OCR Text |
Show THE TIME IS RIPE. Up at Brigham City a company of citizens, all Mormons, save one, as told us, are in direct conflict con-flict with the Presidency of that stake, because they have established an electric light plant and have refused to purchase the old worthless city plant. Again, another company has built a public assembly room and dance-hall in opposition to the old Church Opera House. There is much heartburning heart-burning and clashing over these things, and those who have gone contrary to the demands and commands com-mands of the President of that stake and his counsellors coun-sellors have been disciplined to the full extent of the Stake President's power. For instance, all who have thus offended who were formerly church officers in any capacity have had their offices taken fiom them. It has been told us that the trouble originated in politics, because some of the young men would not accept the individual suggested sug-gested by the President of the Stake for their leader. This state of affairs ought to be a new H notice to the chiefs of the kingdom that they are B treading on dangerous ground when trying to keep K their people in political bondage, and when dl H rectly seeking to interfere in the private business B affairs of their followers. This affair at Brigham B City is purely among Mormons. No Gentiles are B involved, and as Brigham City has always been a B Mormon stronghold, that there is trouble there is B a certain sign of the unrest that pervades the B state. The Smoot investigation has helped this B feeling of disquietude. On the tongues of thou- B sands of young) Utah are the questions: "Why B should our state be made a mockery among other B states once in just about so often? Why should B an apostle of our Church insist upon pushing him- B self forward to claim political honors? Why can B not our high Church officers keep the promises B they made in order to obtain statehood?" Why B cannot some young Mormon sound a demand that B the chiefs shall retrace their steps, return to those B pledges and once more agree to keep them? The B other day, in Washington, President Joseph F. B Smith, on the witness stand, said that he be- B lieved Hon. Frank J. Cannon was a Mormon, B but expressed further the opinion that he was B not a very good Mormon. B Why cannot Mr. Cannon, through his journal, B sound the call to others in the Church to come B out and demand of the chiefs that the promise B they made to al Mormons, to the Gentiles of Utah B who distrusted their purposes; to the President, B Congress and people of the United States, that B henceforth their people should be free to espouse B any political opinions they might please to, and B with unfettered hands cast their ballots, shall be B kept inviolate? Is it so hard to ask men to keep B their promises? Is it wrong to" demand of those H who claim to receive revelations from God him- B self, to be careful to do nothing to cause worldly K men to doubt their sincerity? Can those chiefs re proach their people for making such a demand? Young Utah is at the parting of the ways. They can be silent and see this usurped power being be-ing strengthened daily. If they do they will see Utah made more and more a storm center, and feel more and more the reproaches which will be cast upon her by the nation. But if they but assert themselves and claim their promised individual rights, they will see peace come to this people and state; they will see their state advance by leaps and bounds; they will personally feel such a thrill of Americanism as they never felt before, because the feeling that they are not accepted by the American people as brothers and equals will be taken away. "Hereditary bondsmen! know ye not Who would be free, themselves" must strike the blow?" |