Show j = IVO 1ILLLiL PAItLL L I II I There is no comparison between the I Tribute cry of church interference because be-cause of the late candidacy of George Q Cannon for a United States senator ship and the complaint of the Democratic Demo-cratic party in last falls election over the same thing There was no evidence evi-dence of church interference in the candidacy of the elder Cannon He is a Republican has authorized his friends and supporters to represent him as such and it is agreed that he possesses the ability and character thaY justified his Republican friends in pushing his laims Let inereuniry do what it may it cannot wring out of the circumstance a domination of the state by the church As for the Democratic complaint of last fall it must be remembered that it was not based on the one single circumstance cir-cumstance of two Democratic nominees nom-inees being reproved for what is called a breach of church rule in accepting political nominations for office without first consulting the ecclesiastical superiors super-iors That circumstance standing alone I might not have justified the Democratic complaint and the reassembling of the reconvened convention But there must be remembered in connection with the incident above named the use that immediately im-mediately began to be made of it by Republicans That use was that I among Mormon Republicans it was being said that the incident clearly manifested that the two gentlemen referred to were out of favor with the church authorities and indicated that the said authorities would be pleased with their defeat So that if the reproof re-proof were merited and the church authorities were right in administering it certainly the use made of it by Republicans ir i the manner indicated was not justifiable for their action in relation to this incident converted it into a church interference with politics poli-tics it became an instance of mingling religious Influence in political affairs whatever may have been the original intent of those who uttered the reproof re-proof and remonstrance became a necessity It is useless for anyone to undertake to say that the incident was not used as described above we know it was and that quite generally throughout the territory Moreover it should be remembered that this reproof incident together with the use subsequently made of it was not the first time that prominent churchmen church-men from the vantage ground of their ecclesiastical position had done injustice to the Democratic party In very many parts of the state In meetings meet-ings of a religious character inquiry had been made as to the political standing of those present and sometimes some-times in a general way in regard to those of the community not present at the meeting And while perhaps It is technically true that no Democrat Demo-crat was asked to turn Republican and certainly and emphatically no Republican was ever asked to become a Democrat yet it cannot be denied in truth that it was repeatedly said in such gatherings that there were too many Democrats and those who as yet were neither Democrats nor Republicans Re-publicans were urged to balance up things by at least acting with the Republicans Re-publicans In this way the very large number of citizens who had not yet become settled in their party affiliations affilia-tions were carried bodily into the Republican Re-publican party not by being converted to Republican doctrine but purely out of respect for the ecclesiastical office of the men who advised them to go to the Republican party It was in this way gentlemen of the Republican party that Utah was made a Republican Re-publican state r This was the triumph of your Republican principles in the naturally and overwhelmingly Democratic Demo-cratic state of Utah It is useless to deny It from Richmond to St George the people know It to be true Well in view of all this experience when in the heighth of a political campaign cam-paign the reproof incident came upon the Democratic party and Republicans Re-publicans clapping their hands for joy rushed from house to house and from man to man saying I that it was manifestly the 5esire of high church officials that the two Democratic nominees in question te lofoitpd IK u nriv wonder that they complained u and vigorously protested What else could they do Was it to be supposed that they would be so weak as to meekly lay down in the dust and allow Republicans to walk i I over them The matter of the Democratic protest pro-test against ecclesiastical interference through its reconvened convention in the summer of 1895 forms an important impor-tant event in the political history of the late territory of Utah and at no time will it ever bring regret or shame to the Democrats of the state I |