| 493 women who were not already married into polygamous families, or were bespoken for some bishop. This man further stated that he was not alone in being unmarried for the same cause, the contamination of polygamy."
Neither the Times nor Herald gave the sentence in the obnoxious form used by the Tribune. I had twice before been misrepresented by the same paper, and tried to have them set me right, and failed; and so did not try in this instance; but in the issue of our own paper, the Saints' Herald, for June 1, 1882, as soon after the presentation of the matter in your issue for May 13, 1882, as it was possible, I published this correction, of which a copy of the paper containing it was sent you, with the denial of having made the statement; using the following language concerning it: "The statement as given in the Tribune report, and which the News denounces as an 'atrocious lie,' was not made as stated. The Times and Herald each published a report, and neither of them got the remark in the form given by the Tribune. As given it is a harsh remark, of which we do not object to the News finding fault."
The virtue and purity of the women of Utah, aside from plural marriage, were not questioned by me and never have been.
I hand you herewith a copy of the Saints' Herald for June 1, 1882, that you may see that I made the correction of the improper statement as soon as I could after my attention was called to it. Had I made the remark I should justly deserve censure; but not having made it, you should in honor to yourself and justice to me permit this to go before your readers.
Yours respectfully,
JOSEPH SMITH.
This was presented to the Deseret News by President Smith in person, but it did not appear.
July 15 Elder E. L. Kelley wrote to the Saints' Herald from Obarlin, Ohio, with reference to the celebrated Spalding Manuscript, as follows:
In response to your letter forwarded to me by Bro. Blakeslee, I came here yesterday to arrange for a copy of the long-lost and hidden story of Solomon Spalding. The Manuscript is old and getting much worn; the outside leaves being in places thumbed and pinched to such an extent as to make it necessary, in a few instances, to supply words from the evident connections. There are sufficient marks and dates connected with its pages to show beyond any question that the writing is that obtained by Hurlbut from Mrs. Davison, as the one claimed by the enemies of the Book of Mormon to be the story forming the basis of the same, and delivered by the said Hurlbut to E. D. Howe, of Painesville, Ohio. After examining (in connection with the reading of President J. R. Fairchild) the Manuscript and story as related therein, I am fully satisfied as to the object Howe had in suppressing it when he published his "Mormonism Unveiled."
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