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Show H The Thatcher Case, H ' -; fe ' M J Tho Colorado Catholic of Denver, of H which Key. T. II. Mnlonc is editor, M contains the following sensible article on B, the Mormon Otiurc'i and polities: m ''It Hcems to us that inost of the news. B' papers whhdi have cointncnted upon 1 ! the action of tiiu Mormon church in its ., '; tresitment of ex-Ajiostle Moses Thatcher, "j have failed utterly to grabp the corieci M poBition of the Mormon church in the H fa matter. 1 "Mr. Thatcher has been put outside M j the fellowship of tin Mormon t'hurch m for having, as alleged, accepted civil m, t office without taking council with tho ( church, So one, we think, will ques- H tion tho right of thechurch to deal with ' ' its'momburs in its own way, and ii Mr. m Thatcher has transgressed some law o 1 ( tiie Mormon body we fail to see where- 1 in any outsider hns the right of cotn- B plaint. B ''A great cry has been raised against fl the Mortno church because of its treat- H jnent of Mi . Thatcher, and the old cry 1' of inteifering in politics renewed.' But m we confess that a careful examination B fails tp show that the Mormon church 1 has in un wuy intoifered in politics in H ' its treatment of Mr. Thatcher. If Mr. H Thatcher violated n rule of the Mormon M institution in seeking and accepting 1 oflice without the permission of the H Mormon church, he clearly made h'tin- H, self liable to the treatment which has H been meted out to him. And in this H yiew of the case it is quite clear that H ' Mr. Thatcher is insincere in seeking to H" use his violation of church discipline as H an Argument in favor of hiB election to H the United States Senate. H "If the Democratic legislature of Utah H should be influenced in 7ur. Thatcher's H . favor because of his treatment by the H church to which he has professed H i allegiance, the U-gielat ure would be H t clearly guilty of doing by .indirection H what it is prohibited by the constitution B , from doing direqtly, viz:4 of interfering T in a church matter which in no wpy H' J concerns it. H "The Mormon people have shown a m far better temper in the whole affair H than any of their critics. It is entirely H outside the province of tiio Utah legisln- H " ture to viudicatcIr. Tnatchcr in n mat- H ter that pertains solely to the Mormon H church; and if the legislature of Utah H should assume any such lesponsiblily it H will have entered upon a vcrydangeroua H proceeding and one which willabsolute- H y dissolve the Mormon church from its H expressed pbligation not to inteifcre in H politics. k H "There is a fundiWntal principle in- H t volved in this" controversy which the H Gentiles of Utah should not loose sight aaaal |
