Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-02-06
.DEMORALIZED,
Liberals" Worried BY the
Exposure of Fraud.
THE PEOPLES COMMITTEE
Perforate Powers Impudent and
Foolish Better.
THE AGREEMENT FOR ELECTION
DAY.
The Little Sensation Published
The AGREEMENT FOR ELECTION
DAY.
The Little Sensation Published
by the "LibersI' Organ.

4oSe ground by scouting posses
sion Of Information which ha,
been obtained by the Peoples com
mittee. With this view a Iette
was written Offering TO '5oin q
purging the Lists" r..-io up by tn,
"Liherel' registrars. But the guis,
wasso transparent, that the People,
representatives very promptly in
formed Judge Powers and hi
henchmen that they must keep of
as their confidence game would no
work.
Then the 'sI,iberaI'' leader gor
mad He must have been, or no
even politician of Judge Powers
stamp would have written such 6
letter rs that sent TO the People.
committee. There is not even Ar
attempt to excuse the n,isAtatement.
Of facts well known to the observing
public, among them the signers Of
the document. Then the unpar.
aiieled ''cheek" with which it as.
sumes to direct what tho People
shall do is amasingiy funny. Here
Is the precious document
Hon. F. S. Richards. Chairman OF
the Peoples Party Municipal Cen
tral Committee, Salt Lake CITY.
Utah:
Dear Sir-The reply of your com.
mlttee to the offer made you in our
letter OF the Both inst. il at hand, and
l am directed by the Liberal COM
mittee TO express surprise and regfet
that you have declined % accept our
oHer to join with you in using all
lawful Mears 10 perfect the city reg
lStrabon list so that none but lawful
voters should be permitted to exer-
else the franchise at the coming
election. Your party organs have
persistehtly asserted that your COM
mittee had in ts.posession conyIn-
cling proofs that large numbers of the
Liberal party were registered lille
gally, and your letter inGiC-tes that
claim to have 'infoTmation- verify
ing these charges, and yet you de-
cline to take any steps such as the
law points out to remedy these
alleged grievances.
While We regard your decision on
our proposal as final. we cannot per-
NIT your refusal TO pass without
nntfrinfP tho ra,-nt.e ,,-t,g,l -. -
sign for your determination. Our
proposition was made 70 you in per-
feet good faith and in the hope that
by having an honest effort made TO
have final registration, as nearly
perfect as our joint endeavOrs would
make it, we might put at rest in adj
vance all doubt Of the integrity OF
the result. Frustrated In this by
refusal upon your part to do any
thing In the direction indicated and
forced to go forward in the duty
which is as much yours rs ours
WITHOUT your co-orerati3n, We
feel that justice n our commit
tee requires that we reply to your
reasct;s for non-action. And We
premise that the statute under
which the registration officers are
now engaged in perfecting the reg
istration lists is the work OF
the Peoples Party. At least
one member OF yohf Commit
Tee, if not more, was member Of
the Territorial Legislature which
enacted the law which prescribes
the method Of purging the registra-
ton list which is now being pursued.
II is well known to you that the
Liberal party earnestly opposed this
statute at the time of its passage,
and that it was the Peoples Party
that secured It. When the Gov
ernor Of the Territory was waited
upon by leading Liberals who pro-
tested against its approval after it
had received the endorsement of a
legislature then unanimously Of
your party, they were eurtly told
that he would "slgn the bill and
hear the objections afterwards" In
view Of the fact that the authority
under which the officers are now
reviewing the registration lists Is
one owing its existence to the Peo-
pies Party, your refusal to proceed
in accordance with its provisions is
one 10 which your letter affords no
explanation. 1t suggests TO us that
its purpose, when enacted, was one
that its authors could easily have
fulfilled by persons under their con-
troll. Your action in regulating a
statute of your own making, because
your partisans do not administer il,
is n direct Impeachment Of the
motives Of its authors. We regret
that you have felt compelled to
demonstrate the bad faith in which
your own party exercised the law
making power.
Passing, however, from this 10
the reasons you assign for declining
the offer made you by the Liberal
committee, We venture TO reply to
these reasons.
FirSt-You deny the authority Of
the registrars to exercise the power
given by the statute of Utah to
strike name from the list Of voters
because ii is 'judicial.o II this DO
si;ion he correct, then the Judges of
election are equally without author
ity TO reject disqualified voter. when
at the polls, for they pos
sess the same power. These are
powers which judges of election have
exercised everywhere without CUES
ton before, and We think your OBJ
lection TO it as 'judicial'' would be
unanimously regarded as puerile.
The effort to provide a sJudiciary,
in the United States, extensive
enough to take charge Of the cleo
lions, is one that we think would |
strike the world as both novel and |
useless. Your opinion that the Of |
Iicers appointed by the Utah Com
mission to exercise the duties pre-
'cribed in the statute have not the |
)ower is in defiance of the Utah |
Commission, of our unchallenged |
,ractice for eight years, and Of a de-
:ision of chief justice directly upon
he question in case instituted by
yourselves. We respectfully submit /
that law-abiding citizens ought not |
70 place themselves in such an atti- |
tude. Submission to the law as con-
strued by the lawfully constituted
tribunals Tor the time being is, we 1
submit, the duty Of all loyal citizens.
This position, which is fundamental
In our system Of government. YOUR
action repudiates.
Second-We have no information
that Justifies your assertion that the
registrars claim that they are sun
RENE and beyond control or revision.
'The statute authorizes and directs
he officers who exercise the author
ty TO perfect the list to hear the |
and TO overrule or sustain
{. 1t assumes that no voter shall
e rejected except on satisfactory
roof and provides that although
lie may overrule a challenge and
etain the name, an appeal may stiIl
'e had at the polls. Ifan appeal is
lot provided when the challenge is
1t is the fault of the law.
lot of the officer" The allegation
hat these officers refuse 10 be
uided by sjudicial precedent, is.