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Show II POLITICAL REVIEW OF THE YEAR fl The polltlm! hlxtory of Utah for the year Juat cloyed has been of absorbing ab-sorbing Interest and of great moment. It is the opinion, of many that the trend of political events of the year is the moft Important In the history" of the Ptate, for the reason that there Is wire to he developments follow that will free Wm the State from the things that have so lor.gr tended to retard Its natural and legitimate growth. Very early In the year a disturbed condition In the ranks of the Republicans Republi-cans was provoked by the effecting ot an organization by Senator Xtecd Bmoot, and his wing Of ihe Republican party, the purpose of which was to punish those who had declined to further the interests Of the apostle and his Imnio-riJate Imnio-riJate friends. This organization, while not entirely confined to the church friends of Senator Smoot, was Immediately Imme-diately made powerful because of the Senator's ecclesiastical alliances. For a time the work of organization wan held by Its promoters to he only the Intimate Inti-mate effort of the apostolic Senator to H gather hie friends around him In the Interests In-terests of his own political fortunes To all charges that the real purpose was to make It a commanding force as well ns H an organization with which to meet the H democracy, there was a general denial. It was not long until the purpose of the Smootltcs was unmasked, for In the- selection of delegates to the Republican rational convention the Senators friends were directed to Fee to it that H no one be elected who was r.ot a part M:h and par.H of the rhurrhman' political ii.. if t,.- rMrivwlv ft oart of the Smoot wing of the party. It was directed direct-ed that these delegates be at least no part of the organization which was especially es-pecially friendly to Senator Thomas K earns. Harmony Hoped For. The plan succeeded; for It was not opposed. op-posed. The friends of the senior Senator Sena-tor were advised to take no action that would widen the breech the apostolic Senator was evidently determined to make. It was argued that of all years this was the one when the Republicans of Utah should be free from factions Besides the necessity of carrying the State for tho Republican electors, a full ' State ticket were to be elected; and complete Judicial and county tickets In addition to a Legislature. But tho overtures for peace were taken ta-ken by the friends of tho apostle as a sign of weakness or an evidence of fnlnt-hcartedness Inertcad of meeting the other wing of the party on common grounds, with a view to putting up the very best front possible against the Democracy De-mocracy of Utah, the friends of Senator Sena-tor Smoot so directed their organization that It would shut out every friend of the senior Senator, and every man who would r.ot agree to support the polk lea of the apostle. This refusal to act in harmony for the general weal of the party soon led to a oharp contest throughout the State From a legislative standpoint, the contest con-test for the nominations became distinctly dis-tinctly antl-Kearr.s the apostle and practically all of the leaders of the dominant church using all their personal per-sonal and ecclesiastical powers to defeat de-feat candidates for the Legislature who wore believed tr fa', or the return of Senator Kearns to tho United States Senate. In the selection of delegates to the State convention the contest was between be-tween the friends of Gov. Hcber M. Well who was a candidate for renoml-natlon, renoml-natlon, and Secretary of State James T. Hammond, also a Gubernatorial candidate, can-didate, on one side, and the Smoot organization or-ganization on the other. Senator Smoot had picked out John C. Cutler, practically an unknown and untried un-tried man, but a high priest of the Salt Lake Temple, to be bis candidate for Governor. The selection was tho source of much criticism of the apostle, but he brought his church friends Into line and soon made an organization so powerful pow-erful that many ambitious Gentiles and their friends lined up with the apostlo and carried the State convention. Church Interference Criticised. So patent was the work of Reed Smoot as an apostle in all these movements, that even the church friend."; of the opposing op-posing candidates for the Gubernatorial nomination openly condemned it. Among those who criticised the apostolic methods meth-ods of Senator Smoot was the Governor, a churchman Great disgust was expressed by reason rea-son of this un-American work In poll-tics poll-tics and a short time after the convention conven-tion a party was organized, known as "the American party of I tah" for the ( purpose of registering a protest against ecclesiatlclsm In the affairs of the peo-pie. peo-pie. During the Senatorial Inquiry In March and April, when evidence was' Introduced at "Washington to show that Senator Smoot, as an apostle In tho dominant church should r.ot be permit ted to retain his seat, an organized protest pro-test was effected by a number of Utah's leading citizens; and President Smith's testimony was denounced In public meetings held to consider the testimony he had given. But at that time many thought It should not take on the form of a political organization until some time when the public teemed more certainly cer-tainly Imbued w ith the Importance of It. But after the nomination of Mr. Cutler, Cut-ler, large numbers of voters held that th future of Utah demanded organized resistance to the encroachment of the ( ii BtastlCS on the affairs of the people, the time for the launching of the new party was deemed propitious. One hundred hun-dred in-n were the hartor members. Committee were ajiointed to attend to the preliminary work, and there soon followed a monster public meeting the greatest meeting In point of enthusiasm and numbers that had been held in Salt Lake City In years Democrats Were Holpless. In the meantime the Democrats had nominated a ticket that wan made up of men who would supposedly be favorites favor-ites of those who were protesting against the rule of the apostolic Senator. Sen-ator. But these nominations were so manifestly made to interrupt tho American Amer-ican party movement that the Democrats Demo-crats did not at any time In tho campaign cam-paign have assurances of success. The apostlo and his State chairman. William Wil-liam Spry, immediately set out to draw I from the ranks of the Democrats a suf-l suf-l flclrnt number of votes to replace the loss of Gentllo and antl-Smoot Mor- mon votes that favored the American ; partv . . 1 lemocratlO leaders made heroic effort to sae their party from the depleting Influence of the ecclesiastics, but as the American party pulled off one big meeting after another, the churchmen worked the harder, and the Democratic Democrat-ic political managers saw more and more the hopelesxness of their cause. The campaign was a contest between the Americans and the Smootlzed Republicans Re-publicans Not that the Americans, In a brief seven weeks, could have hopea of electing their tickets. But It waa fell by the Smootltcs that the strength of the Americana in Salt Lake county threatened the defeat of their tickets and the election of some of the Democrats, Demo-crats, hence the withdrawal of Mormons Mor-mons from the ranks of the Democracy. The Americans were left free to voto for whomsoever they might desire for Presidential electors, and on the Judicial Judi-cial nominees, and there was never a shadow of doubt that the Roosevelt on-1 Fairbanks electors would carry the State But even in view of the fierceness fierce-ness of the struggle between the Americans Amer-icans and tho Smoot Republicans the Democrats knew that they were suffering suf-fering the loss of enough votes to offset off-set the defections from the Republicans to the Americans. Three Apostles in Fight. Two of the apostlea of the Mormon church and scores of the bishops and other ecclesiastics assisted the apostolic Snator In his campaign plana. The political po-litical situation was discussed In tho ward meeting-houses. The leaders in-Btruoted in-Btruoted the people and assisted In registering reg-istering the faithful The campaign ended In a grand finale the ik.. of which has not been wlt-n wlt-n rsed In Salt Lake City, and the larg est vote ever polled was cast The re-Kiili re-Kiili sustained every claim of tho Americans The Democrats only elected elect-ed three out of sixty-three n mtoers of the Legislature In the State LBS than a dozen Democratic county officers weie successful. It was a compile "Waterloo "Water-loo for the Democrats and a triumph for the ecclesiastics. The American party vote, reaching WK) In the State, showed how effectively effective-ly many of tho best men and women of Utah exercised tnelr franchise against the priesthood. This great vote for a new patty was a stunning curprlse to the ecclesiastics. The Legislature contains fifty-seven members who were elected as Republicans, Repub-licans, the other ftix bejng three holdover hold-over Democratic Senators ami three Democratic Representatives. Of the?o 1 fifty-seven Republican members fully fjly are believed fo have been selected by Senator Smoot ar.d his ecclesiastical representatives. It Is claimed that a compact was entered en-tered Into between Senator Smoot and former Congressman George Sutherland Suther-land whereby Mr Sutherland Is to receive re-ceive the votes of tho Smoot Republt-cano Republt-cano for United States Senator to succeed suc-ceed Thomas Kearns. Hon. Georgo W. Bartch of the Supreme bench Is tho only recognized opponent of Mr. Sutherland Suth-erland for the Senatorship. An election elec-tion will b had on tho l?th of January. Janu-ary. School Election Spirited-Cm Spirited-Cm December 7 there was a contest In Salt Lake City between the American Ameri-can partv and a bi-partisan organization organiza-tion effected under the direction of the sectaries of the church, for members of -m the Salt Lake City Eoarri t 1 The contest was n3 NlSSoSWl' vote waa only aboiJt G5 1 but cast in the K.-n,r;,i ,,, ,00 I lean voto Increased in nercil,. AmN every precinct, but the seeturT. MM ed five out of the slxmtt' e,-l board voted for "rabcra of M The result of the campaign. , , la that the sectaries aro iPcoS the public schocla and the JcZt are in full power ln , elJljCsl branch of the government rVtl been accomplished by mean, o," bl amalgamating of the Mormon vL the tv o ol 1 partlea. n ot Thove w ho have bei tui-the tui-the tendency or the tlm"tVSjB sitlon to the control of .fi.SH the schoola and the affairs of ts pie. say there will be a grown , ip! sentiment until the hlerlrchy Ifl obliged to recede from the atinfl it taken. M " htfl The expoae of tho use of th vjfl Bchoolrooma for aectarlan teachVBJ,SB already resulted ln a general 2 h?4B the State Superintended of pffiSB etructlon that the religion olaailM BllUl OUt from the publ(, tchoolhJM This victory is wholly the reeSfSM campaign made by Tho Trtbuna MMm the American party illuna (gM As the year closea. great Int-rait . I felt In th': possible efTect of thajB he irln : on tho general political wiuS of Utah. It Is the opinion of rnanwM the scope of tho Senate commltw. vcEtigation indicates an Intentto? fl develop ouch facta aa will deterLiiS whether or not the Utah sltuatioHS met with Constitutional aWdJ and possibly an attempt to withJSsl fn m Utah the privileges of qtatehjjj |