too
much of our time to be contradicting
stories which are put in circulation by
one and another for their own purposes.
This feeling has restrained us in the
past in relation to Colonel Trumbo and
his connection with us and our affairs.
But it seems to be proper now, and just
to ourselves, as well as common justice
to him, that we should say something
in relation to the association that has
existed between Colonel Isaac Trumbo
and ourselves as the representatives of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints.
First of all, we wish to state most
emphatically that Colonel Trumbo has
not had property of ours in his pos-
session for such purposes as alleged.
He has neither been our financial agent,
nor had any control of our property.
We have not entrusted him with
amounts of money to expend for us for
any such purposes.
In the time of our deep distress, when
bitterness and hatred were manifested
against us in almost every public
quarter, Colonel Isaac Trumbo came to
Utah, and showed interest, in our af-
fairs. Some of his own relatives were
involved in cases that were then before
the courts. One prominent connection
of his was consigned to the peniten-
tiary, on the common charge that was
in vogue against so many prominent
Latter-day Saints. The colonel's sym-
pathies, it seems, were aroused, at least
in behalf of his kinsfolk. This caused
him to take interest in the whole ques-
tion; and this interest absorbed him to
such an extent that he withdrew from
profitable business that he had at the
time in San Francisco, and devoted
himself almost exclusively to the labor
of correcting the false impressions
which prevailed and to the enlistment
of the press in the correction of the
many falsehoods and aspersions which
were in circulation; and afterwards,
on a wider field, using his influence
with leading men of the nation. We
may say here that Colonel Isaac Trum-
bo is a man of extraordinary energy.
When he undertakes anything that he
thinks ought to be done, he is untiring
in his efforts to accomplish it. These
characteristics were wonderfully illus-
trated in the labors which he took upon
himself in behalf of the maligned and
misrepresented Latter-day Saints. Be-
ing a man of means, he was able to
travel from place to place, and especial-
ly to visit and sustain himself at
Washington. We can never forget his
activity in visiting editors and using
his influence to correct public
opinion through the press. No
man could have displayed great-
er zeal and disinterestedness than
he did in the labors that he took upon
himself. We felt that he was inspired;
for, not being a member of our religious
organization, and having no financial
ends to accomplish that would be re-
munerative to him, there was nothing
to incite him to these extraordinary ex-
ertions except a purely philanthropic
desire to defend an oppressed and un-
popular people and to roll back the tide
of calumny and evil that threatened to
overwhelm them. We felt thankful
many times for the kind Providence
which raised him up; for he seemed to
come to our aid at a time when a man
in his position and with his indefatiga-
ble energy was especially needed.
When the Mormon people were
threatened with disfranchisement, Col.
Trumbo spent considerable time in
Washington, exerting himself to the
utmost of his ability to defeat that in-
famous measure. And while there were
other agencies also at work (for every-
one that had any influence in the com-
munity realized how necessary it was
that this measure should be defeated),
still Colonel Isaac Trumbo was the
means of bringing powerful influences
to bear against the enactment of that
villainous bill. In the defeat of that
proposed legislation every member of
our Church had cause to be deeply
grateful to the Lord and to the instru-
ments which, under Him, were the
means of bringing it to naught.
With the same zeal and devotedness
he worked untiringly to obtain the am-
nesty; and also afterwards in securing
the return of the personal property to
the Church, and in preparing the way
for the return of the real estate.
He threw himself into the accom-
plishment of all these ends with an
energy and wholeness of soul that won
him many friends and crowned his
labors and the labors of those who
worked with him with success.
Colonel Trumbo was most fortun-
ate in winning the respect and
admiration of influential men in the na-
tion. By his representations of the con-
dition of things in the then Territory of
Utah and his enthusiastic defense of
the Mormon people, he aroused the ac-
tive interest and sympathies of very
many of them. This was notably the
case with General James S. Clarkson.
This gentleman was deeply moved by
all that he learned, and he entered with
his whole soul and great influence, with
Colonel Trumbo, into the effort to make
the true character of the people known
to the nation and to remove the wide-
spread and deeprooted prejudices which
existed so generally at that time
against the Mormon people. It would
be invidious perhaps to attempt to give
names of other leading and influential
public men who, by the powerful ap-
peals which were made [to] them, were
induced to examine what was known
as the Mormon question from a dif-
erent standpoint to that which they had
occupied; but their names are cherished
in grateful remembrance by the men
of Utah, and their deeds will be pre-
served in the history of the people. All
the influence which he had gained by
personal acquaintance Colonel Trumbo
used to make the people of Utah better
known to the nation at large, and to
wards preparing the way for the ad
mission of Utah as a State. It is no[t]
necessary for us to go into details con
cerning his labors in this direction; i[t]
is sufficient to say that probably no sin-
gle agency contributed so much to
making Utah a State as the labors of
Colonel Isaac Trumbo and his immedi-
ate friends.
WILFORD WOODRUFF,
GEORGE Q. CANNON,
JOSEPH F. SMITH.
