OCR Text |
Show IGNORANCE CONFESSED. It was not particularly nccessarj- for the Deserct News to call attention io the boasted ignorance of its priesthood. Yet it has done so, meantime paying tribute to the educated intelligence of the Christian ministry. But asido from these indiscretions hc church organ has again observed its sacred practice of misquoting The Tribune, in a hamstrung ham-strung scramble to upsot a proposition presented by this paper in the Smoot case. Mollycoddling its way through nearly a column of more or less valuable space, in making contrast between its own ignorant ig-norant priests and learned Catholics, tho Almighty's pretended journalistic representative rep-resentative vacantly glorifies the fact that a bishop or a president of a stake, a first president of seventies, or even an apostle, may be a shoemaker, baker or cajidlcslickmakcr, and that he is not required to possess any education whatever. what-ever. Tho News omitted reference io the president of the church in this connection con-nection he has spoken for himsolf. His boast on the stand in the tabernacle has been to the effect that he was uneducated; un-educated; that he would not permit any of his sons to bo educated to a legitimate and learned profession; that to him the professions and tho arts and sciences wore vainglorious and useless pursuits of a wicked world. His life has consistently demonstrated the earnestness earn-estness of his belief, for his only utterances ut-terances which have not been plagiarisms plagia-risms have smellcd the heavens of ignorance; ignor-ance; and during all of his lifo ho has not dono or uttered an original useful thing for liumanity, nor produced a single thing whoso construction would involve the possession of skill or expert ex-pert knowledge. Even in the prophetic vocation, which was created for him by moro capable progenitors, he has utterly failed to make good, except in threo particulars i. c., sensuality, falsehood, and money-grabbing. Beginning with the head so qualified and yet incapable, it is but reasonable to assume that in the selection of underlings a harmonious color scheme of incompetence would bo observed. Joseph F. Smith has made his life, since he entered his lnrgcr ecclesiastical career, an illuminated demonstration of tho truth that the more ignorant tho proponent, the more effective the superstition. su-perstition. By means of his profound nescience he is in receipt of an annual income of two million dollars from supporters sup-porters whose very contributions denote a state of mentality which must be entirely en-tirely subservient to his own monumental monumen-tal crassncss. And tho personal organ has not escaped tho influence of the propholic unworth. Incidentally,' the Dcsorct News falsely assumes that The Tribune declared that it would be unconstitutional or illegal for a cardinal of tho Catholic church to occupy oc-cupy a scat iu tho Senate. But The Tribune Trib-une said no such thing. What it did Bay was that during the controversy antecedent to the Senate's action in tho Smoot caso, it had been Tepcatcdly admitted ad-mitted by proponents of Smoot " that a, Catholic cardinal could not be seated in the Senate. Especially would this be tho case if that cardinal were appointed ap-pointed by the Pope, elected by the exercise ex-ercise of his power iu the church, ami sent to the Scuatc us his representative in that body. This paper also said that the action of tho Senate, had determined tho proposition that there was not a singlo reason in law, othics, or politics now, which would, prevent tho acceptance accep-tance and rotention of, a Catholic cardinal car-dinal as Senator; nnd thnt if the rule of numerical equation of rcprosentatiou, as proBonfcd in the number of adherents adhe-rents of the two organizations, wore to be observed, the Senate could be practically prac-tically Catholic. And -while there is no danger thnt the church of Rome would permit itself to so. intrude itself whore it does not belong, thero is no rule of logic which -would operate, against the justice of such an event if the Smoot decision is to bo permitted to stand as a precedent. The News complains that The Tribune Trib-une refuses to bow to the conclusion of the Senate. Tho Tribune docs not contend that tho Senate has acted outside out-side of its legal power; but this paper insists that no question has been settled set-tled until it has been settled right; and and inasmuch as tho consequences of tho Senato decision will probably come back to unbearably vex tho Nation, we expect ex-pect to sco the recent steps retraced, no matter how painful may be the retreat. Naturally the Senate has a legal right, and a constitutional right, to seat or unseat an elected Sonator. Tho Tribune's contention was, and is, thut sufficient grounds were asserted and proved in the Smoot case to justify his exclusion from an American Senate. A contrary view was procured from a majority ma-jority of Sonators; but in tho 3'oars to come, when the full effect of thoir exercise of their legal jiower shall bo recognized, and when it shall become known that a Mormon apostle is moro-lj- the representative of an alien and antagonistic government, probab- a majority of tho Senators, then sitting, may bo glad of an opportunit3' to reverse re-verse b3 virtue of their legal right the present policy. In the meantime, it is an exhibition of mighty poor taste for tho Deseret News to be whining about regard of law, nnd demanding quiescence after decision de-cision has boon reached by a legal tribunal tri-bunal or legislative bod3 Tho professed profes-sed organ of tho Lord could road a significant, lesson to itself and to its masters, if it onl3' would, as to this matter of bowiug to authority;". But the News -will not do that, preferring to remain tho unblushing champion of fraud, deceit, lvypocrisy, law-breaking, treason, and ignorance. Douglass nnd all the others, where is naught but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth by miserable wretches wretch-es who have offended against the Majesty Maj-esty of the Nation. |