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Show . , , , - ON-' iHI3D3Ss ' JNSTEilJCra ' BY SHOOT "The Mormons can dictate their own terms In Idaho this fall, and this I can declare to you officially. "Personally, I care not .what happens to myself, but the Lord will thwart the election and the purposes of that archenemy arch-enemy of Mormonlsm Dubois. I am confident of our success In Idaho." Such are the words attributed to Apostle-Senator Reed Smoot during a talk before a secret meting of the Mormon Mor-mon priesthood at Manassa. a Mormon settlement in Conejos county, Colo., near the New Mexico border. Senator Smoot went to Manassa ostensibly osten-sibly to attend a religious conference, but politicians who know rhat conference confer-ence and political meetings are one and the same thing knew that some special political significance attached to the visit. Continuing, Senator Smoot Is alleged al-leged to have said: "Our colonization of certain counties Is full and complete to assure the right returns. re-turns. I have personally made the canvass. can-vass. In the next Legislature In that 6Ute the balance of power will be held by the Mormons, and the Democrats and Republicans alike will find a futility of effort without Mormon support. "Our organization is Invulnerable. We know that there have been few Instances where a Mormon has turned a deaf ear to the Instructions from the stakehouse. "And who can be better "political advisers ad-visers than our spiritual guides our bishops? "Do not be carried away by the ante-election ante-election ' praiBes and promises of a glib-tongued glib-tongued Gentile, but vote according to your conscience and the interests of freedom free-dom of our church and belief. "We are a great power, and our power will grow and our enemies must reckon with us." . . . , . Senator Smoot at his home in Provo last night admitted that he had visited Manassa recently, and that be was there seme. time. He returned home from there about a week ago. ' , A Mormon residing In the vicinity of Manassa, who is not now in good standing stand-ing with the church, is quoted as saying1, regarding Smoot's visit there: "Senator Smoot and the elders met in executive session, and of. course, no member mem-ber would divulge what took place there. My wife has it from the bishop's household house-hold that Senator Smoot is on a visiting tour to all Mormon settlements to arouse secretly with the elders and publicly with the people their liveliest' Interest in the next political campaign. Mormon-ism Mormon-ism will be checked back fifty years or given a great impetus, with the fate of Smoot; and, if this should prove to be the worst, it can be tempered and ameliorated ame-liorated to the Mormon people and prospective pros-pective converts only, by the defeat of Dubois." Manassa, in former days, was one of the famous "hide-outs." .It ranked with Pipe Springs and Fredonla as "cities of refuge," where Saints with a plurality of wives were wont to travel when pursued pur-sued by a realous U. S. deputy marshal with a warrant of arrest. More than one of the present quorum of. apostles it alleged al-leged to have enjoyed the safety of the Manassa "hide-out" in the olden times. It is a rock-ribbed settlement, composed almost entirely of Mormons. |