| Show I REA Y FOR TATEHOOD t The Opinions of Prominent Salt Lake People I NO REASON FOB DELAY t Thc People Have the Value of the Liberty Lib-erty of Statehood Ti i Puerile Objections Diet and Overruled Over-ruled h J y Truthful Statements of Hard Cold Fact Utah is ready statehood It is her bjrthright and the number of her inhabitants in-habitants and the intelligence of her people peo-ple her position and resources entitle her to every privilege and liberty and right d due to a free people She is entitled to I statehood because she has outgrown that relict of colonial bondage under which i + petty underlings have ruled over and judged her inhabitants without their consent con-sent Utah is ready for statehood because her people are loyal brave and independent and though in the past mistrusted and 0 thrust into bondage now wears the signet sig-net ring of conscious sovereign power yet to shine as the brightest gem in the galaxy of national statehood Utah is ready for statehood because her sons have no further use for the absolute veto of the oneman power nor for commissioners com-missioners to gerrymander her districts and supervise her elections Utah is ready for statehood because she demands lepresentation being willing and able to submit to taxation Her grand old mountains with their ribs of iron hearts of silver and veins of gold are ready for statehood Her happy unencumbered homes farms and fields are ready for statehood Her flocks and herds upon a thousand hills are ready for statehood Her mills and factories her merchants and bankers are ready for statehood Her schools academies colleges 1 col-leges and university are ready for statehood state-hood Her students professors and statesmen are ready for statehood The brain and brawn and heart of her people are ready for statehood Her honor integrity n in-tegrity and truth her purity virtue and health the courage of her boys the beauty of her girls the devotion of her mothers the manhood of her fathers all proclaim that Utah is ready for statehood state-hood Division on national party lines has brought harmony out of confusion and fraternal feeling out of bitter discords The hatreds of the past are buried we have become homogeneous the church does not dominate the state the state does not trench the upon rights of the church With her feet planted firmly upon the constitution and laws the bride awaits the groom Utah is ready for statehood state-hood MOSES THATCHER Yes why The territorial form of government as part of our system is temporary orary in character established to maintain main-tain order and to aid young and weak communities in their early struggle to acquire and develop strength for the maintenance of free and independent states It was never contemplated as a permanency Justice alike to the general gen-eral government and to a people under territorial rule requires the admisson of a territory to the union of states so soon as it has an intelligent and patriotic population popu-lation sufficiently numerous and stable in character with developed resources and accumulated wealth to successfully conduct con-duct all of its own domestic affairs and contribute its due share to the administration adminis-tration of the general government It I cannot be truthfully denied that all of the ends of territorial government for Utah have been attained and that the territory today has every requisite for admission The permanent settlement of Utah began be-gan with the incoming of the Mormon pioneers in 1847 nearly fortysix years ago and from that time until now there has been a steady growth in population active development of resources large accumulation of wealth and the establishment establish-ment of the manifold industries and enterprises en-terprises public and private charitable and educational which give life and character to the state and prosperity and happiness to its people The federal census of 1890 gives to the territory a population of 207905 and it has an area of 84970 square miles Its I assessed valuation of property for 1891 I i exclusive of mines not taxed was 121 14301837 i The incorporated cities and i towns having an assessable valuation of 53556198127 We have more than one thousand miles of railroad three thousand thous-and miles of irrigating canals and from I ten to fifteen thousand mile3 of wagon road The prescribed limits to this article arti-cle precludes the statistics in detail which I show that all the various and diversified I occupations that furnish employment and a means of livelihood to the citizens of our I common country thrive and flourish in Utah viz Agricultural and stock raising rais-ing mining and smelting ring I r-ing merchandising banking etc and that any energetic and industrious population pop-ulation following their chosen avococa tions secure a rich return for their enterprise I en-terprise and labor Certain of our citizens while conceding I that we have the necessary number of inhabitants in-habitants of stable habits and character ample wealth and development and every I material resource to assume the responsibilities responsi-bilities of statehood yet contend it would j j be unsafe to admit Utah into the union I i because a majority of its citizens are mem i j I bers of and communicants of the church i I I of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints They i urge that in times past the church taught 1 I and practiced polygamy in defiance of > law That it ruled its membership with j Ian ian i i-an absolute sway claimed and exercised I i the right to dictate to and control their j action in all temporal matters as well as j in spiritual affairs In a word they claim that the causes of contention which divided the Mormon and nonMormon people for so many years still exist In support of their claim they continually I recur to the past They ignore the I brightness and promise of the present and with gloomy forebodings darken the I future We invite all to a contemplation I of the truth The authorities of the Mormon church I in the most solemn manner have authoritatively i authori-tatively forbid the practice ot polygamy and have been sustained by the Mormon j i people in their action It is now an offense of-fense against the church which subjects the offender to excommunication to enter I into or practice polygamy The chief authorities of the church from the rostrum 1 trum and by publication over their signatures signa-tures have disclaimed all right or desire I to interfere or control in any manner the I political action of the people The Peo I pies or church party under the old contention t con-tention composed almost entirely of the Mormon people has been formally dissolved j i dis-solved by its authorities The Mormon I people including many holding high I i church positions have allied themselves with and are active participants in the Democratic and Republican parties It is here as elsewhere in the country that I those of the same religious conviction find themselves opposed to each other in I political belief and action Is Utah ready for statehood was I answered affirmatively by the unanimous vote of the Democratic members of the committee on territories of the present House of representatives After a full I I and fair hearing upon the home rule bill i the Democratic and Republican parties in convention have declared for statehood 11 The struggles and triumphs of the past in reclaiming the desert opening the I mines building cities and towns and the establishment of permanent and prosperous i prosper-ous communities proclaim the readiness of the territory for admission to the union of states Utah with her great population and vast interests is not only ready for but needs two United States senators and representation I rep-resentation in the lower house of Congress Con-gress With past animosities forever buried more than two hundred thousand I souls with a common interest and destiny gnitedly await the deserved boon of statehood state-hood CALEB W WEST Utah is ready for statehood She pos seses all the essential qualifications This is a fact recognized nationally It was declared in a report by the House committee com-mittee on territories of the Fiftysecond Congress in the following terms Your committee is thoroughly satisfied of Utahs entire qualification for admission to the Union with all the powers of full statehood She has a population of nearly a quarter of a million her wealth is equal to w200 000000 but 5 per cent of her people are illiterate her citizens are renowned for their industry frugality and honesty they are not only familiar with the constitution con-stitution of our country and the laws enacted en-acted under it but they acknowledge the supremacy of the law and yield obedience to it Our territory is conceded to be the home of a typical American people endowed with the energy and possessing the enterprise enter-prise which have made her beautiful mountainous country the habitation of industry refinement wealth In my judgment there has been for years no constitutional reason for withholding with-holding statehood from Utah But there have been objections which have proved more potent than all the constitutional requirements and these have received such ready belief that all appeals have hitherto been ineffectual Will it be contended con-tended that these objections still remain I Not even the hardiest opponent of self 1 government for Utah will say that conditions condi-tions have not changed while large percentage per-centage of the men of influence and character char-acter who formerly opposed admission to the Union are today foremost in contending con-tending that there no longer remains any valid reason for withholding the great i i i boan that statehood will give to this ter i i ritory It does not seem possible that any person per-son who has had to meet the dictation of a governor possessing the absolute veto i power which has time and again been I i exercised to nullify the proper and legitimate legiti-mate desires of the people or who has felt the humility of having elections conducted con-ducted by an imported commission a j j body of men wholly irresponsible to the I people can discover a reason that will I justify honest and intelligent opposition to self government I To a people that have suffered through irresponsible tyrrany the promise of statehood I state-hood is filled to the brim with all that liberty lib-erty loving hearts hold dear and sacred i j in the name of freedom That we should I keep steadfastly before us the high destiny i des-tiny which it implies seems to me as necessary nec-essary as that we should believe in the needfulness of truth and the necessity of right By bitter experience and the tears of decades the people of Utah have learned ter xi tl + 1 ilj d t I l fir rite7rr v ry r iiI i s117 G yr4 irrr I r 2 r t DELEGATEELECT JOSEPH L RAWLINS the value of that higher liberty which statehood signifies and if after all that has been endured we ae still unprepared for admission to the nnion when may we hope to possess the requisite qualifications qualifica-tions F S RICHARDS It seems needless to multiply statistics to prove that Utah has the intelligence the wealth the population and the diversity diver-sity of resources which entitle her people to statehood I therefore proceed to the objectors to Utahs admission The first objection viz that the population of Utah is un American is to say the least very unsatisfactorily un-satisfactorily indefinite If by this beautifully vague word unAmerican you mean that a large part of Utahs f population are only naturalized citizens i and that this is an objection to statehood then I pray you why do you not ask that Wisconsin Minnesota and other northern north-ern states or even New York City be expelled from the Union I insist that the right of local selfgovernment in any community cannot be made to depend upon the accident of its inhabitants birthplace The right of participation in the affairs of the government under which a man makes his home is one inherent in man and not belonging to points of compass com-pass orto climate I When the people of any territory apply i for admission into the Union three questions ques-tions and only three should be asked viz Have the people the intelligence to appreciate the liberty which belongs to them SecondHave they the morality to prevent the wanton abuse of the liberty liber-ty they demand And thirdHas the I community within itself the means of I protecting each citizen in his inalienable t rights of life liberty and property Applied to Utah these questions must I be answered in the affirmative and local i selfgovernment is a matter of right To deny the existence of this right is to deny I the equality of the rights of man to withhold it as a matter of discretion is an i I act of unwarranted tyranny i If by unAmericanism you mean i that the people of Utah have not in your estimation the right ideas as to the functions i i func-tions or duties of citizens in a republic I and that this is an objection to statehood then I reply that your objection is unworthy un-worthy the consideration of broad guaged statesmen Your objection is a denial of the equality of man before the law and is the establishment of a governing class whom you give the power to withhold that right from others To say that a man shall have no voice in government only because he has or does not have a particular mental conviction is to muzzle truth to shut out progress to embrace tyranny You cannot indict a whole community as unAmerican The people of Utah individually and collectively are better qualified to assume as-sume the responsibility and perform the duties of self government than the people of most new states The second objection urged to Utahs statehood is the possible reestablishment of polygamy In my judgment this is as improbable as is the reestablishment of slavery Both found their justification in the supposed words of God both found their extinction in the light of rational men all rejoice in the dawn of this new I eraThe The Mormon church has renounced polygamy in the only way in which any church ever changed its creed and I can conceive no motive wnich would encourage encour-age its reestablishment In the last twenty years experience of the Mormon people I find many a heartrending scene which would make them dread a return to the old conditions I therefore give it as my unqualified opinion that polygamy will not be and cannot be reestablished in Utah either with or without siatehood The third objection to Utahs statehood is the supposed danger of a union of church and state As an opponent to this union I yield second place to none but I have both as much and as little use for the Mormon church as any other When I remember that only a short time ago the Mormons might have carried that union almost to the full extent with hardly a dissenting voice and then compare their record during that period with the record I of other churches in other states I am I forced to believe that there is less danger I of a union of church and state here than I there Some states of this Union have suppressed sup-pressed liberty of speech and freedom of thought by making it a crime to deny the divine origin of the Bible the Mormons on the other hand have not only refrained from a similar denial of the right of conscience con-science but have opened their meeting houses to others for the purpose of I permitting them to discuss and deny the divine origin of their faith In Minnesota nuns in the garb of their religious order have been employed as teachers in the public schools The parallel par-allel of this offense cannot be found in Utah The Methodist church of Utah in religious reli-gious convention assembled adopted a resolution endorsing a political party while the Mormon church through its officials and in general conference even in its worst days always had a sufficient sense of decency left to deny the existence of or desire for church influence in politics pol-itics The Presbyterian church of Utah has been sufficiently thoughtless of the rights of others to demand the use of the Bible in the public schools of Utah Many churches in many states are making similar sim-ilar demands I have never known that I even a hint was made by tho Mormons suggesting such use of the Book of Mormon Mor-mon Pope Leo XIII said that when it fs lawful law-ful in the eyes of the church to take part in public affairs men who promise to merit well of Catholicism should be supported sup-ported and there can arise no case in which it would be permissible to prefer to them men who are hostile to religion The Mormon people have just elected to Congress a man who may well be classed as hostile to their religion and that in I spite of damnable appeals that were made to their religious prejudices by unscrupulous I unscrupu-lous opponents In 1S70 a Mormon legislature provided for the making of affirmation by witnesses wit-nesses This abolished that relic of bigotry which even today obtains in some states and which requires a man to believe in an incomprehensible God or an unknown un-known future state before he could be permitted to tell truth in courts of justice A recent convention of Catholics in Europe adopted resolutions demanding the restoration of temporal power of the pope in all world Yet the Mormon church has never gone farther than to express ex-press a belief that ultimately the kingdom of God should be establishedupon earth but have persistently denied that this I meant that the leaders of the Mormon church were by reason of that leadership j leader-ship to be the governing power of the stateWhen I I When X remember these things to I gether with the constant and persistent attack that is being made upon the constitution con-stitution of the United States and the liberty of Americans by such organizations organiza-tions as the the National Reform club the Womens Christian Temperance union and the Christian clergy generally when they demand congressional Sunday legislation and an amendment to the constitution con-stitution by which Congress will compel the use of the Bible in the public schools of a state irrespective of the wishes of the people in that state I cannot be but profoundly impressed with the fact that my liberties would be at least as safe and probably far safer in the hands of a Mormon state than in the hands of a Christian state It does not lie in the mouth of the Christian masses in other states to play the Pharisee and say I am holier than thou to the people of Utah Statehood belongs to Utah as a matter of right and no just man appreciating his own liberty will deny us statehood as a matter of discretion A SCHROEDER A people that will not fight for their liberties if necessary is unworthy of them The worst thing that could be said of the people of Utah is that they are indifferent to statehood No people have suffered more from a similar form of government gov-ernment than the people of this territory In many ways they have been forced into familiarity with the constitution of the United States and the forms of government govern-ment existing under it So far as the bill of rights is concerned they have tested it through the courts and brought about many legal interpretations interpreta-tions of its lines It has been a custom among a majority of the people of Utah to send abroad yearly large numbers of young men to different parts of the earth They have become familiar with the conditions in other nations na-tions and the forms of government over the civilized globe If there is any value in experience they should know by this time how liberal a form of government I the United States offers those that bring themselves in subjection to itslaws That they are appreciative of this fact cannot be denied by those having mingled with them and heard the expression of their views after they have returned from their foreign trips The ideas imbibed by contact con-tact with other people and other forms of government have oeen generally disseminated dissem-inated among their friends thus enlarjr ing the views of the young people of this territory as to the conditions outside of the United States and begetting in them a love of the liberties guaranteed under the constitution of this country To say that a people reared as have been the young Mormons of Utah are unqualified unqual-ified for the responsibilities of the duties of statehood is to make an exceedingly bold declaration and one which the condi tions of today unqualifiedly contradict Whatever honest doubt may have existed in the minds of many opposed to Utahs admission to statehood and who based that opposition in the fear that tho rights of suffrage and of statehood would not be exercised by the people of the territory untrammeled by religious influences must have been dissipated by the results of the recent election in Utah That there will always be opposition to statehood must be an accepted fact as long as there are offices that can be held by its opponents oppo-nents so long as statehood is withheld notwithstanding the fact that the general tendency of the race is towards honesty in expression as well as in purpose There undoubtedly exists everywhere a class which subordinates all purpose to their selfish designs and Utah is not wanting in this class If the people of Utah are to patiently wait the consent of men who would lose their offices by tho amission of Utah to statehood we need never look for the full liberty which is guaranteed them under the constitution Is it not the duty of every man who believes be-lieves the people of Utah to be honest and capable of government to contend for statehood manfully and at all times If it is right that the people should have this higher liberty it is certainly right that they should contend for itI and contend for it until the great triumph is secured se-cured No genuine friend of Utah who thinks more of his principle and Jove of right than of personal conveniences or selfish designs will withhold his support from a statehood movement or in anyway any-way seek to lull the people into the belief that it will come in time and that there is no hurry for it Certainly none can base any rational opposition to it who favored it at a timo when opposition to the statehood was allpowerful and when the conditions con-ditions were less favorablea time when the mind of the people of the United States was in a much more antagonistic frame than it is today The question of expense should not be considered What we want is the right and I believe it is right that all the people of Utah whom I know to be honest as a class and loyal to their convictions should be granted the fullest measure of liberty which the constitution con-stitution of the United States provides Let us have statehood R W SLOAN |
