The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-29
ABOUT CENTRALIZED POWER.

a few mild observations we made in con
graduating Hon. JOHN HENRY SMITH upon
seeing his principles carried out in the case
OF territorial government, have stirred Ut
our little Republican neighbor:
Mr. SMITH quotes VAN buren, as saving,
when appealed TO by Mormons from Missouri to
protect them against mob violence Your cause
IS Just, but we can do nothing for YOU. "
SMITH S point is that Republican government
could never look on condition of mob violence
IN state, say that the oppressed and mobbed
party were in the right, and at the same time
answer: Your cause is just, but we can do
nothing for you" Such an imbecile answer as
that never came from a Republican admimstra-
lion, and we would have the Mormons know the
difference between the confessed imbecility of
the Democratic conception of the central gov
| ernment and the vgor and rectitude OF the Re-
publican idea.
! The Times conveniently forgets that the
present Republican administration has
given ''just such an imbecile answer, in
the case of the New Orleans lynching.
The same reply would have been given to
the Chinese government a few gears ago in
the case Of the Wyoming massacre only
wyoming was territory over which the
federal government had absolute control.
and was therefore directly responsible
Tor the enforcement of the law.
In both these cases. the doctrine was enun-
clated that the federal government cannot
interfere in the affairs of state If the
legislature or the governor asks the assist
ance of the federal power, then and not till
then can the national government take
part. This is simply constitutional law.
and is recognized as such alike by Demo
Gratis and Republicans
Ii the Times is disposed to find fault with
our system of constitutional law, we have
no objections; or if it claims that Republ
cans would override, if they could, this con-
stitutional provision.
Democrats claim, however, that the
strength of any government lies in the pat
riotism of its people and the power they re-
tain, not in the amount of power taken
from them and vested in the central ma
chine. Thus, Russia is a good sample of
centralized power; so is Spain, Italy, Aus
tria; Germany is less centralized than any
of these, England still less, and the United
States least Of all Now, the real strength
of these governments is graduated in the
inverse order in which we have named
them, the United States being strongest.
England next and so on. According to the
Capitalization doctrine Russia, Italy and
Austria are strong governments, while
England and the United States are weak,
governments.
In another place the junior organ COM
pares the Republican idea of Capitalization
with the organization of the Mormon
church, the conclusion being that since the
two are alike, as the organ is just soft
enough to claim, therefore the Republican
idea is the correct one.
This "argument' is vitated by the lack
Of similarity in the cases. There is no pro-
vision for any superior to exercise force
upon any inferior in the whole organization
Of the Mormon church. In that system
everything is voluntary; and to draw the
conclusion that since in the Mormon church
no coercion can be used, and in a govern
ment according to Republican ideas, the
whole system depends upon coercion by the
federal government, therefore the Mormons
ought to be Republicans, ETC., is a depth of
absurdity little too great for extended no.
tice.