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Show i -; SPEECH JOHN HENRY DID NOT MAKE. H U xAt the Irrigation Congress last week Apostle HK ' yl Smoot, Apostle John Henry Smith, Elder Shurt- H I J left and many other prominent Saints took part. Hi i h They met there many eminent men from outside Hj 1 1 1 states; senators, representatives, governors, one H j ;,? ,' of the president's own political family, many soien- K; i d , tific men and brilliant newspaper men( H!j ! Theso Latter-day Samts met the comers with Ht ' " words of welcome and extended to them befitting H ' It) courtesies and the strangers went away impressed, H Ijfi doubtless with the belief that all of evil that had H i been told them of the Mormon system was untrue. H j j But how did Apostle Smoot, Apostle Smith and H , , i the others feel as they spoke their words of wel- H: I ! come and greeted their guests? 'Did th'ey have no B j ! feeling of self-contempt at the part they were H i II j playing? Had one of them stood up and deliv- B, ' ij ' ered his honest sentiments how would the Con- H ' I gress have received the announcement? H i 1 J It would have been something like this, would B . L it not? H ; V "I bid you welcome and am sincere in that for H '" nl reaily I am glad to see you and hear you on a H, n subject that nearly concerns my people. But I feel to say that my hopes are not such hopes as you nurse, the government I believe in is not the great free government of the United States, but rather a kingdom which is fashioned after the old Asiatic despotisms and which is in-, tended to hold the people in subjection through, their superstitions and their fears. And while I welcome you I am, even in this hour, dreaming of a day in the future when the government framed by the fathers shall exist no longer, but will be succeeded by this government of ours which holds my first (allegiance and which even I am bound to obey in all things from selling sell-ing an acre of sugar beets to running for an office. of-fice. I give you the glad hand today, but am bound in honor to tell you that were we in- the majority not one of you would ever hold an office of-fice or have one word to say in the management of public "affairs, and if we were largely in the majority we would make it so uncomfortable for you that you would be glad to get out of the country alive. Let me give you an example of our ways. Only a very few years ago a respectable respect-able man came to Salt Lake City from an eastern state, bringing a wife and several small children. He Was exceedingly poor, so, after obtaining employment em-ployment he went up to Farmington and hired a little house because the rent was ovr, and moved his family there. He did not criticise our methods, but the word was sent out to our people in Farmington that the man was not of our faith. So the people refused to sell him vegetables or even milk for his little children though they needed the money and they forced him to move back to Salt 'Lake City. You must understand, too, that our people never do such things as that except through instructions from some of us in authority. You may have heard that in order to gain statehood some of us high in authority gave to the government most solemn pledges that from that time on we would never interfere with the political beliefs of our people; that they should espouse whatever political principles they pleased to and vote for whom they pleased. . That is true, it is true tlwt we have broken those pledges; that we intended to break them when we made them, but you must not, mind that because we were in a close place and had to do something, and then you do not know the fact but really the head of our Kingdom stands here on earth in God's stead, he is running "God's government gov-ernment here below and it is not only his right but his duty to direct the people how they shall think and what they shall do. I tell you these things that there may be no misunderstanding be- tween us and that you shall know we neither be- I lieve in you or your government. At the same I time we cordially welcome you and the more cor- I dially because Ave hope to use you for our own purposes in the future. Let the choir sing: "We a Thank our Lord for a Prophet." |