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Show thing like an Adamless Kdcn? V suspect that even the Illustrious In sllgator of tlii American parly l purity and progress would be missed from his accustomed haunts. The papers of Suit Lake abuse and scold each other like a quartet of llsh-wives llsh-wives and denounce their political oi ponenta an a act of robbers and graft-era. graft-era. The people Ret awful sic'.; of It, These papers don't represent Mie social so-cial and commercial spirit of the pro pie. The Commercial Club Is made-up made-up of Centlles and Mormon who work together harmoniously. Gentiles hold slock in the Z. C. M. I. un.l the sugar company. Gentile and Mormon work together on boards of directors In milling mill-ing compunies. Irrigation companies, banks and commercial Institutions The editor can only guess whether lie Is doing business w'th a Centile of Mormon. Nebraska I m iners are coming Into Millard county ami find they have as friendly ami hospitable and honest uelghbois as they had buck east. There Is lesa Illiteracy tiere than In any oth-r state; moro people own their own homes than in any other stale. Come out and make a homo with us. You will b'f as heartily welcomed wel-comed and as fairly treated as any where else In the Jvoil. POLITIGS AND POLYGAMY Conditions h Utah as They Look to the Editor of the Chronicle This number of The Chronicle will be read by thousands of people who have read the derogatory editorials of the Salt Lake Tribune, and the recent articles In several of the magazines, criticising the political and religious conditions In Utah. This literature may have prejudiced them and made them feel as If Utah wan an undesirable undesir-able state In which to make their homes. It therefore seema proper that the editor should tell something of ihe real conditions In the atate. He doesn't get his Information from a two days' visit to Salt Lake or long dis tance Hurmlsos. He Is a Oentlle. He did his first newspaper work In Illinois Illi-nois thirty years ago and haa lived In Utah twenty years. He has lived 1n Salt Lake City and various towns In the state. -He has done business with both Mormons and Contilos, and therefore he knows whereof he writes. When we consider that four-fifths of the population of Utah are Mormons Mor-mons It wilL be readily understood that the Mormons control the politics of the state. When it is also considered con-sidered that the leaders of the Mormon Mor-mon church have the entire confidence and respect of their people, It will be admitted that their Influence In politics Is considerable, but that influuonce is not sufficient to destroy Individual Judgment and Independence. For instance, in-stance, the leaders of the church last fall wanted Senator Smoot re-elected. He could undoubtedly have been elected by the people, as he was generally gen-erally satisfactory to them. Hut prominent Mormon Democrats stumped the state against him and talked as vehemently against him as any Centile Democrat could. And the people here divide their vote between the Democratic -and Republican parties about as they do In other states. In Millard county the Republican candidate candi-date for representative the only purely political office got a majority of only Jul lu a total vote of about 1.900. And It Is so ill other counties except Salt Lake, where iLjjnalnly a fight between the Morng nd the American party, and Uiere thr Mor" lion people will vote the Repf'1,llcan ticket to d"feat tlx-American' I'arty-" I'arty-" The editor was t-- t" the leg--Malature a number i.years aKO, He j got the nomination iiK convention made up kirgely or Mo7Uins and against n Mormon opponent. He was elected by a large majority by Mormon Mor-mon votes. He was In the legislature that tried to elect Moses Thatcher. The church leaders were undoubtedly opposed to him because he had not "counselled" with them. Hut Frank Cannon did not tell In his article In Kverybody's that in spite of the opposition op-position of the church he was defeated by only two votes, and that one of his kinswomen, a member or the legislature, legisla-ture, showed her indpendetice by voting vot-ing for him to the very last, and thai nearly half of the legislature, overwhelmingly over-whelmingly Mormon, were Just as in-deMltdelit. in-deMltdelit. These facts, and others that could be given, show that while the church leaders undoubtedly have great influence, in-fluence, they cannot control their followers fol-lowers as subserviently as these writers writ-ers assume. We have our political bosses Ihe same as other states, but they are in the American party as well as the Republican, and Senator Smoot Is no more a boss in Utah than Is Aidiich In Rhode Island, and a dozen other senators that could be named No state will get rid of them until we have direct legislation, and direct primaries. The last legislature did something to put the political boss out of business by providing the commission commis-sion form of government for the cities of the state, and two years from now Utah will have a direct, legislation law. Utah Isn't so far behind the procession after all ' Hut polygamy Is the great bugaboo. Undoubtedly a great many of the older Mormons are living with their plural wives, but they don't flaunt the fact offensively. When we consider that they married these wives twenty, thirty and forty years ago In good faith and in accordance with their religion. ; It Is expecting a good degj of human nature to think they wilfeglve them ue entirely. We believe tlit great majority ma-jority of them have. One writer says that 224 polygamous marriages have p taken place since 1S!0. It may be r possible, but when we consider that c these polygamlsts have to skulk off to Mexico or Canada, that me i-eremon- " les, if they were performed at all, were " by obscure officials In out-of-the-way piaces, and that It was without the knowledge or connivance of the church 1 leaders, we must admit that the prac- e tlce Is not likely to become popular, j, There are fanatics In all religions. Probably some of tbee men. If they really took plural . es. did so bo- r cause they really believed their exalta-tlon exalta-tlon hereafter depended upon the nutu- h her of wives they had. Others used their rellgio as a cloak for Illicit love. (, Hut the great mass of the people are j opposed to It. The Mormon girls are, opposed to it. They would rather j have a whole husband than a half or j a fourth Interest in one. In the palm- I lest days Hlygamy was practiced byjs only about tn i-r cent of the peoide.lt1 les a larger proNrtlon of the Cen-'fl tiles lead a tmody monogamous life?jn If all Centlles of Salt Ijike who have ver been guilty of unlawful cohabi I tation were run Into Jail don't jou'o think th old town would look some i' |
