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Show ITS CLOWNISH "CRITICISM." Tho Deserct News must really bo going go-ing dafty. Last night, under a triplo column head in a box on its first pago, it presented what purported to bo "aomo planks in tho American platform." plat-form." Tho first of these "planks" was a Herald statement that the chairman chair-man of tho American Stato convention had made certain statements iu his address ad-dress to thoso present. And this is paraded as a " plank" in the American platform! Either tho Dcseret Nows does not know tho differeuco between an address mado iu a convention and the platform adopted by that convention, conven-tion, or else it is willfully seeking to deceive its roadors. There was no pro-tonso pro-tonso in tho Herald quotation, 4which tho News makes uso of, that tho matter it referred to was a "plank in tho American platform." Nor was it such a plank. Again tho News quotes as another "plank" in the platform, an alleged nnrnnsA of t.hn Amnvican nartv to raiso tho taxes on farm property all over tho count3r. The Nows Btates that this "plank" was "concealed, but therc all tho same."- Inasmuch, however, as nothing of this kind was in tho American Ameri-can partj platform and the News falsely false-ly reads it in whilo admitting that it was not there, wo shall havo to brand the News as a willful deceiver as to this alleged "plank." Any ono can read an3'thing into an3' sort of a declaration if ho will simply say that it was "concealed" "con-cealed" and that it meant so and so. The fact is that tho American platform had nothing of this kind in it, aud tho Nows is quito well awaro of tho fact. Its idiotic performanco in claiming, first, that a Herald comment on the speech of tho chairman of tho convention conven-tion was a "plank" in tho platform of that convention, and then its subsequent uttempt to claim something is in that platform but entirely "concealed," is of tho order of political harlequin. No matter what can bo said of the Deserct News as to theso two presentations it makes, it must bo admitted by even its friend6, to be a scandalous liar in claiming that certain things wore in tho American party platform that were not in there at all. Further, on its editorial side, it seems to find fault becauso the American platform plat-form did not single out the Mormon church for. its demand that high clericals cleri-cals should refrain from intrusion into politics and tho dominanco of civil affairs. af-fairs. As to this tho News says, "It is not clear whether referouco is mado to one church only." Tho platform is entirely clear that it is not meant to apply to one church onl3', Tho languago is not ambiguous, as the News claims; it is general and applies to all. If tho platform had singled out tho Mormon church on this point and demanded de-manded that it only should keep it&high ccclesiasts out of politics and from dominion do-minion in civil affairs, tho News would havo beon frantic with rage and denunciation. de-nunciation. But since tho American platform did nothing of this kind, but mado a general declaration applieablo to all churches, the Nows pettifogs and whines, and claims tho platform is ambiguous am-biguous and that it does not know whether it means tho Mormon church only or not. Such imbecility as this is realb' pitiable. The News evidently finds the American Ameri-can platform a hard proposition to tacke. And it is unablo to criticize it at ail, apparently, without reading into it things that are not there, or without a whine that it does not make a discrimination dis-crimination which the News would like to see it ma'ke. The News's quibbling, falso pretense, sneakcry, absoluto falsi ty, and imbecility, were never moro manifest than in its presentation last night ostensibly against the positions of tho Americans in this campaign, as set forlh in their platform, but really a raving outburst; becauso it could find nothing in the platform to assail. |