The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-02-05
MR.. FRED SIMON SAYS
He Did Not Advise a Holy
Crusade,
BUT ASKED OF MR. HARRISON
ga Policy Which Would Forever
Settle the Religious aud Social
Differ ences
To the Editor of THE HERALD.

To the Editor of The HERALD.
Fully realizing that in the struggle
for the solution of the social and politi-
cal conditions existing in our Terri
t)ry, you have always aimed to take
stand which desires to see the good in
those not of your political opinion. 1
beg to address this communication to
you IN order that / may be correctly
understood in regard to the meaning of
the Associated Press dispatch which ap-
peare! in your paper number of days
ago and which appears to have furn-
ished considerable capital for numbsr
of articles in one home paper. copies Of
which l received here on Saturday,
January 26th.
The Thoughts which herewith sub
NIT to your readers will to a great ex
tent explain the platform upon which
1 have aimed to stand from the time
beams resident of our Territory.
Coming to this country at the sge of
16 years, in order to escape from a des-
potic form of government, I soon re-
Q lied that q p r. IN could here beleng
| to any religious denomination and be a
good citizen, provided he anywhere and
everywhere acknowledged the laws of
the land to be supreme. The founda-
ton OF this government rested upon
that one principle. that no religious de-
nomination should at any time gain
| suffic ent power to control this govern,
msnt or any part thereof. ~.
Taking up my residence in Utah
Gig hteen years ago, found that in that
very Territory al attempt was being
made to build up an impirium in
impirio, which, were it to succeed,
would bring Us back to the same con-
dition of affairs which existed 800 and
600 years ago and required that same
length of time to at least partially free
itself from Inc power which built up
tina: very system of government from
Egypt with her temples and priesthood
often required to my mind. The his
tories of all the different countries who
! fought frsm century to century to re-
lease themselves from the grasp of that
| terrible power often appeared wildly
before me. In my minds eye could
see millions upon millions OF men and
women who persisted by the sword and
by the fagot for that one terrible crime
that they had dared to even differ in
though from the religious laws estab-
| ltshed By priesto lft and priesthood. It
| is a we'll known and authenticated fact
| in history that per e;utions always were
started by the power of priestcraft and
| never by the civil governments The
history of the thirty years war came
oack to my memory, picturing
| struggle, which, after costing the lives
of millions of men and the destruction
of many countries, at last resulted IN
thu agreement that from that
time on the laws of the State shall be
supreme oyer those OF the church.
No wonder, then, that taking IN the
situation in our Territory, concluded
10 stand upon platform which was in
cont ormity with the designs of those
wise men who laid the foundation for
the form f our government, !. e. that
no matter what ones political views
might be, no matter what religious
op Mon one might wish to entertain,
that above all THESE considerations he
must first be a true and loyal citizen,
and rs lonk as one stood upon that
platform he would have no cause to fear
nation.
WIN adhering to these principles,
never allowed myself to become fanat.
ical toward those who widely differed
from me politically or religiously.
Realizing that if the tenets and prac-
tees of The dominant church in our
Territory were carried out, it would
bring much hardship and sorrow upon
many thousands of men, womea and
children, deemed it my duty to oppose
these measures whenever occasion re-
Quired 1t ard to the extent of my only
too limited capacity.
In taking this stard, I was not i'm
PEELED by any hatred or i'll feeling to-
wards lne people OF our Territory.
Far be this from me, for in nv
thoughts and actions was guided by
principles entirely opposed to those
n mentioned.
When eight years ago, worn out by
the very social and political struggle
which still exists in our midst, l left
our Territory for the purpose of set
ting down in this very city. where
many inducements had been offered to
me by friends and relatives engaged in
mercantile pu. its, l found that after
had been away for a number of
months, that my heart belonged to
Utah, that l felt out of place every
where else, that Il 9 sun there rose aud
set more splenddly than anywhere
else, that our mountains were more
majestic and our sceneries were sub
lime; that loved our Territory and
its people far more than all the balance
of the country. And finding that
thesel thoughts were not ephemeral,
but were to me "a cloud of smoke by
day and pillar of fire by night
! made up my mind to return
to my homs in the mountains
and henceforth would consider that
Utah was my country. l remember.
that, when shortly after had returned
the word outsider" was applied to
me, O word which Tor ten years I had
always permitted to be used without
contradiction; resented that appella- 1
ton and told those who used the word,
that, henoeforth considered myself an
insider and that proposed to be con-
sidsred an insidAr in every sense and
mesning that the word implied.
That one thought has governed my
actions ever since and l trust will con-
finn 10 no. -t1 L.. .,r