| Show THAT mythical JUNTA the Tho periodicity of the maimon outburst on the part of local politicians and preachers cannot be quite so BO regu t barly stud and accurately calculated as the J Jbv agiou of seven year locusts but it la a considerably more frequent more ab sol ol certain and just about equally mysterious erious as to its causes causen and effects effe ote Lyne fiut t now the bubbling hub bling over grows out of the pique and disappointment of a s few parties with reference rele rence to the work of the late legislature upon certain proposed bill for some days before J ahe th end of the session dark hints and were given forth by one or 4 two members that a malign and dreadful influence was being used to corn f po IMAM the defeat or postponement of talo measures mea euree thia influence was to be nothing more nor less than the mailed and heavy bandoff band ot tas mormon church W which aich was r to 0 have bave selected an industrious T jobby with the special business of corn coca eX anding legislators legie latora to vote downs down or Vj f jho b governor to veto every bill that cate mid lobby had net parsed upon As stated those these judida ioos wo wee e only whispered or hinted at during the session itself but BU t when at the recent general con flo floeence vence of the church an important two fale of discipline and conduct as an applied t to 0 high positions in the priest theod jived was re fe 89 explained and i by the people the in utter ings of the malcontents grow grew louder and at jit anat one ot of them representative has come out with a letter ift 40 which be makes a specific charge as to the existence and labors of a mor dmn committee or junta to pass pasa upon and approve or veto pending IWO uon he has scared one paper into sounding bounding a call upon young utah to come comenout out and assert its free lom arom rom eo domina tion and has with inexplicable eabe caused quite IL a number of nervous to thick there is a burning need 5 tor for a new declaration of political lade pen dence there is iii hardly anything serious enough in all this to deserve explains ex plana plans fa rhon j and yet the news feels anxious it rail imes to do its part toward re IJ roving fear promoting confidence f and correcting jilk his tn IDil stanca tance the matter ought to M be easy wasyi for a very plain talu tale on ean put the whole hideous fearful to were are the acte legislators business men lawyers editors mining med all of the community in lot olt that there was waa danger of the hist state legislature attempting to cover too goo much girou ground girourd od most MOBS of its members were untried in law yet jet all were zealous and patriotic but new conditions existed new dow burdens burdene had come upon the peo pie now new laws and methods of procedure ure were a necessity and was an almost universal feeling c W danger ager was not dot in doing too but in experimenting with too much the NEWS took this ground as early as the opening of the constitutional convention a year ago and never ceased to argue and defend it up to the v very ery alse of the recent legislative we do not hesitate to say further imbat that not only have we in these columns antagonized many proposed laws because of the reasons above given but the present writer has repeatedly used personal persuasion or influence in the same direction others have chosen to do likewise by resolution by petition by employed advocates belore before committees committe ee by personal effort anything un american servile improper in all this now it happens that some of the oldest and best known citizens of the state men whose whole lives have been spent in the interest and welfare of the people ana who have their present and future prosperity uro and welfare as closely at heart as any men possibly can have have been asked to give their views upon or use their influence for or against particular bills which seemed to be in the nature of an unnecessary or inopportune innovation this request we repeat came not only from legislators themselves but from others of different parties and ot of different forms of religious belief As citizens citizen they had bad the right to c imply with such request As tried and honored mem bers bera of the he community it was waa perhaps their duty to take a personal interest in it but they were busy men occupied from early morning till late at night with labors of another character they were also leading mormons cormons Mor mons and they might have known and old did know what a furore would be raised if anybody dared to ask them to say a word for or against anybody any body se s pet bill so when asked to bestow attention upon matters with which they were unfamiliar and which they had no time to inform themselves upon they invariably replied that thai there were in the community many men of experience la in legislation who knew the needs and the financial condition of the people and that if sug bug festiona geet ions tiona upon any particular point were needed such men would be in a better position to offer them in this there was no more thought of dictating or coercing or dominating than this paper has of f terrifying the czar of russia they merely desired that they themselves be lot let alone on subjects which they had no time to consider behold out of this suggestion has grown the idea that they baj bad appointed and set met apart a special to scrutinize amend approve or condemn every bill aua that any mormon legislator who dis die regarded their dictum would be dealt with ecclesiastically that in short abort the church was in ebe saddle anti and was using its lash with the most sl alarming aiming vigor this is what the N is happy to pronounce bosh boob non nonsense mense and false no threats were or could be made by anybody who had any right to m make aly 6 them or at least any power to enforce them no bill was sought bought for to take particular care of mormon interests no measure was opposed because it might hurt mornion Mor mons no coercion was used or atter attempted opted in any way and nothing more was tried or be ao than any citizen in the exercise of his rights as an american could with perfect propriety try sometimes one or two sometimes three or four sometimes some timea this man MAD sometimes some other mao man would be willing to examine and give their or his opinion of bills proposed many were invited to do a sa or to attend meetings of legislative committees who had bad to decline on account of other bustness bus bust loese nese but we have not beard either where the invitation was accepted or declined that in any case was there here anything but the most cordial feeling and the beat of motives shown of the men who are spoken of its as having been most prominent in this work two have beem presidents of former legislative councils ails two have been speakers of former legislative houses house and others were for years members of former legislative assemblies how many more have been consulted by legislators and the friends or opponents of any particular bill we have no means of knowing and we we do not believe anybody can tell in conclusion we can only say that it was to the credit of the legislature that it was not ashamed to listen to men man who on special subjects knew kneir more than most of the members did the writer takes some honor bonor to him self for assistance of this kind rendered in ila more than one instance none of them need be ashamed by reason of anything any thing that disappointed or trouble breed breeding ing politicians may now say there was on the part of the mormon legislators no servility or cringing no loss lose of independence no lack of manhood and on the part of the mormon leaders there was not either in act or word or thought though tw any attempt to use improper inn proper influence in any improper way or to do anything but what when truly understood der stood could be ea an ely submitted to the int intelligence ellige nee of any honest mao man and to the fullest light of day |
