Anti-Mormon news articles often appeared in both the Harrisburg and Lykens Valley area newspapers. From the Lykens Register, May 31, 1900:
Mormons at Pillow.
The Harrisburg Telegraph of last Friday, contained the news that Mormons were trying to get a foothold in Dauphin County, by operating at Pillow. It stated:
“The correspondent at Pillow, in the northern part of this county, makes public an interesting bit of news in the statement that two emissaries of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, or more commonly known as Mormons, have been trying to do some work in the neighborhood of Pillow by scattering tracts and literature depicting the beauties of their church. It does not appear that these alleged saints made any progress with the people in Upper dauphin, and it is taken for granted that their efforts were discouraged and a deaf ear turned to their teachings, for the correspondent tells us that the two Mormons left the place without paying their board bill. Now a Mormon as a simple proposition is bad enough, but a Mormon who will jump his board bill is simply unendurable, and it is for him and the likes of him that jails are built. It is forbidden to drive the Mormon from the community, and no matter how much the good people of a town would like to apply a coat of tar and feathers to the Mormon and then ride him on a rail, it is against the law – if caught, but it is perfectly proper to have the Mormon who jumps his board bill arrested and committed for trial, for there is a law for this, and it is to be hoped that the good people of Pillow will hunt the rascally Mormon board bill jumpers down, and send them to court in Harrisburg, that they may get a taste of Dauphin County justice, than which there is no purer article dispensed in all the State. First, catch the Mormon, the Court will do the rest.”
The same article appeared in the Harrisburg Telegraph, May 25, 1900. In addition, the “Pillow News” section of the same paper contained the following paragraph:
Two apostles of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) flooded the town Tuesday with their tracts and departed without paying their board bill. Imposters of this kind should be compelled to flee from every town they enter.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.