The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-09-23
THE LOCAL DEMOCRACY.

The Salt Lake County Democratic
committee has assumed to say that GER
tain Democrats shall not participate in
the convention this week. 1t under
took to say that certain persons are not
Democrats; but that was going good
deal further than the committee had
the right to go, hence its decree in the
matter amounts to nothing. The COM
mittee might declare that white is
black. or that the negro is Chinaman,
but the one would remain white and
the other negro all the same. Neither
individuals nor party committees can
alter the principles of Democracy; nor
can they change mans political faith
st will. If it were in the power of
county committee to define what is
Democracy and fix the conditions upon
which Democrats may take part in
Democratic meeting, the County Com
mittee could at any time turn the party
over to the opposition and compel
Democrats to spouse the doctrines of
Replblicsnism, orlabor for the triumph
of the Prohibitionists.
The Salt Lake Committee has called a
mass convention and given notice that
only such Democrats as the committee
may see proper to admit will be al
lowed to take part in the proceedings.
This means that majority of
the Democrats of the county
will not be permitted to have
voice in the business of
the convention. The question now is,
are these committee tsbooed Democrats
to be deprived OF the right of political
action, of party or partisan activity
during the coming campaign and until
such time as the Salt Lake County
Committee has been reorganjzed or has
become Democratic? What do the
Democrats say about it? If they pro-
pose to sit down quietly and submit to
the unauthorized reading out" to
which they have been subjected, all
well and good. 1t is their affair and
not ours. But if they think enough of
their party rights to maintain them,
the committee cannot defeat them.
The county committee having taken
irregular action, having gone beyond
its authority and imposed un-Demo
cratic conditions, Democrats may take
the delegated and 2used power back
into their own hands and begin anew
by reorganization of the party. The
committee is no longer entitled to the
respect and consideration of Demo-
Gratis, having forfeited its claims to au-
thority. If the Salt Lake Democrats
deem it of Importance to be represented
in the Provo Convention next month,
and to have a voice in the nomination
of a candidate for Con gress, they should
call a convention of Democrats and
choose the county's allotted number of
delegates. 1t may be said that such |
action would be useless, as the Provo
Convention would recognize the dele
cation sent up by the county commit
tees caucus. Very well, and what
then2 If the Provo Convention shall
also commit itself to un-Demoeratic
doctrines and action, the true Demo-
Gratis will then have fair sailing, and
can 60 ahead and organize the party on
a correct basis. If the county commit
tee and the Provo Convention will u OF
come in, let them stay out, and main
tain their select society, calling it what
they may. There is material for a
trong Democratic party in this Terri
DRY, and it occurs to US that now is
good time to get that material into
shape for action.