Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-01-20
WHY THE .DEMOCRAT' RETRACTs
An Apology rendered to Those MEM
bers of the Legislature Who Are
Either ssNaturals or IdiOts.o

1t is with feelings of regret, and the
writer may say in spirit of sincere con-
triteness, that the DEMOCRAT hastens te
apologize for an item which appeared in
its local columns lastevening, and which,
the DEMOCRAT is grieved and exceedingly
sorry to note, has been construed (by
some of the members themselves) to re-
fleet upon the good looks, the intellectual
status and the mental soundness of the
Utah Legislature. The following is the
item referred to:
and Territories for the members of the
Legislatures to visit public buildings and in
stitutions-say, for instance, an insane
asylum. The Utah Legislature will there
| fore follow good precedent when its MEM
bers inspect the Territorial institution at
Provo next week. The one thing to be re-
GREETED is that the department. for naturals
and idiots is not yet ready for patients. If
| it were, the Legislature might be proftably
ensmalled by leaving few of its chronic
and hopeless cases in an institution to which
they rightfully belong.
The attention of the DEMOCRAT having
been called to the grievous nature of such
report and the cruel suspicion which it
naturally fastens upon the whole number
in order to include the few, we feel that
nothing but full and humble apology
can satisfy the injured feelings of those
members who have been so insanely out
ragged.
Common justice demands that the
DEMOCRAT retracts and we-retract. We
hate to do it; but when the intellectual
calibre Of such body as the Utah Legis-
lature enters the question we are going to
suppress our own feelings in the matter
and see that justice gets all the points
she is entitled to. 1t is not the
policy of the DEMOCRAT to retract,
and we wish each and every mem
Der of the Legislature to distinctly
understand that No Retraction bill has
passed its third reading and become a law
in the DEMOCRAT Office. The present
apology is offered under a suspension of
rules and cannot come up again in the
regular order of business.
But while the DEMOCRAT has humbled |
itself to apologize to the wise men of the |
Territory for inferring that the public in
terest would better be served if few of |
their number were living at the expense
OF the Territory at Sc per week in the in
sane asylum rather than by drawing Sc
per day for being loose in its Legislative
halls, the writer submits that according to
general belief and information there is
some foundation to the article, in the
light ofwhich the DEMOCRAT had the great
American privilege of publishing it.
For instance, in referring to one of the
members from the COW counties the other
evening, who has no mental means of
the difference between
IN amendment to an amendment and a
motion to 60 into committee of the whole,
l brother member remarked: Why in
ii don't they keep such id fools at
lome!" The DEMOCRAT reporter was
oained to hear such brotherly express
ion, but when to this another mem
Der of the Legislature added that, eff
ne would only keep his id mouth
hut he would be all right" the reporter
cit positively shocked. Other illusions
IS to what night school might be able [
Q do in resurrecting the mental faculties {
# various members are passed by in
Hence. Even the assertion that prom
nent member made to DEMOCRAT re- t
'orter this morning that, 81 know there Y
re some id fools among u.s." shall not l
'e called into question. 1t was 6
y these and similar remarks that the G
DEMOCRAT was led into the error it COM i
1itted yesterday. But this journal has t
ow cleared its conscience by full repara- c
on, and in conclusion we have only to 9
ay that the - fools referred to by the t
lembers themselves were the ones re- e
FRED to by the DEMOCRAT last evening.