Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-07-06 | Page 6 | Partisan Trickery

PARTISAN TRICKERY. With due solomnity tlic HcM-ald-Republican calls upon everybody to take the oath and be must1 rod into the federal fed-eral bunch before daring to say a word on Republican politics. That great, liberal newspaper which never has displayed dis-played prejudice or bias on any subject, which always has supported good government gov-ernment by supporting federal bunch candidates, desires The Tribune to take the oath of allegiance to the bunch before be-fore voicing an opinion on the state's ' governmental affairs. The Tribune, as we have pointed out with what we believed to be sufficient emphasis, expressed an opinion which had been powerfully voiced at a business busi-ness men 's meeting. At that meeting Governor Spry was prevailed upon to fctand for renomination and re-election. The meeting was by no means partisan. It represented tho business interests of the stato and among those present were Progressives and Democrats. "Will the Herald-Republican argue that the business men of the state have no right to urge tho renomination and re-election , of a good governor because he happens to be a Republican If Democrats and Progressives join in a popular demand for the renomination of a Republican governor would the Herald-Republican reject Democratic and Progressive votes and go down to defeat with a federal bunch candidate rather than have a good governor elected with the help of Democrats and Progressives? We are aware that we have stated the proposition in a way to cause the Herald-Rcpublieau and the federal bunch some mental anguish. They are eager to mask their designs behind the screen of party loyalty, but the fact remains that they demand a federal bunch candidate can-didate and are apoplectieally angry at Governor Spry because he has refused to ' ' crook the pregnant hinges of the knee" at their dictation. They want a gang candidate and no soft editorial words can deceive the public as to their purpose. And for that reason they would have all except members of the federal bunch maintain silence about the important question of the governorship. The Trrbune is confident that the people generally will refuse to be bound by the narrow partisan view of candidacy candi-dacy which the Herald-Republican seeks to impose upou them. They will realize without any argument that the business men of the state have a perfect right to urge the renomination of a governor whoso administration has helped to giv the state a prosperity it never has enjoyed en-joyed before. They will not be so interested in-terested in playing the federal bunch game even though they be Republicans that they will be ready to sacrifice a good governor nnd permanent prosperity to the selfish purposes of gang politics. The Tribune believes that the busi-ness busi-ness men of the state not only had a right to request the renomination of Governor Spry but that they would have been careless of the stater's highest interests in-terests had they neglected to make the request. If they, had permitted themselves them-selves to be intimidated to silence by the federal bunch censorship they would have betrayed their state. And The Tribune would have shared in the treachery if it had refused to indorse the action of the business men of the state when they spoke out boldly v and eloquently in behalf of Governor Spry. Tho Herald-Rppublican, long drilled in the perverse school of gang politics, adopts the familiar tricks of that system. sys-tem. It seeks to represent Governor Ppry's candidacy as anything but what it is. The movement for Spry is essentially es-sentially a business men's movement, a movement which has for its object the maintenance of prosperous business conditions. He is not The Tribune's candidate, but the candidate of all who wish to see the state's prosperity made permanent.