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Show JUDGE POWERS ON THE MOR- H MONS. H Judge Orlando W. Powers, formerly tho 'great' leader of tho formor Gentile party in Utah, recently gave an Inter-view Inter-view which was published In tho Pitts-burg Pitts-burg Times, which stated very fairly tho political and social conditions as .hey exist In Utah today. Judge Pow- H irs, It Is well to remember, is a Gon-tile Gon-tile and 20 years ago was tho ablest opponent tho Mormons had, Ho In lis capacity of Judgo sentenced Mor- H mbns to tho penitentiary for practlc- ifl I' ing polygamy, but like many other prominent Gentiles, recognlze3 that conditions aro changed and that since the Moromn church in 1890 Issued its manifesto prohibiting polygamy, polyg- amous marriages have ceased. Judge Powers in the Pittsburg Times said: "Things aro changing here. Twenty years ago thoro was no commingling of Gentiles and Mormons, who divided strictly on religious lines. It Is different differ-ent now. They belong to the same clubs, aro connected in buslno3S, bo long to the same parties. I am known f to all and disliked by many as a Gen ii' tile, but nt last fall's election I ran j within COO votes of tho Democratic t candidate for governor, and 14,000 3 votes ahead of Parker, and I ran bet- i tor in Mormon than In Gentilo com- s munitles. I don't bellevo that the 9 llrst presidency now interferes in poll -j tics, as those which preceded it. 1 think Smith wants to keep out of poll- t tics as much as possible. I don't hold ? tho church responsible for my defeat, f but I do think tho first presidency al- I lows certain understrappers to use Its name and Influence in political affairs, (i Of course tho church must bo In poll- I tics to some extent with one of its y apostles in the sonato. To believe s lie would not use his ecclesiastical In- fluence to help his political nsplra- Hons, would bo to bellevo too much. k ith regard to tho heads of tho church j? being In business, that is pretty gen- J orally understood hero, and It seems t as though in that respect the authorl- $ ties aro less liberal than their prede- J cessors. I "How Is thi3 thing to bo handled? Well, much that tho Gentiles do tends only to delay tho solution of tho difficulty. diffi-culty. Fighting the church meroly J solidifies tho Mormons. They aro a good people, industrious, hospitablo I and honest, and, above nil, sincere in I their religious belief. They look upon their lenders as chosen and Inspired by God, nnd when Independence moans rebellion re-bellion against them, thoy stand by their leaders. Still, thoro Is an independent inde-pendent element, and tho church will either havo lo go cut of business and politics or theso Independents will go out of tho church. Thero aro young Mormons who want Utah to bo more llko other states. In endeavoring to solve theso questions it must first be considered that thero aro conditions hero, social and commercial and polltl; ' cal, unknown elsowhero in tho United States. It must bo recognized that tho Mormon religion is ono of tho rellg-5 rellg-5 ions of tho world and Is hero to stay, S and with that must bo recognized tho ! sincerity of tho Mormon people and I tholr right of conscience to worship God as they will, but it always must I bo insisted, though In a conservative j way, that tho laws of this country ! must bo obeyed, its institutions recog nized, and respected, and that every man must bo lot alono, and lot alone i absolutely. If in a llfotlmo a man makes only an Impression for tho bot-terment bot-terment of conditions, ho will havo ac-! ac-! compllshed much?" |