Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-02-22
A. MORMON CHURCH EXPONENT RE-
PLIES,


PLIES.
The Deseret Nelcs is the mouth-piece, in
a journalistic sense, of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Later Day Saints. 1t has for
years been recognized as an able advocate
of that organization, and as the unwearied
and valiant defender of the Mormon faith.
We do not recall that it has ever been
charged with cowardiee, or indulgence in
mere yituperation in lieu of argument.
We have recognized 1t for many years as
stalwart champion of its Church, and
have frequently had occasion to deplore
the instruction of the ability behind it.
In a recent issue this organ Of the Mormon
Church takes the RECORD UNION severely
TO task for It's comments upon the recent
election in Salt Lake City. Opening with
some exceedingly complimentary remarks
concerning the intelligence of this journal,
and its fairness and information con-
corning Utah, and its representative char
acter among papers Of the day, the Nars
quotes us as saying that the triumph Of
the aGentilesn is a victory for free institu-
lions, "and is a suggestion to the churches,
no matter what their creed or position,
that the American VIII not tolerate any
interference by ecclesiastical authorities
with the government of his State The
election inaugurated new era for Utah.
It presages there the decline of the power
of the Church IN civic administration
To this the Nec8 replies that the victory
as viewed on the ground, was in fact but
the result of arrogant assumption Of tyran-
meal authority that appeal from the de-
cisions of the Registrars was refused, and
that those officials disregarded the DEGREES
of the Supreme Court of the United States,
and thus deprived "Mormons' of the right
to vote. If this is true, we reply that the
Mormons have their remedy in the Courts
of the nation, where they can rest assured
all their legal rights will be upheld, and
any Injustice done them win be righted.
The Nec8 charges that there was ecelesi-
astical interference, since all the non-Mor-
mon churches co-operated with the LIB
eral" or Gentle party. But interference
as spoken of by the REcoRD-UNIoN re-
ferred not to the influence of believers in
certain faiths being cast with a political
party, but to those acts by church authori-
ties that are believed to bind the religion
list, and to lead him as the church desires
him to go, even in opposition to the laws
and the policy of the Government; the as
sertion of ecclesiastical authority as supe-
rior to that of the State, and between
which the believer chooses under the con-
viction that it is done at the peril of his
souls salvation. We have not heard it
charged that the non Mormon churches in
Utah assumed to issue DEGREES to their
parishioners, or commands that they should
vote in particular direction, or that they
have ever held their followers under pains
and penalties to political lines. That their
influence, their preaching, their active
labors we're and are with the Liberal party,
is true. But that is no more ecelesiasti-
cal interference than is the well-known
position of the Methodist Church in favor
of legal restraints upon and even prohi-
bition of the liquor traffic.
The charge made by US that the nom
Mormon has in Utah suffered punishment
from the dominant church, in various
forms, the Nelcs pronounces ''maudlin." 1t
adds that leading Liberals have become
wealthy upon Mormon patronage. That
Gin no one thing have the 'Mormons' ever
SO far deviated from policy OF common
sense and justice as in continuing lavish
patronage of business men and firms who
in a covert and even sometimes In an
open way, were doing their utmost to rob
them of their most sacred rights" Just
how it is in the present We are not in
formed with great degree of certainty,
but that in the past the Mormon prac-
ticed with utmost freedom the "artp of
the Gentle neighbor, is a mat
ter of history that the consensus of his
torical proofs establish. 1t viii not profit
us to debate an issue OF fact with the Mars
upon which we so widely differ from it.
So, too, the assertion that it is utterly false
that Gentiles have ever been in danger of
Mormon vengeance does not comport with
what we hold to be the truth of the
history of the Territory.
The Nelrs sees nothing heroic in the
tenacity with which the Gentiles have
'held on" and waited for the victory at
last achieved. In that respect the differ
snce between the two journals is one of
perception. To us the persistency CT the
battle that has been waged against the
power of the Mormon Church as DOM
nant agency in the politics of Utah,
;avors of the heroic. The Ners, on the
,ther hand, holds that ''heroism is usually
attributed to the other side in contest of
he character now going on in Utah, in |
which a religious organization is strug- |
Ring to maintain an existence against
tremendous odds determined 70 destroy it"
This is begging the question. We do
lot believe that the efforts of the Liberals
n Utah have been directed to the task
# destroying a religious organization. If
he people of the nation believed that the