Show WWW pil EP U B LI 6 A N VIEWS sentiments of 0 sorrow and regret con fined to no BO creed or party freedom of speech and ana of the press shell shall not be abridged or restrained shall the rights conscience of 01 be ba infringed A republican contemporary ya III in commenting upon the recent action or of the church authorities refers to what it ilia is P pleased leased to call the anti mormon harangues of 0 W powers and J L rawlins pawling in order as it says bays to show the people who are their real friends it would woul I have ben been far more honest to have quoted the exact language of those gentlemen in order that the people might judge for themselves the sentiments expressed elsewhere in this paper we ire publish their statements for what the they y are worth certain republican leaders have also made remar remarks ks for publication remarks which we might call anti mormon harangues with the same game consistency but wo we recognize their constitutional right of free speech and present them for far what they too are rtha worth hon E B critchlow a recognized republican R p I 1 lican leader published publish gd a abong iiii Tn sundays sunday I 1 1 in which ithe th ok following o net onet ata an W LET THE PEOPLE SPEAK editor tribune five and one half years ago the leaders of the mormon church issued the cele berated manifesto enjoining upon the people of the church the strict observance of laws which prior to that date had bad been defiantly violated six sis months later the peoples party pany the outward manifestation of the political power of the church was dissolved and with others I 1 hastened to accept the pledges and promises given by leaders and members of that church that the differences which had so long rankled between us should be forever settled we accepted the assurances given and even at the risk of obloquy and abuse from former associates proclaimed our trust and confidence in the integrity of the mormon people one of the charges as you well know made against us was that without trial and contrary to the belief and teachings of a lifetime we proposed to permit mormons cormons as other american citizens to exercise political preferences and to ally themselves with the two great political parties I 1 proclaimed then as I 1 have ever since and still do proclaim my cay faith in the good faith and common honesty of the people at large it was as impossible for me to believe then as it is now that the people of this state would not only declare themselves for freedom in all political matters but permit those of us ua who rallied to their cause to give our word in their behalf only to trick us in the end in 1891 the first presidency sanctioned the printing in the times of an interview in which they solemnly and unequivocally protested that they did not claim nor would they ever attempt to exercise the right to interfere with the political independence of church members slowly the embers of prejudice died out the pledges given to the people of the united states by all of us were accepted and statehood became becaro an assured fact now and again circumstances have pointed to a lack of sincerity upon the par orsome of some high in authority bu while my faith in thern them has lipin lipi n shaken my confidence in the great mass of if the people whom we ire know as meu men and with whom we hands bands us as friends has never faltered fali ered until these have finally failed us no one ought to douht doubt the capa capants vity of the people of utah for stif st if government the events of f the he past few months and especially those which have bave crowded so rinse upon the late general conference of the church have leil led men to ask whether we have been too hasty in believing and whether the trust trum bestowed is to be violated and it cannot be denied that non mem members aers of the church are anxiously asking as the people of the entire country will soon ask it s k whether bether a mistake has been made As one of the merr members ibers of the late legislature in a position to know by close association with them of the temper and disposition of the ro members embers sent from various parts of the state I 1 still maintain that an honest sincere intent exists on the part of ut most of them to carry out in letter and in spirit promises given by bv them and in their behalf but there here is indeed grave reason to think that as much cannot bp b said aid of those or some soma of those high in in authority and influence inauen ce in whose care ard keeping the good of the INI mormon ormon people is left in other words the very persons who as leaders of the church guaranteed the liberties of the individual members of the church in all political matters seem to be the first to betray them and put them to open shame before all abe world the great question of the hour is not whether there has been and is an intolerable interference by church leaders with the affairs of state but whether there is to be an open indignant and widespread repudiation of this betrayal of the people asit As it seems to me the wonder is rot not that a few men exercising unbounded power in mat teis spiritual should desire or even attempt for ambitious ends to exercise that power in matters political or even eren that a few trained to f fonow low counsel and advice should 11 edfar far forget their duty to bothem toi hern them selves and to their constituents as to be controlled in these matters but that as yet no protest has bar arisen by voice or pen from any pe one of the many whose rights aie are invaded I 1 do not wish w ish to hint darkly at matters which are 0 of I 1 such moment to every man whether in or out of the church there should be no cry ry of peace peace when there is is no peace the interference to which I 1 refer is the attempt by advice and counsel directly and mediately from the leaders of the church to control legislative action it would teem beena as though 0 it is high time for the people of this state to declare anew by some as y yet e t unheard of manifesto some new declaration of independence their abhorrence to this system of gov ern mentor failing in that to relinquish in dark despair all hopes of free institutions E B D CRITCHLOW the salt lake tribune takes up the matter editorially and says FOB MORMONS TO DECIDE in another column will be found a communication from hon E B critchlow which contains matter which is sufficient to fill the mind of every business man in utah and every biell v ell wisher of utah with apprehension and sorrow when the liberal party part y disbanded the tribune said it believed in the sincerity of the INI mormon ormon people and that if here and there in the furuie there should sporadic efforts be made to evade some of the responsibilities ties or to forget some of the pledges which the mormon chiefs had bad assumed and made and which the masses of the mormon people had solemnly ratified we would call upon tho the mormon press and the honest members of the mormon church to help us to expose the wrong and to insist upon the right the news the organ of the church rel responded bonded at once reiterating its assurances of the perfect sincerity which bad prompted manifesto and given the succeeding pledges and promised its if I 1 here should ever be any any attempt pt to turn thesa pledges 0 a side aside it looks as though the time had corne come if it is true that is a power that can delegate men to control the action of the governor and if it is ie oue that we may all struggle aud and work to vindicate a principle at the poll only to have another power step in ard aid appoint a commie pion a majority of nf whom are arc of a ditl rent political faith from the majority of the legislature and governor with power to dominate legislation then ours is not a republican government and the people are simple vassals we ve appeal once more to young utah you yon know that you have been promised perfect political freedom fiefdom with all that such euch a promise can com coin ey or imply and t ion on ought to remember that if you do not now assert yourselves only trouble will await you in the church organ a few evenings since was an editorial in which the loveliness and absolute of obedience was elaborated upon so far as that applied to religion and obligations of men to heed their church leaders in religious matters we have nothing to say but if that was intended to apply to political matters then it is for young M utah to decide where they nill ivill stand were tile the professions merely a trick and does young utah indorse that trick were the pledges made only to be broken did young utah so un der bertand derot find tand them and does young utah approve of the treachery Is there no response to this attempt to return to what held utah out of the union for years and made the name of utah a reproach among the states of the union and before the world this is young supreme test what will lie be its response these expressions are not from democrats or democratic borgars they are from republicans of prominence and the leading republican organ of the state it i is so BO manifestly unfair for a contemporary ary to condemn remarks rande made by tb leaders of one party when the same sentiments are prevalent among the leaders of its own baity that we deem it needless to comment upon the practice nor is the tribune the onla republican organ organ 0 to discuss this matter in the ame strain next to the tribune ss as a party paper brands the salt lake argus and here is what the argus says THE MORMON MANIFESTO again has the mormon church cast a shadow over the rays of prop prosperity erity which have just begun to tinge the clouds of doubt and distrust which have been as a pall over these valleys and mountains ever since the pioneers claimed them as a heritage again is its mailed hand attempting to crush the political liberties of its people and again has bar an intense anti aati mormon feeling been engendered in the breasts ot the gentile population of the state in consequence the latest manifesto was not inspired by god it was not due to a revelation nor was it penned in response to any religious thought or sentiment it is a business document every sentence is a command every paragraph a lash it was inspired by cunning spite and ambition cunning because it is so worded as to delude the saints into believing that it was issued for the good of the church spiteful becane it is aimed at a popular fearless and manly apostle who is in the way of those higher in authority ambitious because its object is to again control as a unit the people of this state who are just beginning to taste ol of the delights of independence from church dictation and to experience what genuine citizenship of this republic really means it in effect says that every member of the church in must have no personality save that which may be allowed by those in authority tho rity that no member has the right to indulge in free speech unless it is first sanctioned by the church that acceptance of political honors without first seeking counsel will result in expulsion in order to give emphasis to the com aa I 1 to awo awe the people into subjection subject io apostle moses thatcher That although he e is confined to his big bed where he a patiently awaiting the I 1 the he god he has so BO long and faithfully fait hUlly ily served was wag selected as aa a vicia among the many political only one was selected aion whom to administer the lash of displeasure he received it s only a moses thatcher could ane anc would one hour and thirty mi utes time was given this martyr t pain in which to sign what d have been for him a surrender of principles he be has for years en enunciated in public addresses aid d fortl for the e entertaining of which heeds he was 11 honored 0 n r A by a great reat political arty P arty and a n a admired ad mired by al most the cotal otal population of utah praying fraying fr guidance and invoke invoking his hia persecutors to act according to the holy spirits dictation a as to prompted 1 y i justice ustice anti and brotherly love a a fellow laborer in the cause of th thi savior he declined to stultify bil himself hin self and by so doing signed his wn warrant of expulsion from ithe the church for whose lie he has labored eo hard tt among the thousands in attendance at th the conference there were few who when anen they held up their hands hand in blind obedience to the command ta to ratify the election of officials knew the true significance of their acal act there was not one protesting voice not one person among the thousands who love and respect t moses thatcher tha acher to champion his cause not one who dared to question the liht of the authorities to disgrace one of their number without a hearing or an opportunity to in person plead for a suspension of judgment I 1 the supreme power of the mailed I 1 hand band of the church of jesus christ of later day saints was never before better or more fully exemplified nor has the blind obedience of its lowly followers ever been i better illustrated it was an object lesson not only to the saints but to the gentiles as well to the saints it taught that the authorities are still supreme and that mears espil az sifrona sif fro rora the church to the gentiles it means a farewell to all the hopes they have entertained that statehood would bring political peace and prosperity to tile the people of utah it was an announcement no that the church is again in the political saddle that all the promises of the p past ast were merely decoys to lead the gentiles into the statehood ambush and that with tho the whip of state in the hands bands of the authorities that jew gentile and mormon must alike dance to the music of its lash the outlook for utah is a gloomy one all the fears and distrusts of the past have been revived by this manifesto it needs but a faint breath to again fan into a flame the spark of patriotism and love of american institutions institution abac fall exists in the minds of the peo people 1 I 1 e who X for over a quarter of a century fought for the triumph of right over a practice that made macle the name of utah a byword find and a reproach throughout the civilized world the above was wag written by a republican it is reproduced here for the reason that certain local reau republicans b not all of them nor even ill very many of them thank than k heaven heavens nl are trying to attach political significance to the words of judge powers and anda J L rawlins when the sentiment is confined to no particular creed or party we do not dot endorse many thi things 8 which have been said faid on this matter ilia but rather than misrepresent or misconstrue the vioris or feelings of anyone any one we ire prefer to present the expressions to our readers who may judge for themselves fairer than this we know not how to be |