OCR Text |
Show RENEWED SELFISHNESS. The cruel malice with which the Smootita Insist that It Apostlo Smoot shall be excluded from tho Senate every Mormon will thereby be disqualified dis-qualified and disfranchised In the United States is the crowning selfishness selfish-ness of the Smoot proposition. At Intervals In-tervals that pernicious argument has been advanced In the past by the Des-erct Des-erct News and by certain Ignorant persons per-sons connected with the church government. gov-ernment. The resistance offen'd by the American party and by The Trlbuno lo this iniquitous claim was sufficient to silence them for a period of months. However, it lias now been renewed, and virulently. The terrible plea is now offered that a disqualification of the one responsible traitor condemns all Mormons to political slavery. The occasion for a recurrence to this selfishness and falsehood is far too significant. The Smoot lies find that they are In a minority even amng Mormons- Nine out of ten of Smoot's fcllow-rcllglonlsts who do any reading and thinking, are filled with regret at his having entered into political life, nnd arc desirous of having him sent home at the earliest date practicable-provided practicable-provided his exclusion from the Son-ate Son-ate shall not be an injury to their church. It Is to terrify them into a new sympathy with him that Smoot and his henchmen arc now renewing the pry that all Mormons must stand or fall with Smoot. The statement Is as false ns It is selfish. No one Is on trial but Reed Smoot, and he Is being Investigated ts an apostlo of the Mormon church, owing ow-ing and paying an allegiance which disqualifies him to hold a place In the national lawmaking body. That is the issue, and the sole Issue presented. The Tribune has many times warned the Mormon people that Smootlsm was so arrantly selfish- that It would destroy tnem If thereby Smoot rould be advanced ad-vanced one iota in his personal ambition, ambi-tion, or If he could by community In-Jury In-Jury add one straw to his own defense. This now ebullition, of inhumanity toward his fellow-religionists Is proof of that charge. Smoot proposes that If he go down in this .conflict Ihe Mormon Mor-mon church and all Its adherents shall CO with hmi. Monnons. Just think of it1 All your rights as citizens of the United States are offered up by Smoot on the altar of Smootlsm! Is this what you prayed for when ybu begged the Nation to elevate Utah into statehood? |