Show METHODIST CONFER conference ENOE when n utah was admitted into the uhl as a state the event was cele eted b with festivities and rejoicings rejo icings SA which chic h citizens of every sect creed sad and party took part apparently with delight and there was a 0 tacit understanding among them all abat gt toy by gones should be bygones by gones and haat in future all citizens of the new state would pull solidly together for W it Up Vp building and that every influence and element ending to retard ato upward onward and glorious should be frowned down apoe then several incidents wd by politicians have occurred etch h have somewhat strained the badly relations existing between ferent classes of citizens and that ve e tended towards a revival of old editions adit dit lons ions but happily the plot tings politicians have not prevailed over fwise se counsels of conservative men wavering ring views and the good faith ana eidd good sense of the people of the stop state as aa a whole have been strong h to resist successfully every attempt and conspiracy designed to the harmony and mutual con aes with which the people of our are seeking to advance its high teresta te rests wing owing the failure of every at J uy by politicians to spread discord ruess throughout the state the abe aegon of the methodist con p this his city on saturday last opted ted a resolution that anin an intense deg degree reke the i of df an overwhelming mathe people of the state vio lates the understanding ehat the past pasc was to be regarded as dead and aims to discredit and dl dishonor ohonor our commonwealth in the eyes of the world the resolution is as follows that Statehood while it has resulted in more firmly establishing the american idea in the minds of the citizens of utah and in planting secure the public school system in the state has we must admit embarrassed rather than assisted evangelical work in the state the meaning of the words embarrassed barr assed rather than assisted evangelical work in the state is not very clear for they do not constitute a very lucid declaration but one meaning intended to be conveyed by them can scarcely be mistaken utah is more hopelessly heathen since statehood than it was before and when it is remembered that this statement is made from a methodist standpoint it means a great deal but the resolution must be construed in connection with statements of alleged facts made in its support by reverend gentlemen who took part in the debate which it occasioned for it is presumably intended to embody those alleged facts and to be the result of them dr wishard made two specific statements one was to the effect that polygamy was being openly practiced and the other was to the effect that teachers were denied employment in the public schools unless they would control them in the interest of the mormon church he also declared that polygamy was being taught in the district schools of Sinith smithfield field cache county rev wildman murphy of spanish fork declared that the schools of that town were being controlled in the interest of the mormon church and that polygamy was still practiced there he added that there was no use attacking tg the latter practice because the legal machinery was in the hands of those who believe in it dr macnei C e said the schools in country places were being filled with mormon teachers and predicted that this would be the case in this city after the first of next year evidently referring to the election of new members to the school board intense animosity towards the mormon church characterized the remarks and sentiments of several of the divines who spoke in support of the resolution but a strong minority of the clergymen dissented from such views among the latter were rev F p C lockwood and rev A H henry both of whom were moderate in their expressions pres and seemed to comprehend something about the spirit of christianity it is understood that there were other clergymen present who were too fair and broadminded broad minded to endorse the accusations that ahat were made this is indicated by the vote with which the resolution passed nine to six a number present not voting the news is confident that this effort of religionists like all previous ones by politicians to injure the state by reviving old and bad conditions will totally fall fail but the certainty of its failure is no justification of it and does not relieve the movers in it of the odium it creates the charges they make are of violations of the criminal laws of the state why are they not filed with the officers of the law why should they be atred aired in a religious convocation instead of a criminal court Is it not because of the hope that charges which would not hold water vater one moment under judicial scrutiny may yet be utilized to create sectarian capital and further a religious crusade any statement to the effect that a single polygamous marriage has been celebrated in utah since the mant manifesto abolishing such marriages was adopted by the mormon church in 1890 with the sanction or permission of the mormon church or under circumstances cum stances which render that church responsible therefore is totally untrue and mormon officers of the law can be depended upon as confidently as could non mormon officials to enforce the law in any case of the kind it is not here intended to deny that men who had moi moie e than one family when the manifesto was adopted have continued to provide and care for them since it is no violation of any law human or divine for them to do this on the contrary it would be dastardly in them not to jo do it V what hat would these same methodist ministers say of former polygamists should they make tho the manifesto a justification for casting adrift as public charges their former wives and helpless children by those thode wives the situation of plural cami ber in this state is painful and embarrassing barr assing such heartless attacks as that made upon them by these methodist ministers and the course that is being taken by the heads of such families is being approved by every citizen in the state regardless of creed or party who has the milk of human kindness in his veins and is not actuated by some wrong motive |