| Show WE THE sacred BACKED RIGHT elgue OF pree epee BELIEF the following paragraph is clipped from the new now york tribune cathe the first election in utah under the edmunds law has turned out just asat as it was expected to todo do by those familiar with mormon affairs it was shown at the time ithe the law was waa pasted passed that while it would establish the principle that no could vote or bold boid office or ait bit in congress and so would benefit I 1 the cause of morality in general the mormons cormons would still control the elections as surely burely as before the numb number er 0 of mormons cormons who are not ts or who cannot be proved to be buch such Is so large that the mormon church Is ia apparently as strong asebey aa ever although its chief men are dis franchised the bosses of the church cannot vote but they can say who shall bo be voted for by the cormons mormons who can vote the dispatches say that the gentiles felt the contest to be a hopeless one and so BO many did not vote it does not follow ho however that the mormon problem Is as far on oft from a solution as ever the very existence of the lawdis I 1 franchising polygamists must tend in time to weaken their influence the men mho who have tho the ballot will be conscious of a power ower which they will hardly bo be willing to use forever at the bidding of men who have not got it the fact also that irwill it will be necessary to the pre eon bon of the poll poil political influence of the church to have a large body of members who aie not polygamists ts must also tend in time to weaken tho the peculiar institution when the practice of polygamy is broken up the concern of the government with mormonism niam will be at an end any man can believe that he has the right to break the law laws and cannot be punished or franchised disfranchised dis for that belief but when he breaks it as the polygamist is doing it is time for the government to bring its hand down dowa hard the foregoing is a very temperate discussion of tile the subject especially for so strong an anti antl 1 journal as the now new york tribune where chere is one point on which the fanatics on this question will not 80 agree ree res with that paper if it were possible to abolish polygamy poly kamy tomor to mor rows row next day there would be just as much hostility to Mormon inn iHn on their part pari as aa at present they will not concede the right ol of the cormons mormons Mor mons even to believe in the of polygamy and are oven even now planning and devising schemes to procure congressional interference ter ference with that belief they want all mormons cormons Mor mons dis franchised that political power may be wielded in utah solely by the enemies of the mormon people they find themselves just as deep in the tha mire of disappointment now as they were in tho the mud of defeat before practical polygamists were deprived of the right to vote and hold office the 41 polygamy cry ery has proven a maii mall UM ure it is evident to everybody that the alleged evil was greatly exah and grossly distorted for po lotical effle ct notwithstanding tha the actual rais blits Is and all who could bo be styled such under tho the widest definition that could be given to the term Is mormon votes still stand in the way of those who seek beek to plunder utah so now they demand the gery very ry thing that the new york tribune and other leading Jour joun journals nala naia bay sav cannot be granted the political death olevery of every overy one professing to be a thormon tM ormon 11 juat they nrc nac going to meet with fitall more disappointment disappoint men t if a tew few cranks and aud rash and fa US antics favor the demand there are enough reasonable minds to percel perceive vo its folly with sufficient clearness to prevent the autra outrage e for por it would avent jtb a not only an outrage aganad many nuy BUY thousands of citizens who have alo isted no laoj but an outrage against libarty and law lav itself against 89 re against the constitution against the rights and leges which the government Is iafet bet set up to protect the TUB right light to believe what beems beema right to advocate it and speak and publish h facts and arguments in its favor belongs to all citizens and shoso who wish to trample it under mot foot to favor myor and fos foster fostor ter ten their own selfish ends are traitors to good government and renegade to the ansti 0 of our common country it la in a eacret right light and is inalienable the very fact that certain individuals are seeking to deprive monog amlo amio mormons cormons Mor mons of that right should be enough to convince all rational americans that those persons are i not working for patriotic or moral ends but for the accomplishment of eriv private ate purposes and from beastly greed a and nd hope of temporal gain 6 keep the rascals out |
