OCR Text |
Show purify tho air, may break over our heads, but that it will break some day is undeniable. Without endorsing the subjoined letter on this subject in all its details we cheerfully give it space, coming as it does from an old and respected re-spected citizen and -ex-army officer. It is the part of wise leadership to meet new movements, not to be overwhelmed over-whelmed by them. KdltorTiMKS. "It's a long lane that has no tinning." Tho "peculiar lust tution," Hutmtlng itself In the face of patriotic Americana and permeating every institution of mormon li'. lnvllel aud demon led opposition ut every point. Local politics aud national legislation cave It noi,u irter, the soc.al and 11lier.tll7.lnK tendencies of the ax" undermined It. The riln generation Wti growing Intelligence and outside acquaintance became ashamed, not to say distrusted with It, Pressure from within and without showed Itself III the public chnnhly manifesto o' last aut nun. The masses of the mormon people have liy their own ad repudiated polytcamy us a tenet o the church. Whether that repudiation is largely h;ise,l tip' n principle or policy it Is Immaterial now to enquire. Future political action must be based upon actualities rather than up in theories. It Is 1 lie to Insist that p ilygamy Is other than a dead Issue now and hereafter. Utah must remain re-main a territory for the present - perhaps for a term of years. An edm a tonal campaign Is a present necessity lu lier political life. Loyally Loy-ally to the nation aud a knowledge of national Issues Is the legitimate outcome of Intelligent dls usslon on national party lines. To this complexion must it speedily come. The narrow nar-row margin of Asiatic mill polygamous barbarism bar-barism furnish no room for the march and countermarch of ureal political uueslln uud parties. The civil mid military discipline of the last uuarterof a century tit and prepare the d:sapiieai':ng and rising generations for more Intelligent perception of poll-tl poll-tl al issues and for a higher plane of aitlonln connection with our national life. The tidal wave of c rcumstance and op(iortu-ntty op(iortu-ntty sweeps away liberal and mormon parries alike and with tl.em It la to be hoped, the crowd of bummers and barnaclesmore hangers hang-ers on. A community of political an 1 business busi-ness Interests. If not of social and ecleslastic.il attachments. Is luli gln,' together the hetoro-g hetoro-g cm ous classes of tills tenltory. Possibiy, uay. piobalily, prii slly arrogance a:ulS Intolerance Intoler-ance uiay luteriiose obstacles to political reform, re-form, but opposition to ecclesiastical meddling med-dling ami interference with the stat.i or with political parties should be first and foremost In the platforms of each und every party which llleslts flag In Utah. Let political clubs bo formed In every towu 'and hamlet. Let the old veterans vet-erans of other states and times strike bauds with tho young men of Utah who are tired of the narrow ruts and ecclesiastical eccles-iastical war cries of the past anil who are emulous em-ulous of higher political life. Let the mountain moun-tain air of this material paradise give nerve and vigor t the growing wings of the great national parties that n 111 wheel Into line with the lowland hosts in the presidential contest of IS:, anil whose national legislators shall then touch elbows with the vigorous representatives repre-sentatives of filter silver states. J. F. I). ! TIIK SITUATION. Disintegration is in the air. Last ! November when Judge Goodwin ran 1 for congress there were democrats in j this city who refused to vote for him 1 until ho defined his position on the j election bill then pending in congress, j This month a great many republicans, jit is said, opposed McNltt in Ogdeu j because of bis Hourbon proclivities. Yesterday wo received a letter of Chairman Saxev of tho Provo liberal committee resigning his office because he believed the time ripe to Americanize Utah by introducing American issues in our politics. Says he, "to vole for a democrat is a bitter dose; to vote for a democrat who served in the rebel army I never will." Mr. Calvin Keasonkr of Payson, who is well remembered here for his energetic work with the tiOODwiN pilgrims, urges tnrougn tho Payson Leader the reformation of parties par-ties on national lines. Tho republican club in Ogden. started only a few days ago, already numbers 450 members and the democratic club in the same place is recruiting rapidly. All this maybe may-be the rumbling of distant thunder, but thunder it is, aud the air is surcharged sur-charged with electricity. We don't know how soon the storm, which shall |