Show THE SOLUTION OP TIlE PROBLEM An attempt is made to make the candidacy of George Q Cannon for United States senator appear as an interference in-terference of the church with the state and if he is elected all sorts of disasters dis-asters are to befall the state not only in a political way but in a business way also The wheels of progress are to revolve backward All that has been done in the past five years to put Utah fairly in line as an American state is to be undone in a moment Utah is to be rolled back twenty years every possible advantage that it was honed statehood would bring is to be destroyed our borders will be closed to the inflow of either people or capital cap-ital and such distrust created that in a little while the confidence of neighbor in neighbor will be destroyed de-stroyed and it will appear not only in politics but all along the line of business How the choice of George Q Cannon for senator would be an interference on the part of the church in politics is not and we are of opinion cannot be made clear We have said and we say again with increased emphasis if that is possible that the less talk we have about undoing the work that has been done in the last five years for Utah ana rolling Utah back twenty years the creation of distrust and preventing the inflow of either people or capital into Utahthe less of that talk we have the better How will the election of George Q Cannon to the United States senate be an interference of the church with politics or the domination of the state by the church It must be remembered remem-bered that the very great majority of Utahs people are ofthe Mormon faith that nearly all the male members of the Mormon church hold some degree or other of the Mormon priesthood and so numerous are the church officers of-ficers so elaborate the organization that nearly all the men of the Mormon Mor-mon faith of anv marked ability and character hold some high ecclesiastical office Yet these men these high church officersare not like the ministry min-istry of other churches They are not a class separated from the people and especially dedicated to the work of preaching True in many cases they receive some remuneration for services ser-vices performed but that is slight and in no sense can they be considered a hireling nriestliood or a paid ministry min-istry They are men of affairs They are farmers stockmen merchants mechanics schoolteachers lawyers doctors and sometimes mInersyet they are also high ecclesiastics And this is true of presidents of stakes seventies and annstles as well as of bishops and others Now what is toe to-e done with these men in politics Retire them all to the rear and allow them no active part To do that would deprive the state of some men that are capable of rendering the best service to the state and the people ought not to be denrived of their services flhall we say that merely the general officers of the church such as the apostles shall be barred But the reasons that would bar these men from the general gen-eral politics of the state would bar presidents of stakes and bishops of wards from local politics for the ecclesiastical ec-clesiastical influence of the latter in the locality where they operate Is just as great as the ecclesiastical influence of the apostles is in a general way None of thes men can be nor ought they I to be barred from nartIcipation in politics The only thin that can be demanded of them is that they do not presume upon their church positions as giving them any right to dictate in politica affairs that they recognize the fact that in politics as before the law all men are eaual and that the church official has onlY the same right in politics that the layman has That in the political arena the apostle the bishop and the layman can only count for what they aretheir knowledge of the affairs of eroxernment their standing stand-ing for truth for honor and upright manliness determining the station they shall hold and not their office in the church I This is what may reasonably ibe demanded de-manded of these men This can be and will be enforced And with this enforced the nonMormon membership member-ship of the respective political parties ought to be and will be content |