Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-07-23
DEMOCRATIC GOSPEL.
Preached in the Ninth Ward School
House Last Evening.
A GOOdIy Number of Utah's Young
Democrats Present,
And Speeches by the Representative
Men of the Party.

| chairman, with John Taylor as secretary.
After few preliminary remarks by the
president, speeches were III order, and
A. B. THOMPSON
Began the opening address. He said that
in Utah, politics are in different condi-
ton TO what they are in any other Ter
ritory or State in the Union. The people
do not think for themselves. Young men
strong and healthy, physically-are
ignorant of political affairs. They have
not been educated or trained to public
! life. Position and preferment has been
monopolized by men advanced in years,
and young men were entirely ignored. The
| people have been directed, which, practi-
cally has resultedin being misguided. The
/ people of this Territory are not as
simulated with American institutions and
/ American life In sentiment and by
birth two-thirds of the people in Utah
are foreign to American ideas of govern
ment What we want in Utah is for
| young men to assert their rights boldly
and in the broad open light of the day
and be determined to have their say and
| take their part in the management of
! public affairs. He thanked the gentle
men for their attention, and trusted they
would accept them as coming from an
earnest soul DESTROYS of helping this
movement forward for the good of the
Territory.
HYRUM LANEY
Upon being called made brief address.
He said that as he had been absent for
some time, he had had no opportunity of
learning what the present plans OF the
Democratic club were, and in the absence
of that knowledge he was unprepared to
make speech. He was very much i'm
pressed with the educational facilities of
the East, and greatly deplored the fact that
there were so many young men in Utah
who were physical giants but possessed
only dwarfed intellects. Until the young
people of the present generation were in
structed in learning, with the knowledge
that they have a right to think for them
selves, we could not expect Democracy to
hold sway in Utah In the alliance of
Church and State the Peoples party had
an overwhelming majority over any party
that was wholly political in its views, and
though the present contest for Democrat
ic supremacy might be one of defeat, it
was the dawning of new era of politics,
in which time would solve the problem
and bring out the latent energies to unite
their voices in behalf of self-government.
Mr.. Laney was followed by an address
from
W. A. TAYLOR,
And in his remarks he alluded to the alb
sence of political platform in Utah until
the Inauguration of the present alliance
OF young Democrats, who were bent on
severing the connection OF church and
State, and the establishment of free poll
teal thought. The only fault he had to
find with our Democracy was that we
were not Democratic enough, but for all
that our Democracy was the result of con-
scientious thought, which was something
that could not be said of the Peoples
party of Utah The members of the Peo-
pies party gave up the privilege of using
! their own minds in the selection of candi-
dates for Office, years ago, and Church
and State have become synonymous in
every sense of the word But there is
another day dawning; for there is no stay
ing the current of progress and the young
| people are rising and shaking off the
shines OF superstition and ignorance
which they gathered in the morass of an
allied Church and State, and are begin
ming to think for themselves. He said
that he had many friends that were mem
bers of the Peoples party, and he de-
! plored that they were fastened to an in
cubus that gave them no rights Of political
thought. There had been laws enacted
for this people which they deny as being
worth their consideration. Ii that was
the case, and fifty millions of people did
not know what they were doing when
they enacted those laws, how could a
small minority like the Peoples party of
Utah be expected to show that their wis
dom in the enactment of laws is 50 much
greater than that of the general govern
ment? A principle of Democracy is that
1.-THE majority rules" and this people
must prepare themselves to accept Dem
ocratc principles built on a solid Demo-
cratic platform.
DIR. J. NJ. BENEDICT
Then responded to the solicitation of the
assembly, and in his usual happy style
said that his remarks on that occasion
would be for the benefit of the young
men, and that the present meeting was
being held for their benefit. He wanted
them to investigate the Democratic issues
for themselves, and to read and study
what politics mean. He wanted it dis
tinctly understood that this campaign
was not an idle whim, but instead the
outgrowth of forethought and political
convictions, and instead of Democracy in
Utah being smothered in its infancy, as
some predicted, it was growing and eX-
tending its influence until what was a
unit short time ago had now developed
into prime factor. He thought that
every man and woman in this broad land
should be accorded the right to vote for
whom they pleased, and that the young
people were the ones that would assert
this right, as the older people had been
dictated to and ruled for so long
that what few ideas they had on the ques-
ton of politics were in groove, influ-
enced by church dictation. He wanted
them to vote the Democratic ticket, not
because he and his associates there as
sembled were candidates for office on that
ticket, but for the principles embodied in
the platform of the Democratic party; to
come out in force and make an integral
part of the political power, for at present
we were known only by our priestcraft,
and had no political identity. He wanted
the young people to study for themselves [
and compare their ideas, and to rub up
against the world and get few
political ideas into their brains He !
thought we should have enough |
political recognition to have Terri |
torial officers elected from our own
people, instead of being ruled by carpet (
bag political hacks that had done the /
party some imaginary service and claimed /
. lifo intaraSt in national affairs for THAR ]
zeal. There was only one show for us
and that was to cut away from the home !
party that has no political identity, and /
assert our claim for recognition in man
aging our home government by Identity |
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