| Show apostle lyman writes a letter AT what he did say nud why hie were made affidavit editor enquirer als your imbue of tho let dinst contains a report of a conversation had between a reporter afy cur paper and in regard to what my democratic brethren have been ir belv saving about me in what is known aa the tolton ahe aldreda adopted by the laie convened reconvened re c invention tho report of the conver a ia somewhat mixed as this one WAS after the conversation took place it wab to the address that I 1 referred when I 1 told the reporter there was no truth at all in it not to the affidavit made by our bro ahe meeting referred to was a private gallienne gat lienne con ol 01 jut a badea dozen and not the general priesthood meeting held before as stated bv boar reporter I 1 presume that our bro tolton drilea from memory after tour and a half years have elapsed and the errors contained in bia affidavit therefore should be looked upon as pardonable at the aarao time a man of bro tortona Tol tona ine in the community re quites when it comes to making and fairn cEs and the whole truth I 1 am quoted in the affidavit as having the fol lowine question in these worda ilow ia it many of vou leading bret in beaver are demo crate I 1 tako it for granted that our brother wishes to be fair and I 1 therefore asic if it ia fair to presume or consistent to believe that I 1 used such language when it is known that there were but four of such brethren at the meeting two of whom re public aua and one of whom bro M L shepherd I 1 supposed at the time waa also a republican the affidavit specifically charges me with having said by way of the wishes of the authorities ot the church that the people should divide themselves about equally between the two great national parties and then I 1 am made to aay that it would be proper for some to remain independent and neutral duty compels me ti our brother in charging me with having uttered the worda which I 1 have italicized chev are not my they then nor do they now my neither have 1 ever the idea ad danced or even referred to by any of my associate brethren or democrats I 1 and thia idea expressed in tha address adopted by the econ e con yewed convention and brother george F gibba is therein charged with having conveyed this idea to his brother inlaw in law in what is known aa the gibbs letter tha author of which claimed in a to the tribune 0 baat guilday that n abia he had been misrepresented and I 1 find that the letter itself aiace published supports his claim I 1 repeat that I 1 never heard the idea bv anybody much less bad I 1 conceived it myself until I 1 j ead that part of the address paying ita compliments to bro gibba this goes to ahoy moat conclusively clu that oar brother toll on must nave got this idea from bia associate democratic brethren no doubt about the time abia address aa formulated cind our brother has been tempted to believe that it came from me and un fortunately expressed n so I 1 am now free to acirit and am will lag that my fellow citizens generally should know it that the object of that particular meeting was nothing more nor lean than to correct the impression which had eona nut arbone the people to the effect that it was their religious duty to join the democratic party and lao to show those leading men to whom the people of their respective stakes looked for guidance in all thina pertaining pertain ine to the general welfare wel tare that it was just aa inconsistent for the mor acon people now as a peoples parti to eo bodily oberto abe democratic party as it would be lor them to go over to tha republican party and that to do either would be defeating the object and ol 01 dis bandine the peoples party as the sole object of diB organizing that party for the purpose of division and to put an end to the union in politics which bad been the distinguishing feature pi our people under that organization which had been objected to bv both of the national parties I 1 did advise on that occasion that the people should bo en licht enod on this point as I 1 thought it was only fair to them M well aa to evory concerned that they should be so informed I 1 also urged upon these brethren that the republican parly should have a fair show amo nathe people and that the people debould ce made to feel that they were just aa free to join one party aa the other and I 1 did combat the idea which had gone forth that no person could be a republican and be a latter day saint and that democracy was our religion and we should therefore bo democrats lam quoted in the affidavit as follows ahat the object in such division is that we will then hava more power in the nation and got a more honest administration of the party in power eich parly will cater to us more or leae in order to secure control of the territory there are two ideas involved in this one ia self explanatory the other should bo explained at that time a measure looking to of the mormon people had been intro deuced into the of the united states and the idea sought to ba convoyed was that by adopting aba policy of dividing upon national party lines the mormon people woula become like other people and that both parties would take an interest in us that ie the suba tanca of my offending in south orn utah now as to our brother alma ireen wood alma and I 1 had always been friendly and brotherly our conver aarion on the occasion occa aion referred to by him in the statement which he has seen at to make against me was of purely a friendly character he remarked to me he had not declared himself 1 al nhounh hia brother joshua had declared himself a democrat aa I 1 had heard AB a republican it to be mv privilege to invite bro alms to come down oil the fence on 10 our side as we needed bis help my explanation in having extended thiu invitation at that particular time wan because bro alma was a distinguished citizen and hia brother joshua no leea GO and 1 thought it only lair seeing that he was on the lence 10 covite aim to come down as to have done would have been in me this is all there is to bro almas cage I 1 used no church to move him aud bo boon declared in ayoroa democracy M LYMAN |
