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Show THE DISGUISE WHOLLY OFF. On Monday night, in the Sixteenth ward mooting house, President Nephi L. Morris completely took off tho dis-guiso dis-guiso from the church activity in politics. poli-tics. Ho declared that "the presidents of tho six stakes in Salt Lake county conferred con-ferred together and it was decided to deliver the Mormon vote to tho Republican Repub-lican party." This declaration at once confirms and assumes everything that has been charged. It confirms absolutely absolute-ly tho meddling power of the church in politics. It assumes that the Mormon vote is at tho disposal of the ecclesiastical ecclesias-tical authorities. It assumes that the Mormon voters are willing to bo Used b3 theso six presidents in politics pre-ciseky pre-ciseky as those presidents wish. And President Morris uttered these words with an air of confidenco and finality that indicatod his completo belief in the ability of these presidents to deliver de-liver tho vote as they had concerted to do. Needless to say, this' is an absolute thrusting of the church power into politics, poli-tics, even to the extreme, saying that "tho Mormon Democrats will "vote the Ropublican county and judicial ticket or bo traitors to their church." This puts the matter squarely as a church proposition, and tho church, through tho mouths of these six presidents, demands, de-mands, as a matter of allegiance, that its monibers vote tho Ropublican ticket. That is, to be a good Mormon you must bo a Republican. We shall probably, therefore, hear nothing in donial of the fact that tho church is in politics, be-causo be-causo theso six presidents of stakes hero have oxpressh' put it in politics and ruado it a test of allegiance of fcalt3' to tho church that its members vote the Republican ticket. Among theso presidents was Prcsidont Richard W. Young, a Democrat, who proposod to tho six that it might bo a good thiug for them to transfer their votes to the Democratic part3' in placo of tho Ropublican Ro-publican part.3f. Mr. Young being a Dcmocral would naturally feel that that would be tho better tbivT to do. However, he wag scorned at once, and overwhelmed b3' tho proposition that as thero wero so many moro Republicans than Democrats, it was too much for the Domocrats to ask tho majority to come to the niinorit3 Mr. Young might fairl3 have replied that the number num-ber of times that tho Democrats had boon called upon to vote for the Republican Re-publican ticket would evou up the difference dif-ference in numbers, and that for once it would not be out of tho way to poll tho church for the Doroocratic nominees. nom-inees. However, in this conference there does not appear to havo boen anj" difference of opinion among tho presidents presi-dents of these stakes. They all assumed as a matter of fact and as a matter of course, that they could" poll the votes of their peoplo any way they chose. When President Young proposed that tho vote should bo polled for tho Democratic Dem-ocratic party ho evidently assumed that there would bo no difficulty iu doing that if tho presidents so decreed. And none of tho presidonts thore, though they desired the vote to bo polled for the Republican party, mado any point ns to any difficulty of controlling thoir members and making them vote the Democratic ticket, if tho presideuts should agree among themselves that this should bo done. In fact, tho a sumption proceeded upon all through bj' theso presidents was that whichever way they decided to have their peoplo vote those people would voto that way. President Young appears to havo as-sonted as-sonted to this idea that whatever tho presidents of theso stakes agreed to would bo dono by their flocks. Tho only man in this conclavo who could not be persnaded or controlled was B. n. Roberts. He maintained that ho had a right to be a Democrat if ho wanted to be, and to vote tho Democratic ticket. tick-et. But ovon he, so far as appoars from tho report of the mooting, did not dissont from the proposition that tho presidents of tho stakes could control the votes within their stakes and have them polled as thoy desired. Thus two important poinis arc fulb' established: First, that the church is in politics, openly, unreserved, and I intends to stay there; second, that j there is no doubt in tho minds of the ecclesiasts that they can control the votes of the members of their church in whichever direction tlcy wish to control them. And, further, that it is the proper thing to denounco any Mormons Mor-mons who decliuo to v'ield to tho dominating dom-inating pretensions of these stake presidents pres-idents in politics as "traitors to their church." This makes the thing entirely en-tirely clear. And wheu we consider that. President Nephi' L. . Morris bases his whole proposition that tho church is attacked and, therefore, is entitled' to defeud itself in this way, upou the idea that tho declaration af the issued of tho campaign as the redemption of Salt Lako county "from tho clutches of a treacherous, lawless, and treasonable treason-able hierarchy," and that the redemption redemp-tion of Utah "from the clutches and tho dominance of a selfish, lawless adulterous, robbing priesthood," and as .dosxrablc, is to attack tho church. This confesses, of course, that tho church is tho sort of thing described in thoso words. So that President Morris has a mighty poor opinion of t.ie priesthood priest-hood of that church, but he inteuds to Btick right to it, defeud it. and sustain sus-tain the vices and treason of the high ecclesiasts of the church in so far as ho is able to do so, in the most uncompromising uncom-promising and servile wn3 And taking upon his shoulders all tho guilt in-volved, in-volved, he proposes to defend that lecherous, lech-erous, traitorous, adulterous priesthood right up to the last ditch. And it looks now ae if Morris, .along with that priesthood so described, had already reached that ditch. |
