OCR Text |
Show THE BEE. 5a n cly IS e is 1 1 1 i i or i ml :ied I nel ion 3 j an- - irs, , as ?dit ed. 1 he ret, ned lied lOllt i ing i ; ! ; re a m iate ! nis- - ' lese j i of inty j ? jur- dis- - 3ers well ent, the hey but :ept tion one who rincr O i I 1 i j I 5 red was tion 3 that 2ely him a me teral and the o in tion. aney tess, the was it ion lonel ihsco time ends se of hise- - 4 ment bill, but to arrange meetings between them and his Utah backers. Politicians are not sentimental as a rule. In fact where sentiment creeps in success seems to slip away. Party leaders, and especially national leaders, are intensely practical. They are invariably looking for party advantage, rather than the amelioration of the human race. Consequently it is little wonder that they wanted to know what they might receive in exchange for their interest in Utah affairs. This was politics, pure and simple, and Clarkson is a politician, pure and simple. Trumbo was able to pull another string, by reason of his San Francisco connections. He was able to reach Senator Stanford, and while the good old gentlemans name was a power in the premises, he was not much of a schemer and a poor worker for anything but his hobbies. Still a meeting was arranged between a select few Re publican leaders, including Clarkson, and two representatives of the Mormon ehurch, President Geo. Q. Cannon and Bishop Hiram B. Clawson. The practical aspect of the situation was discussed and it was deemed possible to switch Utah from the democratic column, provided the relief prayed for was granted. Other meetings followed. The ubiquitous Isaac was in constant evidence. He had confided his ambition to Clarkson. He gazed fondly upon the bright side of the future. He was simply irrepressible. He slapped Blaine on the back, called Harrison old man, and patronized his distinguished employers. He was in his glory. He gained an audience with Reed and Teller and Nor Stanford and even the plumed knight. did his business instinct desert him. He prevailed upon Clarkson to exact a still further promise from Messrs. Cannon and Clawson. It was that, not only should Utah become Republican, but the Colonel should be made one of its first senators. This was agreed to, but the agreement was couched in those vague, diplomatic terms which characterize the utterances of Utahs leading politician. That the Colonels praises should be sounded throughout Utah and that his claims on the gratitude of the people should be impressed upon the voting majority was promised however. These affairs have not been proclaimed from the house-tops- , although President Jos. F. Smith has related, as reported by the Tribune, that an agreement between the church leaders and the Republican organization had been entered into and that certain men had brought upon themselves the displeasure of the authorities because they had sought to defeat the arrangement and prevent the change being made. This fact he has never denied, nor has anyone seen fit to deny it for him. And upon another occasion he indicated his approval of the agreement by saying that the Republican party would not help Utah while it was supposed to be Democratic and that he would have acted in the same way under the same circumstances. But that is another story. The administration changed hands just as the Colonel seemed to be getting his task well under way, and the situation was thus rendered rather embarrassing for all the parties to the original contract. But the die had been cast, the leaven had been at work, and Utah became Republican, although the rest of the country became Democratic. Then statehood came and with it the discussion as to whether Providence or the Demhow this ocracy should have the credit. Just at point was settled, or whether it was settled all, is a matter which is not quite clear. But the following telegram, published soon after the passage of the admission bill, may throw some light on 5, the subject. WESTERN UNION TELEORAPII CO. Salt Lake City, Utah, July 18, 1801. Colonel Trumbo, The Shoreham, Washington, D. C.: From the days of our travail in the wilderness we have hopefully looked forward to the time when our Territory should be recognized by the Nation as an honored member of its family of States, and while we now accept, with hearts full of thanksgiving and praise to the God of Nations, for what he hath so marvelously and wonderfully wrought, we rejoice with and congratulate you on the successful termination of your labor, which has resulted in Utahs enfranchisement and political deliverance to her people. For while your hand has not been seen, and others claim all the honor, those who know the facts fully appreciate your efforts and freely accord to you their heartfelt gratitude for the deep interest you have taken in the matter. Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, Joseph F. Smith. Ind ue time the Colonel came to Utah and took up his abode in the Gardo house. The fall of 95 found him making an independent campaign over the state in company with several other distinguished gentlemen and his own accomplished wife. Their entertainments were unique and fairly well attended and laid a sort of foundation for the work expected to follow. It was at this time that another letter was sent forth showing the Colonels identification with the commonwealth a sort of certificate of residence : as this later epistle is an acknowledgement of services rendered. The following is an excerpt : Colonel Trumbos citizenship has been into brought question. The excuse of his for not supporting him is that he has not been in Utah a sufficient length of time to entitle him to aspire to this exalted position. We do not know how long a residence is necessary to permit a man to aspire to a political position, but we have no hesitation in saying that Colonel Trumbo has lived more years in Utah than any of the candidates who aspire. to the position of United States Senator. tra-duce- rs The legislature met, the senatorial election was held and the Colonel failed to get a vote. He was sore but discreet. He kept his counsel and bided his time. That he remonstrated with those upon whom he had depended is a matter of record. That they assured him of their sympathy and support, is also a matter of record. That Isaac was satisfied with these assurances is by no means apparent. He took President Cannon to task and some valuable documents involving that gentlemans reputation to California with him. He has those documents yet. If he had them not the letter in the News would not have been published. If Bishop Clawson had succeeded in getting them when he went to San Francisco for that purpose the other day, the letter would not have been published. If a satisfactory settlement could have been made by the first of February the letter would not have been published. But the letter was published and a personal letter wTas sent to the Colonel acknowledging his hold upon the brethren, but requesting him to be as easy on the church as possible owing to the great debt under which it is laboring. These are facts, the documentary evidence of which is not inaccessible to The Bee. Some people have an idea that the Colonels boom for the senate is being launched again ; that the circumstances are more favorable today ; that the people of Utah are under better discipline than they were two years ago ; that anyone with proper endorsement can be elected now situation, has again presented a claim for his pound of flesh. But The Bee is not so well convinced of this.- - It is far more likely that the Colonel needs money ; that he would like to be reimbursed for the time and lucre he has expended according to several written and printed acknowledgements thereof ; that his figure is a little high ; that an appeal to him to reduce it has been made in vain ; that the claim will be presented in due time before the selection of a legislature this fall ; that it will be crowded to a settlement provided the legislature is composed of party men ; that it will only be urged as an alterative in case the legislature is made up of what the News calls patriots who might be induced to vote for him. But one thing is certain. The Colonel holds some sort of a key to the situation. It may be a skeleton key to somebodys closet. At all events he is causing consternation in high places, and there is no disposition on the part of those in authority to treat the matter lightly. It has every symptom of a genuine case of alarm. Bishop Clawson went to San Francisco a little while ago for the secret purpose of securing some sort of arbitration. The best he could get was a truce. And Isaac is now resting on his oars, as the saying is, awaiting developments. It was while the bishop was with the Colonel that both were interviewed by coast reporters and their statements published in the Call, the Chronicle and the Examiner. Here is the part which relates to the Colonels claim on the church and the secrecy concerning the obligation Two years ago the property of the Mormons that had been confiscated was returned to them by the Federal Government. But Isaac Trumbo kept the Amelia palace. He declared last pight that there is an understanding between him and the Mormons in reference to that house. It was understood, he says, that he should retain the house, but he would not tell under what conditions. Bishop Clawson is equally reticent on this statement. After Trumbo failed in his ambitiou to become a senator of the United States he left Salt Lake City and came to this city to make his permanent home. If the opinion of Bishop Clawson is any criterion, however, Trumbo retained the friendship of the Mormons, and his Senatorial ambition is not yet dead. ; and that the cunning Californian, sensing the Such, in brief, is an outline of the history of Trumbos connection with the people of Utah. The Bee relates it without bias for or against the Colonel. But so few people are acquainted with the matter and it has been thrust before them so unexpectedly and persistently and officially for several days past that this synopsis is given in the line of duty to an enquiring public. No one can view the recent declarations of the authorities, and consider the abrupt, inopportune manner in which the name of Isaac Trumbo has been placed before the members of the dominant church, without making up his mind that some one has some one else in a corner in the hole, so to speak. But The Bee desires to do a simple act of justice to innocent men and say that while Presidents Woodruff and Smith are'honestly, earnestly, hopefully and diligently trying to extricate their organization from the unpleasant predicament it is now in, they were in no wise responsible for the"misfortune of its being there. But it is not the first time that these two men have been obliged to reap the harvest of the mistaken policy of one whose personal success is phenomsnal while his public plans gang aft aglae. Last Sunday afternoon the venerable president of the church discoursed upon the subject of this sketch. His heart is full of gratitude for what he has been led to believe the California man accomplished in the interest of his people, and he spoke his feelings truly. But whether or not Colonel Trumbo is the giant some people seem to see when they look at him is a mooted question. And yet he is certainly a genius in his line, and his line is almost exclusive, |