| Show APPEAL TO VOTERS there are many men in utah who stand outside of all churches hav ins ing faith in none some of these men are called atheists I some infidels 1 some pome spiritualists 1 what they are in fact is of no consequence here the important point is that they are and represent the heretics of utah they work and vote with the alleged liberal party of the territory in opposition to the mormon people I 1 want to call their attention to a matter which seriously concerns them from the days of thomas paine to the present it has been the boast of american freethinkers that they were preeminently the friends and advocates of universal liberty and the rights of man paine never sought to deprive any religious sect of its natural right to worship god according to the dictates of conscience he only insisted that the government of the united states should be wholly free from the interference ter ference of his position was sound and is the same today A centar century cen tur has gone since paine faine was in his prime in therace for wealth the american people have forgotten the men and the principles of the men who formed our free government ern ment the sects that were small and weak when paine broke the power of as a factor in government have become strong and powerful erful from a following of a rw few thousands a century ago aeo in the states stated the catholic church has grown to the various evangelical and other sects have in like manner iner increased eased from meagre followings folio wings to an aggregate of while the men of the nation have been absorbed in the acquisition ot property the ministers the priests have been working among the women and children to augment the power of their ebur churches ches their growth in numbers of communicants has been paralleled all the while by a growing assumption of the right to interfere in the affairs of government long ago it became clear to those who paused in the rush of the river of avarice long enough to look about them that there were two ecclesiastical parties in the unit d states striving to tc obtain control of the government those parties are the catholic church on the oab one hand and ancl the combined evangelical churches on the other both are powerful organizations combined they represent nearly one half of the population of the country they have agreed to work together for the purpose of amending the constitution so far as to insert in it a declaration that thai god is the author and jesus christ the ruler of the nation and that congress shall enforce a recognition of this amendment that done ione american politics would at once become theological in character election contests woul J cepro ent the struggle of catholic and protestant opponents the kmer american ican politician is a plastic animal he will suit himself to whatever demand ha aft con sti choose to make though in heart he ac were opposed to all churches that fact would never be known were he seeking office where the people were go governed verried by theological beliefs beliefF 4 the consequence is that whenever the time cornea comes as come it will that the abu church ach enters into politics the strength of and the truculence and cowardice of the politician will put the government into the hands of one or the other of the two ecclesiastical parties named above this abi rbi is inevitable but when that i is done what fol follow lowe if the catholic church obtains control it will curtail the freedom and privileges now enjoyed by all other sects and it will curb freedom of speech and press the atheist the infidel lael the unbeliever in supernaturalism will be warned to get into the only true church if they refuse an american inquisition will appear and people will be murdered for opinions opinion sake as in the past if the combined evangelical churches should got control of the government the atheist the infidel and all the masses would be given leave to join church or leave the country they have already said that such will be their ultimatum they would rekindle the old fires of hate bate and persecution against the catholics they have succeeded in making congress rob the mormon church because of its polygamy they would then rob the catholic CathI ic church on account of its celibacy that is they would attempt to do so what would be the result there would be in the united states a frightful religious war between the catholic and the evangelical sects where would the people be then roasted between two fires it would make no difference to them which party won for the success of either would mean their banishment or extermination jt it would make no difference if the atheists infidels and all other people threw their combined weight upon either side they could not fight for the life of a free government because that would have been already destroyed they rhey could not fight with either party to restore a free government because whichever party succeeded freedom would be slain and the government would henceforth be a theocracy with some sort of priest at its head in the name of god such huch being the case I 1 desire to call attention of the voters to the fact tb that atin in voting with and for the alleged liberal party of utah they are blindly playing into the hands of a power that will some day destroy the liberty of which they have so long boasted themselves the advocates and defenders every freethinker who votes with the so called liberal party of utah drives a nail jael like into the brains so to speak of his own freedom the talk about americanizing American izing utah so much indulged in bythe liberal ringleaders ring leaders is jesuitical opiate administered to put sense to steep sleep and lead men unconsciously into a trap the liberal lP party of utah is a party of in which this unholy bargain Is made the offices go to the politicians as a reward for the help of the latter to give the anti mormon priests power to rob despoil disfranchise hise and annihilate mormonism utah is the ground on which is today being fought the first open fight of the priest combine to obtain control of the united states government if they succeed in utah it will not dot belong be long until they will make the attempt in other territories and then into the states the liberal party of utah is today a catholic and protestant combination which having first excited the hatred of the voters against the mormons cormons by lying and abuse uses them to secure its ito own ends and when it gains control of the territory will tell them to go as they have been for years telling the mor MORS mobs what now is the danger if any arising bariring from the existence of the mormon church towards our government ern ment there is none the theory of the mormon church is that in time the wickedness of the nation will destroy it that general statement is accepted as prophecy it might be made at any time in reference to any nation on earth it has beau true in the past st it will be true in the future the the mormon conception is that if the latter day saints remain true to their faith in and practice of righteousness when by its own wickedness the nation has been broken the mormon people will take the ruins and restore the government there to is nothing in mormon theology 1 I do not mean the violent sermons that were preached by excited men when an army was on the borders threatening the people with destruction but the theological tenets of that can be construed as meaning that the mormon people will ever attempt bj force of arms to obtain control of the nation they believe that if they are faithful they will be the means of restoring the government when factions have dismembered it take this belief in conjunction with my demonstration that the catholic and protestant sects are striving for control of the government and must inevitably in time precipitate a religious war over it in which this free constitutional government will be destroyed no matter which party wins wine and it becomes apparent that the general prophecy of the mormon faith may de be at al least in part fulfilled but the mormons cormons are the only sect in the world that is satisfied with our constitution as 88 it is they are re the only sect in the world that sees god already in the constitution they are the only sect in the world pledged by its creed to the maintenance of liberty borall for all mankind they are the only united body of people in the world pledged by their faith to uphold the constitution of the united states they are the only sect that has hag not dot made threats against the e equal ual rights of the atheist the infidel infidel and all people now supposing the time had come when the catholic and protestant sects are pitted against each other in an internecine strife for control of our nation and the masses saw as they must fiust that they would lose their liberties whichever side won and at th the e same time they saw standing aloof taking no part in the fethe mormon church pledged to restore constitutional liberty when the warring factions had destroyed it what would they do if they were not the verlest imbeciles imbe ciles they would throw their power into the scale with that of the mormon people and help to restore the fr edom that had been overthrown bythe warring sectarians sect arians that too is what they willbo will do that is ia the destiny of mormonism and Free thought on this continent seeing that today I 1 refuse to become a party to the treasonable scheme of utah liberalism refuse to give my aid to build up tip a power that will disfranchise me as it seeks now to disfranchise d the mormons cormons Mor mons refuse to encourage any jesuitical conspiracy to destroy the grandest government the world ha has 9 ever known and I 1 appeal to all voters to stand with me on this true american platform if in the future when we have been able by ani with the mor mons to restore and perpetuate a free government the mormon priesthood should show any disposition to deprive us of our liberties we can then consider that question today the mormons cormons are the only organized people on the continent who will or can aid us to restore our liberties when christian has torn them from us let us understand der stand the situation and refuse at once and forever to be either whipped or blackguarded black guarded into talking working or voting against our best friends CHARLES ELVIS ELLIS |
