The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-28
PUNISHMENT FOR OPINIONS.

Judge CARLETON, an eminent lawyer of
Indiana, and for seven years member of
the Utah commission, aifirms in the
National Democrat that "for honesty, sobri
ETY., industry, neghborly kindness, peace
and good order, the Mormons are equal, If
not superior, 20 any community on this
continent. Over 95 per cent of the saloon
keepers and gamblers of Utah are nom
Mormons, while over IS per cent of the
population is Mormon. He asserts that
over seven eighths of the heinous and
felonious Oft nses are committed by anti
Mormons, and closes with this sentence:
'sSshall we in this enlightened country in
woke legal coercion over the consciences of
men in the matter OF religion, and resort
to the thumb screw ana rack, political pro-
scription aud disfranchisement as modes of
religious instruction and persuasion.n
To any fair-minGed nan il must seem
strange that an honest, sober Industrious,
kind. peaceful and orderly people should be
singled out for political prescription and
disfranch isementn. One naturally asks,
"Who are the people that instigate and de-
mand this persecution 81 and he learns that
the people demanding this oppression of
the Mormons contribute seven-eighths of
the helnous and felonious offenses, the
baser crimes, and also a large percentage
of the lesser crimes; that these Mormon
haters are in reality the chief law breakers,
while denouncing the Mormons for suppos-
ititious offenses and imaginary crimes;
that these anti Mormons constitute all court
officials and members of iuries in Utah, and
nc plea OF persecution in this respect by the
Mormons is open to them.
II is notorious that it is usually this class
that demand the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the
Mormons. The better class of non Nor
mons have never lent their active support
to the scheme, and have sometimes de-
nounced it. Only few of the respectable
on-Mormons, be it said to their lasting
credit. have ever openly said that
the people of Utah should be pun
ished because Of the alleged constitution
of their minds. Only the villainous
downtown sheet and its immediate
ring of coadiutors and plotters have been
vie enough to assert that Mormons should
be disfranchised for an alleged belief they
entertain, and deprived of acquiring title to
land because they spend their Sundays
within their own church buildings or homes
instead of at the SHINY attended ''ortho-
dox'' churches of Utah or the better patron
lied beer halls and Sunday saloons.
But let it be recorded against, and stand
to the eternal infanly of, the characterless
organ and its ring of abettors and support
ers, that at this late day of the worlds his
tory and in the greatest and most liberal
country on the face Of the oarth, they have
demanded the robbery Of their political op-
ponents on the ground that their opponents
believe in an unpopular doctrine. For hav-
ing secured the punishment of all their OPP
ponents whom they accused of violating a
law, they are now more clamorous than
ever for the punishment of those who have
broken no law, and who are their superiors
IN all the elements that so to make loyal
snd useful citizens in any country