Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-10-22
ON THE INCREASE.


Boycotting is on the increase in Utah.
The KNIGHTS of Labor started it few
davs ago in Ogden, and it seems to have
been quite successful Last night the
News had long leader on the question
as to who should be patronized and who
should not be by its co-religionists. 1t
prints a set of resolutions which were
adopted by the Mutual Improvement AS
sociations of Salt Lake City at the Logan
Conference last April. The grand test
as to who should be patronized and who
should not,i summed up in the following
language of the NeWs: "It will be OBJ
served that these resolutions limit the
patronage of the Saints adopting them to
those uho are friends to the community Of
Latter-daq Sainats.'' The italics are the
Netcs' and not ours. Some may desire
to know how to determine who are the
friends of the community referred to,
and this also the News furnishes. Here
it is "If the Saints have any genuine
friends who are not members of their
faith they would not be excluded, but
the experience of the Saints has proved
the rule laid down by the Savior to be
correct, when He said: He that is not
with me is against me; and he that
gathereth not with me, scattereth. "
The rule is a thorough one, and is of easy
application 1t is rule that will work
both ways. Ii those who are not for the
Saints are against them, is it not true that
the Saints are against all who are not for
them?
That the Mormon people have done a
great and good work in Utah none will
deny. That they first opened up the val
leys of Utah to settlement is likewise
true; but if the rule that those who first
came here have rights more sacred than
all who came subsequently, at what par
ticular year shall the mark between those
who came first and those who came after
be drawn? The Mormon residents of
Utah came here on account of the ad-
vantages to be had in Utah; the nom
Mormon residents of the Territory came
for the same purpose; and the rights of
one are as sacred as the rights of the
other. In former years when the popu-
lation of the Territory was almost en-
tirely Mormon, and there was no
rapid communication between Utah and
the centers of commerce and civiliz alton,
no doubt the material prosperity of nom
Mormons was dependent more or less
upon the good will and patronage of the
Mormon people. To-day such is not ex-
actly the case. In business it must
always be desirable to have the good will
and patronage of all, but in Salt Lake City
to-day they can be had much more easily
than once. That an absolute withdrawal
of Mormon patronage from non-Mormon
merchants and business men would work
such merchants and business men great
loss, cannot be denied. Might not such
a course react upon the Mormons them
selves to greater or less extent? Ii all the
mines and railroads, all of which are un-
der the control of nom Mormons, if the
owners and managers shall so elect, were
to boycott Mormon labor and Mormon
produce, what would be the result? That
all needed labor for mines and railroads
could be supplied very readily from with
out, will be admitted by all who know the
condition of the labor market. So also
could farm produce be furnished from
without the Territory, and only a year or
two ago eastern oats were very much
cheaper in the Utah market than Utah
oats
That boycotting, when confined to non
intercourse with people, is perfectly legi-
innate is an acknowledged fact. But that
it is legitimate is not the main question.
The main question is, is it effectual to ac-
complish the object sought? In the case
of the people here we think not The
object which they desire is cessation OF
the enforcement of the Edmunds law, and
they hope that by boycotting those who
are not OF them that they may succeed in
causing such to join them in the cry for a
cessation of a vigorous enforcement of the
laws because of the pecuniary distress
liable to come to such non-members
of the Saints if the boycott becomes uni,
versal throughout the Territory and is
adhered to- The effort to boycott all who
are not with the Saints may be made
but if made, it will at best be spasmodio
and of short duration. The laws oi
political economy and nature will asser
themselves in spite of the edicts of any
association, where such association has
not the means to enforce them physically
AMERICAN CONSULS.