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Show STRAIGHTENING OUT A CROOK. We are glad (0 be able to print (he : following from the Desorct Xews, be-I be-I ing an entire editorial from the columns col-umns of tht paper of last nifjhl: VHAT IT STANDS FOR. Ill a reply (0 the Tooele Transcript. The Tribune says: "The members of tho Mormon church are not In the least abused in Salt Luke City. No ono oppresses op-presses thorn; no one nays a word against them." As will be i-ecn, that sheet assumes as-sumes the role of a hypocrite, as a slight variation from Its usual part. The Tribune has done its utmost to represent the "Mormons" as a treasonable, treason-able, pricst-rldden onraninatlon. It hns demanded the exclusion of Senator Smoot from the Senate, allcjrln.e that his moai-berslilp moai-berslilp In that organization barred him. ! It has urgod "the Mayor 10 oust every "Mormon" from office or position In tho public service. It has defended the conspiracy con-spiracy of tho Dubois crowd to disfranchise disfran-chise every "Mormon" in Idaho. It han dnf.imod the leaders of 1 lie church from thn Prophft .Toijeph to the present Incumbent Incum-bent of the ofn of President. It has defended the assassination of the prophet and patriarch, and kept tho tiros of hatred and strife burnlm? to the best of Its nbllltv. The material damage- It has done tho city Is great. For. through Its policy of defamaMon it has caused home-Feekers home-Feekers to pass us by and capital to seek other places. And yet, the sheet, like a hypocrite-, tells lUi readers that no one ever said a word against the "Mormons." The entire crusade is against the "Mormon" "Mor-mon" people. Its ultimate aim Is to deprive de-prive them of every right as citizens, except ex-cept the right 10 sine: hymns and pay J taNcs. That Is the essence of the antl- I "Mormonism" for which Tho Tribune I stands. It sees -with pleasure the money of 1 be "Mormona" at confereiife time turned Into th? usual channels of trade, and In return for this pleasure It qlves vilification, slander, falsehood, misrepresentations misrepre-sentations nnd hatred. -Inasmuch as this is a characteristic News method of presentation, we will answer seriatim: First, The Tribune is not. in the least hypocritical; it admits that if it had played the part of a hypocrite that would not only 1)9 a slight, but. a very striking variation from its usual course. 1 It has never referred to the Mormons Mor-mons as treasonable. Jt regrets that they aT priestridden, and it alleges, and has fully proved, that the leaders of the organization arc lawless, avaricious, avari-cious, treacherous, lecherous traitors. II has objected to tho scaring of Apostle Smoot in the United States Senate, not on tho ground that ho is a member of the Mormon organization, but because he is a member of the law less band of ecclesiastical robbers who make defiance of law, grasping of civil power in their own hands, and treason to the country, their characteristic attitudes. at-titudes. It has never urged the Mayor to oust evexy Mormon from office or position in the public service. Jt has not defended any conspiracy of the Dubois orowd. or any other crowd, to disfranchise every Mormon in Idaho: it has merely urged thnt. the Constitution of the State of Tdaho shall be enforced. If there are any persons per-sons in tho Mormon church who are not a.blrt to take tho oath prescribed in the Constitution of that State, those persons are lawless characters, rebels against th Stale, and the Constitution declares that thoy have no right to vole. This is., no restriction that The Tribune has placed upon Idaho Mormons Mor-mons It is a restriction placed upon them by the Constitution of the State, and w'c are in favor of the enforcement enforce-ment of this Constitution in Idaho precisely pre-cisely as we arc in favor of enforcing the .provisions of the Constitution in Ulnh that require-? the separation of church and s.taie, in spite of the fact that the treasonable priests of this Stare will not allow of such separation. It has not defamed the leaders of the Mormon church, unless in criticism 01! reckless and vile- laudation, telling the truth about them and publishing thoir own confessions of wrong-doing is defamation. Jt.has not defended the assassination of the "Prophet and Patriarch,'" nor the assassination of anybody whatever. Put it has explained the veasons why they were nssn'j.siwilod. It has not kept tho lire of hatred and strife burning, but has always ami at all limes endeavored to keep down such fires, claiming that the only way for permanent peace and harmony is that all shall equally- obey the laws, observe their promises, and meet their pledges of honor. v So far as doing-''material damage'' to this cil3', the course of The Tribune has fostered the growth, wealth, and 1 dignity of this city as iu no other manner man-ner whatever it could have been done. 'Hie American victory in 1905 brought people to this city by the thousands. Under the servile administration which prevailed prior to that time, the city's inhabitants were leaving bv the hun dreds. .Most of these came back when thf American victory was known, and thousands of others came with them. It will -be seen from the above that this sheet has not in the least been hypocritical about anything, but absolutely abso-lutely straightforward and above-board. above-board. It has not lo.M its readers rhat "no one ever said a word against : Mormons." for that would be too broad an assertion to make. It is very like- ,ly that a good many . people have spoken agp.inst the Mormons; but The Tribune answers not for everybody, but only for itself. There is no crusade cru-sade of any kind, much less an "entire'' "en-tire'' one, and there is no movement whatever, so far as we arc aware, against the Mormon people from any Enurce or direction, or -for any purpose. pur-pose. It li.'is no ultimate a.im against anybody," any-body," nor, particularly, agaiust the members of the Mormon church, from the leaders down. Wc make no war upon the .Mormons as a people, or on any uiic. We object. t .the arbitrary, tyrannous, tyran-nous, grasping, and robbing' course of ... - .... , ... -v- -. .... the treasonable leaders of the organiza-tion. organiza-tion. That is tho wholo extent of our purpose: this is avowed, open, nothing hidden in our purpose, declaration, campaign cam-paign or crusade, if you wish to call it so 9 It is not in favor of the Mormons , paying taxes above thoir neighbors, but holds I hey should not pay on a. j similar basis; and certainly makes no I objection to their sinning hymns, though it thinks thoy hn.vo very poor taste to sing porno of them. But it is their right to do as they will in this, and we would in no way invade that right. Wo sic with plea snrn, of cour.-c. the money of Mormons and of all others, at conference lime, and at; all other times, turned into the usual channels of trade. When tho Mormons or anybody elso spcud their money with tho merchants mer-chants of Salt Lake City thev eel the Avorth of that money. When thoy pour it into the tithing rat-hole they ct, nothing. They cannot oven find out. what becomes of it. They sco 'men who nil thnir lives have been poor, suddenly sudden-ly bpcomo immensely wealthy and financially poworfnl as soon as thoy get control of the tithing fund, but the Mormons themselves got no hrnollt out of it, though it enriches the leaders, puts all tho "general authorities" in comfortable circumstances, and many got immensely wealthy. Wc contend that this is a conscionceless, merciless robbing of the many for tho benefit of the few. Wc oppose it, and hold, as an economic and business proposition, that it is not only the duty of tho priests who receive this money to give an accounting for it, but it is their obvious course, as honest men and tho custodians of other people's money, to take great pains to do this. The return wo make for the good things that, cnino to Salt bake and to ourselves is to tell the truth, vilify no one. slander no one. tell lies Ttbout no one, misrepresent no oue, aud have uo hatred for anybody, unless it is a richteous hate for the ungodly, sacrilegious, sacri-legious, and uuworthy wretches who, as law-defying tyrants and oppressors, defy the decrees of God and man and rob the Mormon people without stint, giving no account of the money extorted ex-torted from them. And this we shall continue to do. world without end. |