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Show Roosevelt's Letter And The First Presidency Statement I THE letter of ex-President Roosevelt with its apostrophe to the Latter Day Saints, and B the statement of the First Presidency Hj which was read by Apostle Ileher J. Grant in H Conference, coming so closely together and evi- B dently for the same purpose, require some public B notice and at least a hurried review. And this B should be made, not to reawaken old animosities, B but in justice to such men and women us have B tried to make Utah in truth an American State. B First as to the Roosevelt letter. A careful H study of the character of Col. Roosevelt leads H one almost to an irresistible conclusion that when H criticised on any subject, he has an aberation of B the mind which causes him to lose his memory B and to at once denounce the man or woman who B differs with hm, as a liar, .he apparently boliev- B ing thtlt the epithet is conclusive and that it B should like moving the previous question, shut off B debate. It was that way with ex-Senator and ex- M Secretary Chandler and Senator Tillman, though B they were guilty of nothing except that at Roose- 1 velt's request, they had tried to servo him; it was H the same with the laic E. H. Harriman, who had H served him in a vital way in a crisis his record K is filled with like incidents. He denounces as H liars the men who said he had ever made a bar- H gain for the electoral vote of Utah and every H journal that copies the statement. Now, we suspect that it would be as difficult RflBV' to prove such a bargain as it would be to prove F a .polygamous marriage if solemnized in the H temple ihoro. But sometimes circumstances es- H- tablish a truth better than the spoken or writ- Hj ten words of an individual. H In the 1900 campaign, Col. Clarkson, who for H years had been a Mormon attorney or agent, fl came here and arranged for the electoral votes B- of Utah, and, so far as possible, the votes of BH Idaho and Wyoming. This was so understood at B the time, it has been repeatedly charged and so B far as we know never denied. B All the circumstances go to establish that the H understanding reached at that time has been H continued ever since. At least no Republican Hj candidate for the presidency, and no Republican H National Committee has over shown the slightest H anxiety about the result of the ypte in either H Utah or Wyoming. Wo do not suppose there B was evor any written contract, or any bargain H ever reduced to writing, but that there was, and B is, a perfect understanding cannot bo doubted. B When the Colonel reaches the case of Senator H Smoot, he says the Senator declared to him that H he had but one wife and that he had done all H ho could to prevent polygamous marriages, and Ht would as quickly urge the prosecution of any H man who had taken a polygamous wife since the Hk Woodruff manifesto as he would a Gentile who Hh had committed bigamy. Of course, that needs BWm no answer, except that if Senator Smoot has HBF uttered a word against "new" polygamy, he haa IH spoken in a voice too low to be heard; and fur- Hj ther, that he knows of hundreds of Mormons who H have thus violated the law, and has kept still. H Further, the Colonel says: "I did not inter- HB fere in any way as to his retention in the Son- ate, save that when senators came to me to speak to me on 'the subject, I spoke to them freely along the lines that I have hero outlined, etc." Now in this connection, it is not necessary to use the Colonel's favorite epithet, but simply to state the facts, and to say that had Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt been as truthful as he insists that other people should be, he would have said: "I sent for senator after senator and urged the seating of Smoot upon them, until I changed the majority major-ity against him to a majority for him." The Colonel cannot be ignorant of the fact that while all other religious denominations pursue pur-sue their way undisturbed in this Republic; there was something in Mormonlsm that long before polygamy was a tenet of their faith, made it impossible for the Saints to live in Ohio or M!ssouri. Still, he directly snubbed a delegation of ladies who bore the petitions and represented more 'than a million of other women, who as Americans protested against the seating of Senator Sen-ator Smoot. Senator Knox heard Senator Smoot's testimony in his own behalf, and as he left the committee, in effect declared that on that testimony Smoot was not entitled to a seat, but through the direct urgency of President Roosevelt, voted to seat him When Senator Hop-kins Hop-kins appeared before the Senate as Smoot's attorney at-torney -and then, as a judge voted to seat him, Roosevelt hastened to thank him. By his official offi-cial and personal influence, Roosevelt changed the minority into a majority of the Senate. Then the Colonel goes to the defense of the Mormon people. They do not need it; they are not an issue. But when the Colonel says he has lived with them and knows that, in a moral sense, their young men stand higher than gentile young men, then if there is the slightest truth In his statement state-ment which there is not to saturate a people with animalism as this people- were up to the close of John Taylor's reign is the true way to insure for them lives of virtue. Mr.' Roosevelt only proves that he is not a competent witness. His letter makes clear how faithful an attorney attor-ney he tried to be for the church, but he bungled. He has got things badly mixed. One reason given why Mr. Smoot should not be seated was that polygamy was as much a tenet of the faith to which Mr. Smoot belongs as it ever was, and that every high officer in the church, save two, were polygamists. He says the most competent and reliable officers in the service could not find a single case where a polygamous marriage had been entered into since the manifesto. It is dol lars to dimes that they reported that there was no doubt that many such marriages had been solemnized, but the proof could not be obtained. We say this because they could have reported nothing else of course, they did not see the temple records or find anyone who performed such ceremonies. Now, as to the statement of the First Presidency Presi-dency as read by Apostle Heber J. Grant. In passing, it may be remarked that it bears all the ear marks of Elder Penrose 'ts author, or at least its editor. It is in the same strain that Jlfl he was wont to use in the old days on the Des- VAH eret News when reversing a decision of the Su- H preme Court of the Uned States, or piovmg tnat iB the Mormon battalion was drafted so that the fl helpless ones remaining could easily be slaught- 1fl ered; when he was wont to declare that all the fl Gentiles, who opposed the unrighteous acts of fl the Mormon priesthood, desired only to incite a conflict that they might confiscate the property H of all Mormons though he could not name a 9 Mormon who had ever suffered any injury in 9 person or property from gentile hands, or when I he solemnly declared that he had seen a patient I desperately ill of small pox cured by the laying on of priestly hands, which has made it im- 9 possible to eradicate small pox from Utah in all J the years since. li The first paragraph in the statement is that fl ever since its organization, April Gth, 1830, the k Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has 1 been bitterly assailed. II Right there a pertinent inquiry is, why has J that been so? Has any other religious cult, no 1 matter how fantastic its pretensions, been dis- v turbed? Why has this organization been pursued u through four states? Are there anywhere in this Ml old world any fairer or more generous people than the men and women of Ohio, of Missouri l 'I and Illinois? Cannot the answer be found In the J teachings of the founder of the creed? in his statement to the saints on entering Missouri, , which, in effect, was that if they saw anything t they wanted to take it; in his organizing the .. i nucleus of an army, inventing a new flag and ap- v pointing himself a Lieutenant General; in the J statement of Brigham Young that th'.s is a celestial celes-tial kingdom and a kingdom of God on earth a i kingdom now not to be in the future in the statement of John Taylor that all other govern- j ments on earth, except the one he presided over, v were usurpations; in the absolute fact that were all other States uke Utah today, the Republic of the United States would cease to exist within ; twenty-four hours? The statement says: "The investigation by j the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the United States Sdnate on the right of the Senator of Utah, Reed Smoot, to the seat to which he was duly elected, disposed of most of the old stories." The answer, to that is that the ' investigation did not dispose of one of the charges, but confirmed every one. The statement says: "The Church is ac- j cused of violating certain pledges to the national . government," and answers by saying the only promise made was in a certain "petition" which the statement evades by a false statement of what has been done regarding plural marriage. We say false, because, notwithstanding the ; difficulty of proving when or where a plural marriage mar-riage has been performed, more than two nun , dred of such marriages have been publ'sned, and of all that have been published, not haf a dozen have been "disciplined." One of these was a man and woman, the man holding an office close , under the shadow of the First Presidency; it was t performed right here by a high official in the church, and when there seemed to be danger of exposure, the same official loaned the man the money to get away. He was first heard of in El Paso, and was at last accounts resting securely se-curely in Alberta, with his plural wife. Two or three years after statehood was secured, secur-ed, a bunch of Apostles went through the state and to those. who had been polygamlsts, but who, when the manifesto was published had separated sep-arated from their plural wives, settled with them and provided as well as they could for them; to these, the Apostles ordered that they should "live their religion." Judge Judd, who was here then, asked this same Heber J. Grant, who read the statement in the Conference, how the Priesthood could thus break their covenants. His reply was that when the petition was signed it was to secure statehood state-hood and it was then understood that with statehood state-hood secured, they would do as they pleased. This was decided on In the council of the apostolic apos-tolic quorum when the petition was signed. But, speaking of "new polygamy," the action on that subject taken by the chiefs in the late conference seemed to be sincere and we believe the determination now is that plural marriages shall be suspended for the present. But returning to the statement: It challenges chal-lenges any pledge that the Church ever made to no more seek to dominate the politics of Utah; and follows that by the assertion that "the authorities au-thorities of the Church never assumed to dictate -to members politically." Now there was not a Mormon in hearing of the reading of that statement state-ment who did not know that it was absolutely, shamefully false. Joseph Smith sold his vote in Nauvoo to one candidate; his brother Hyrum, with his consent, con-sent, sold the vote of the people to the opposing candidate. The first government founded in Utah was a pure theocracy "see Whitney's Historyand, His-toryand, though the form was changed later, the substance remained. No Mormon legislature here ever passed a law that the priesthood did not approve or failed to pass one that the priesthood priest-hood did approve. When three years ago Joseph F. Smith published pub-lished half a dozen lines in a little church paper "advising" the saints to vote a certain ticket, he knew that advice would not be received as from a dull and badly posted man, but as from "the Lord's annointed," with the result that two thousand supposed Democrats in this , in seven minutes, became Republicans. Thp statement continuing, says: "The principal prin-cipal accusers of the Church as dominating in politics are persons who have sought for that influence in their own behalf and are enraged because they could not obtain it." The answer to that is that the whole band, from the President of the church down to the humblest member, cannot name three men of that class. Then follows: "We claim for Church officers, as well as Church members, the rights and privileges privi-leges of American citizens." That claim has made most of the trouble which the Mormons have provoked, for the reason that neither the President nor the Apostles are in good faith American Am-erican citizens, and when they assume to advise their people politically, they know their people dare not disobey, because they claim to speak in God's own name, and not as mere men, and the superstitious fear on the people cows them into submission and obedience. Some fifteen or more years ago, at the spring Conference, the late George Q. Cannon called aside certain church officers from two or three southern counties and said to them: "So-and so-and so-and so, whom you sent here to the Legislature, have shown a disrositfon not to obey counsel. (Continued on Page C.) ROOSEVELT'S LETTER. J (Continued from Pago 3.) L See that they never come again!" And they never have. As to the defense of what is done with tithing, we care nothing about, except to refute the statement that it is a free offering. It is as much a mandate of the creed as any other. When the temple was completed, President Snow issued an edict that the rites of the temple would be withheld from tfrose who were delinquent delin-quent on account of tithing. The command of the creed, in part, reads as follows: "For the building of mine house and for the J laying of the foundation of Zion and for the Priesthood and for the debts of the President of the Church. "And this shall be the beginning of the tithing tith-ing of my people. "And after that, those who have been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for-ever, for my holy Priesthood, saith the Lord." - As to the distribution of it, we know what Joseph F. Smith will do by the way he distributed the Raleigh bequest. In this connection, we ask the Mormon people, peo-ple, whenever they have wanted a ward meeting meet-ing house, who has furnished the money? And how is it that so many people, who paid tithing as long as they could earn anything, are now in the county infirmary?. We have said the above in justice to the sincere sin-cere men and women who so long have fought what is degrading and illegal, false and treasonable, treason-able, in Mormonism, and with no more unworthy motive than to cause the chiefs of this organization organiza-tion to put themselves in accord and to permit their people to come into accord, in spirit and in truth, with the free institutions of this Republic; to get within the laws of civilization, of this country and this State, and make of Utah in truth an American State. We would not now interpose when the attempt to bring around a closer walk among the peopha is being made, except that the attempt now seems to be a concerted one, from an ex-President of the United Stated down to the high officers offi-cers of this treasonable institution to galvanize and 3am the old falsehoods, the old perfidy and treason down the throats of the American people; peo-ple; to make it appear that this institution with its crime-covered record, is really purer than an Easter lily and for four-score years has been unjustly un-justly assailed by unscrupulous persecutors; that this persecution of a much-oppressed and pious people has been pitilessly pursued through 1 four States when really its only purpose was to f redeem a wicked world. Is it not time for the truth to be once more told? In regp.rd to this same business the News seeks to convey the idea that the rule of the church has been against polygamous marriages ever since the Manifesto of President Woodruff was issued. The church authorities have suppressed sup-pressed that manifesto in their publications, for they have always known it was issued as a make-shift, put out because the church lawyers told them it must be or they would all be dls-framcililsed, dls-framcililsed, 'something they dreaded above all other punishments; and that hundreds of these marriages have been solemnized, including very many of the high officers of the church, and the present President of the church has performed more than one such ceremony. Indeed, there has never been anything like a fair surrender of the practice until at the Conference held in the present month. The News again compares the treatment of the Saints with the treatment the early Christians suffered in a fierce and barbarous age when there were no books, no printing presses, no learning, and when despotism ruled everywnero. Incidentally, of course, that puts the men of Ohio, of Missouri, of Illinois and the Gentiles of Utah on the same plane as the murderers of 1800 years ago, and still all that the men and women of these states have ever asked of the Mormon chiefs has been that they shall bring their kingdom king-dom within the righteous laws of this Republic which they pretend to revere, and lift the burden bur-den of political slavery from the souls ot their people. This is the sixty-first year of the publication of the News. When will the Mormon people realize that it has always been their enemy, : started and carried on to hold them in thralldom and is -still at work on the same line? |