Show MISTAKES OF THOMAS ffhe Governors False Prophecy Repeated Once He Claimed that Polygamy Would Never be Abolished and Now He Insists tkat Statehood is a Feril This document is a very respectable and tatesmanly paper a credit to the ability and candor of chief executive our exeeutv as also toma the territory whose educational and material progress and manifold resources are luminously exhibited in this report With this recognition of tho merits of the governors annual review it is duo the people and the subjects discussed to ear hat the report exhibits in certain of its phases a degree of incompatoucy or lack of discernment that is remarkable The ruis pprohension is so evident and so important I import-ant in relation to Utah policy that it is I worthy of careful attention Spooking of his report for the year previous the governor I gov-ernor S8 SIn S-In my report of September f 18 1 discussed at some longtn the stuteroenis which had been put forth to the effect hat me uorinoii church had refused some ims previous therio to sato polygamous Iutrrmgcs mi nfrrriuK Ii i sa-to the unsatisfactory character of L e evidence fu rnlshe saId Under its system of government the church has but one way of deunmn its position < iud hat is by I public dtclnraiion e tear from thu Lad be L-ad of the church addres to tu people nr by the action of tOe peoitie in conruren as semtolod No such peclatation has been mane I nor action taken and probably never vail te There is no reason to believe ta t any t11 111 power can extort learn the church uny such declaration I may be truthfully said that the churah has determined that i poiygamy b i to Do up rooted the government rua t perform the task as it will never do on its part any alL that wtu indicate an abandonment o polygamy My opinion was based upon the course of the Mormon people m tim past 1 do not thinu1m there was anyth nj in their history up t the date of the r port watch would iuv ju t flail ant y cn3ia san they had uuandjned siyiao I an-t CC watch they had declared to to a vui part of their rigton Herein the governor predicts that such a declaration never will bo mud This was September 0 lM low strange it is that the govornos having almost in inuiciJ t I opportunity and bourcts of itilormaron should be surprised oy events in the woy I I indicated in the following dediriUon 1 On September 2 Ib9 sixteen days after I fed icy report the jiresideit of me enure I issued tie fOlowlg ploclaIon or inciuaesto After reciting the msnuesto the governor joerI0t proceeds as follows And on October C IWO twciiyscven day after Iho general conference oE I hj cjurch on Lorenzo Snow nri upoal 01 the iuurcu the action of the president vas cndoisoU ma tiw manifesto was aatOJlcd uy tile puonle ui the foloninr languafje QuOtiug the motion in full the governor says 5a1S aysThO 5a1STe unexpected had happened anil the presi dent and tue people had taken uuiiun m the most authoritative way TiS wu an ivent which cannot Jail to vitaily effect lice futuro or to territory tr have no doubt that as they Irue teen led to I believe it was put forth by dvino siathm it i I will bo received by the members of the AIouuju I church as an authoritative rule of c nduct und i that in effect the practivo ul lygimy i toe mally renounced by the people AI the general conferenceou October i ihJi clun 1rJ clul vn taken I realilrn ugthe uctioh of Ojtober t lejf wth respect to polygamy Here the governor scums to have been I profundly mistaken in thu matter of anticipating an-ticipating even as a probability the most solemn important anti unanimous action I taken by tbo large majority of the people leion of his gubernatorial bailiwick Now there are two points worthy of no ice in 10 tce THIS MISTAKES SOCIOLOGICAL VOKECAST of Governor Thomas The first is that no public man in Utah needed to have so misread the signs of the times What is the use of marching so tar behind tho Mormons Mor-mons if one desitec to know what they are doing J Governor Thomas quotes from 1SS5 what ho considers u linality lnalty and ho might just us vMl have quoted from IbiD or 1S57 THO I Mormons did not 0 into camp in IsSo They le j I were on the move They had a definite ob1 ject in their declaration of 35 und when I circumstances required further action they moved forward In 18bS they framed a j constitution under vhicu they soiignt uu mission into the union In this druit of a I constitution they completely Bdciinced polygamy branded It as a serious crime I and subordinated their slate sovereignty to federal administration in case they should j unfaithful prove thecxiirpation of poiyg j I amy pOlyg jl I amyOf r course Governor Thomas is estopped I from saying titer the church him no j hand in this proposed tacrilicw of i polygamy for tbo war cry of the I opposition was that the proposed constitution was a morecrentu of cuurch o cuurcl policy If this were true thau the church i j had lor several yoaM meditated the aban donment of polygamy und mere can bo no reasonable doubt that tho organic draft ex l pressed precisely tho wishes of the church churcl leaders in regard to polygamy It Dud become be-come 1 matter of serious and dangerous I moment and the churoi leaders doubtless free themDelves preferred 10 from the pro I i calmation o a direct anil authoritative pro hibition of polj gamy trusting Cattier to tee ordinary yenal operation of th > proponed laws for its suppression Hut this draft of a constitution proving a futile expedient they were HEADY TO SACHiriCC IOLYGAM tin t-in any way that would put them on a fair footing with the government of the United State and so the manifesto was issued just sixteen days and ratified within twentyseven days after Governor Thomas had made a solemn ofilcial record of his conviction that such action would never betaken be-taken I The second point is thet the governor 1 c having found himself at fault in a prediction predic-tion covering ground of such immense magnitude is liable to be equally at fault in other anticipations Prior to the manifesto it was an axiom with him that the Mormons would never abolish polygamy Since the manifesto and tho organization of the national parties at organizaton tie natonal partes here is one great fundamental proposition hat constitutes tho foundation and superstructure tructure of the faith of the governor and a 11 whom he represents that is that state hood is a thought of such terrible import hat all politics I summed up in casting it eyond > the limits of the attainable Ho a cknowledges that division into parties is a good and necessary thing but partes the f ear of statehood puts it beyond the reach of the virtuous Liberals I have elsewhere stated the fear of statehoods I statehood-s the principal reason why the nonMormon citizens of Utah refused t support tho move meat to organize the people on national party lines In the meantime the Liberal party will main ain its organization and oppose statehood withal with-al the ability and power It possesses The only danger which threatens the situ aton i the possibility of statehood On the contrary every true patriot in Utah should look forward to the acquisition of statehood as a noble and desirable end Under the circumstances statehood cannot be expected or obtained until 1894 and i some such limit were kept in view and parties were enjoined to await that period and all hands set about preparing for it all barriers thrown aside every pan affiliating affili-ating with every other man and pan trying to teach and learn THE DUTIES OF AMERICAN CITIZENS i such a programme were inaugurated how much more thoroughly and surely we should bo prepared for statehood l The I antistatehood mania has but one c foundation to rest upon that is I absolute distrust of the good I faith of the Mormon people When tho division movement was started it was held that it would require several years to fit the people for an intelligent discharge of the duties of statehood While the Lib orals are playing doe in the manger the I Mormon leaders are striving to bring about that entire freedom of thought and action acton that is necessary to American citizenship Hero is an extract from a conference discourse dis-course delivered by Joseph F Smith disf the first presidency of the Mormon church at Logan tabernacle on Monday the 21 I inst as given in the Logan Journal Prof Hanncrman being the stenographer Without going into details or argument in the mater I see today as much necessity for the people called Latterday Saints to divide in political matters and so on national party lined just as much necessity font just as much wis doD in it as I saw bo ore in our union as a People I Peo-ple s partyjust exactly as much And it ha now become apparent I think to the Latter i day Saints that our only preservation and I safety lies In this course that Is that the people are to themselves to form their own judgments and their own conclusions in regard to politics and join whichever party seems good in their sight There is this about this matter 1 want it distinctly understood here by the Lat terday Saints guesi I am correct in this that S Republican has just as good a right to a standng in the church of Jesus Christ of Lat terday Saints as n Democrat just exactly And theu right on the other hand want to ay that n good Democrat has just as much rIght to a standing and fellowship iu this cnurch a1 a Republican bus as far as his right to his standing in this church is concerned I One of the greatest ends to be attains i in the work of preparation for statehood is ito i-to become fraternalized and mutually cooperative co-operative in the form of parties This of itself is an education j but the governor says that Liberals refuse to cooperate in parties for fear of statehood j that is they onl the-y true means > of statehood must be rejected re-jected because it will bring statehood which is fully as profound in logic as it is in common sense There is just this about the governors position relative to Liberals refusing ton joi to-n the people in the formation of national parties I statehood is such u holy terror to all that class of politicians in Gods namo let us have newspapers who will muko it their business and nail their ban ier to the masthead t work for statehood aud set about preparing the people for it bye by-e educatory methods and by conlidenc and reasonable encouragement by u true and generous iiiterpretatiou of tOe urjtu problem so that ere many mora years roller ov roll-er our heads we shall Do a selfgovern ing people Respectfully M > 1 UALVIX REASOXEU |