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Show A SINGULAR FATALITY. From the day when the Prophet Joseph Smith predicted the disappointment of Stephen A. Douglas in his aspirations for the presidency of the United States, until the present time, a singular fatality has followed statesmen and politicians in this country, who yielding to popular clamor, or the influence of cupidity or religious bigotry, or who, from any other cause, have been led to use an influence against the Latter-day Saints. Almost without exception members of Congress and government officials who have taken an active part in opposition to the interests of that people, or who have sought to destroy their liberties, have sunk into disgrace and oblivion. Usually their retrograde course begins immediately after the making of their effort against the Saints, and the closing Congress affords three striking illustrations of this rule. Speaker Keifer was notoriously anti-"Mormon" in his whole course and rulings in the House when measures affecting that people were pending. From time immemorial it has been the custom of closing Congress to pass, as one of its concluding proceedings, a resolution, thanking the Speaker for his services. Probably not a Congress, previous to the last, ever closed without the adoption of such a resolution. But the ceremony was omitted at the closing of the last Congress, and Speaker Keifer occupies to-day the humiliating and disgraceful position of being the first Speaker of the House that ever received the galling indignity of such a slight. The correspondent of a Philadelphia paper thus explains the reasons why a resolution of thanks was not offered: The fact that the House adjourned to-day without passing the usual resolution of thanks to the Speaker excites much comment here, and has highly displeased Mr. Keifer's special friends, as well as given much chagrin to the Speaker himself. Congressman Morrison, of Illinois, to-night explained the reason of this omission on the part of the House. He said that it had been the practice to have such a resolution come from some member to the party opposed to that to which the Speaker belonged; that on this occasion Blackburn, of Kentucky, had the resolution of thanks in shape ready to present for the action of the House. The fact becoming known among Blackburn's democratic colleagues that it was his purpose to present the resolution, he was advised that if he offered it the extraordinary spectacle would be witnessed of violent opposition to its adoption, and that such opposition would be successful. Gov. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, McLane, of Maryland, and others had avowed their purpose of declaring the Speaker's course toward them, and his general course of rulings, which they allege to have been in gross violation of the rights of the minority, as deserving of a resolution of condemnation rather than of commendation. Being advised of this determination, Blackburn pocketed the resolution of thanks, and while at the other end of the Capitol Senator Davis, President of the Upper House, was complimented by the thanks of that body, and by an unanimous vote, the House adjourned without so much as a "thank you" to Speaker Keifer. Thus one member of the last House, who made himself conspicuous for his anti-"Mormon" proclivities, returns home covered with burning shame and unbearable humiliation. The other two examples referred to are Robeson of New Jersey and Hiscock of New York. The former is now undergoing the process of being shown up by the New York and New Jersey press as an unprincipled, thieving politician, of whose rank dishonesty there is such overwhelming evidence that it is predicted he will never re-enter public life. Hiscock is the man, who, during the debate on the Edmunds bill last March, closed the peroration of a violent anti-"Mormon" harangue by describing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a "scarlet robed harlot who sits enthroned upon the Rocky Mountains," an expression, by the way, which he stole from Talmage. By his corrupt action in connection with the river and harbor bill, he has lost the confidence of his constituents, his influence is destroyed, and his prospects of re-election and future political preferment appear to be fatally blasted. Thus three of the most prominent enemies of liberty and human rights in Utah, have dug their own political graves, into which their carcasses seen on the verge of being kicked, to be hidden from the sight of constituencies that are disgusted by their corruption. |