OCR Text |
Show THE BEE. A. ests on the coast. he withdrew from a That profitable business that he had at the time in San Francisco and devoted himself almost exclusively to the labor of correcting the false impressions which prevailed among sixty millions of people is a statement that may pass unchallenged; but that he did so without contingent expectations or some understanding with those who now sound his praises at a beck or call, may be questioned by a number of enquiring minds. The well known generosity of the Colonel gives color to the story of his unselfish devotion to principle and the cause of suffering human- ity, but those who know him as a man of affairs, as a money'maker, as a trader, as a politician, as a man of inordinate ambition, will scarcely credit the exclusively philanthropic motives assigned. For the Colonel really wanted to bo a senator, he had long cherished the ambition, it was no secret, and had others done their part as he performed the task assigned to him he would have reached the goal of his aspirations. And thereby hangs the tale. j , j I 1 I I j j ! j j j When the leaders of the dominant church of Utah were sorely pressed and many of the cffi- cials thereof in trouble they were casting about for relief, permanent if possible, immediate in any event. Experience indicated in those trying times that it was alwaysa good thing to have a friend at court, or at least . a ' through whom to sue for clemancy or negotiate for a judgement. There were court commissioners who enjoyed the acquaintance of these individuals and many a deputy did the bulk of j his business with such a mediator. Each county was ably represented in the courts of minor jur- isdiction while men of greater influence and dis- cretion attended to the cases more advanced. Time and trouble taught the chief offenders of the law that while local mediators were well enough for the average man in their predicament, it was an intercessor between the heads of the i church and the head of the government they needed most. It was a difficult post to fill, but j the chief difficulty was in getting a man to accept it. There was no man of national reputation looking for such a mission. There was no one having influence with the administration who f desired to jeopardize it. The place went begging j in spite of divers and sundry inducements offered for some one to take it. Finally Trumbo was j suggested. Money was no particular temptation j to him. He had gold and plenty of it at that I time ; at least he was able to spend a princely I income. He had tact, energy, nerve, acquaintance and some latent ability. These qualifications, as far as they went, were serviceable. He also had political aspirations. These nude him tractable. And so Colonel Isaac Trumbo became the mediator, the intercessor, between the general authorities of the dominant church in Utah and j I the lealers of the administration party. j j i go-betwee- 60L0NEL TRUMBO AS A TEXT. n j The Logan Journal voices public sentiment, or rather, expresses a general wonderment, when it says : Just why the church authorities should, at this time, give the gallant Colonel Trumbo a certificate of character and confer upon him the roud title, savior of Utah, is a little difficult to understand. Other papers have shown a mild, subdued surprise ; a few there are who reverendly close their eyes and dutifully swallow such preparations without a murmer or grimace ; but one or two have made so bold as to enquire the meaning of it all. The telegram of 94, the rental of the Gardo house, the Colonels race for a senatorial prize, the recent interviews in. San Francisco papers, the subsequent communication of the church presidency, the fulsome flattery bestowed, the vague suggestions made, the editorial approval of the News, the sermon of President Woodruff in the Tabernacle last Sunday afternoon, all form chapter heads in an interesting untold, but well authenticated story. Owing to the embarrassing difficulty of explaining the whole affair in detail it has been necessary for those involved to deal in mystery and rely, to a great extent, upon the confidence and credulity of the people concerned in order to carry out a contract secretly made and solemnly entered into for what was, at the time, considered by. some to be the best interests of the community. And while the agreement wTas not altogether devoid of selfish appearances, and while it savored strongly of political intrigue and was probably tainted more or less with personal ambition, it was productive of some good results, to say nothing cf the complications now7 presenting themselves in the press and pulpit. The story of Colonel Trumbos single-handebattle against the prejudice or indifferance of an entire nation cannot be crowded into a column and a half of the editorial page of the Deseret News, nor can it be told in one sermon, nor printed in one issue of The Bee. But it may be divided up, part em d bodied in a letter, part told in meeting and the balance published in The Bee. There were several parties to the transaction and the writer has received from one of them direct, his version and recollection of the contract, the circumstances surrounding it, the object sought, the consideration promised and the obligation imposed. These matters, considered in connection with the results actually attained, the manner in which the agreement was carried out, the indifferance of one and the dissatisfaction of another, the observance and the breach, the aftermath, distrust, criminations, negotiations and the final effort to pay a debt with praise, go to make up the real inside history of Trumbos claim on the senate and his present appearance before the people as an issue. From the tone of the recent communication of the first presidency it would seem that Colonel Trumbo took upon himself the emancipation of Utah because of the arrest and imprisonment of a law. This relative under the Edmunds-Tucke- r is not in strict accord with the reputed character of the man as set forth in other parts of the letter, and as shown so well by the brochure issued in 1894 headed by an official telegram from the same three distinguished gentlemen. To ascribe personal or selfish motives to the man who avowedly did so much for the salvation of the state and the preservation of the people is an indication of ingratitude or insincerity, traits so foreign to the signers of the telegram and letter, that the only plausible explanation of the apparent insinuation is the stereotyped excuse of typographical error. casual reader of the letter in question would also infer that the Colonel knew little or nothing about the condition of the people of Utah until his attention was drawn to it by the misfortune of a relative. This doe3 not harmonize with the statement officially given out pending the Colonels defeat for the senate that he was a Utah man, Utah born and Utah raised, whose absence from the state had been but brief and temporary for the sole purpose of looking after other inter A : I ! i - 1 i 1 j I 1 Isaac Trumbo went to Washington for the purpose of getting the ear of some man who in turn would be able to reach the administration. He fitted up elegant apartments, spent money lavishly, and, with his charming wife as hostess, gave a series of entertainments which were the talk of the national capital for the time. It was in the course of his effort to attract the attention of some party leader that the gallant Colonel ordered a carload of roses from San Francisco during a flower famine in Washington. In time he began to cut a little ice. He made friends with General J. S. Clarkson, the national chairman. Through Clarkson he was able to reach other prominent men, not only for the purpose of enlisting their influence against the disfranchise- - |