The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-06-27
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS.

hope to get back into the Democratic partys
What must be done before your return, and
who do you want to do it, There must be
reason fo- your course and that should be
presented in answers to these questions.
For years you, as Liberals, have been de-
handing certain things OF the Mormons.
You have said that those things were the
occasion Of your being Liberals. You have
declared all the time that when the Nor
mons yielded 70 your demands, when they
complied with your requests your assaults
would cease and you would be Democrats
end not Liberals. The two demands made
upon the Mormons were % that they
should discontinue the practice of polyg-
amy and C2) that the church should keep
out of politics. Polygamy has been discon
tinued. The president proclaimed against
the practice nearly year ago. This was
followed by the entire church, in confer
ence assembled, without q dissent
ing voice declaring against the institu-
ton. Since then there has appeared no
suggestion even that q single polygamous
marriage has been soleEnized. As mat
ter of fact, is there an intelligent person in
this community who does not know, al
though necessarily unable to demonstrate
it, that no plural marriage among the Nor
mons has taken place since the appearance
of President WooDRUFF's manifesto! The
man who would declare that slavery Is yet
practiced on the sly in the south would be
laughed at as q fanatic by the most ram
pant abolitionist, and yet slavery has ceased
no more certainly and no more effectually
than has polygamy. What more can any
Liberal Democrat ask on this scorei Surely
he cannot want the absolute proof Of the
abolishment Of polygamy by the Mormons
which the death of every Mormon alone
ment which has been furnished is not sat
isfactory, then nothing short Of death will
satisfy the doubling ones.
1t has been demanded that the church
shall keep cut of politics. If it is not out of
politics we would all like to know where,
when and how it is in politics. The Mormon
political party has been disbanded in the
only manner in which it could be broken
up. Its officials, managers and represen-
tatives have officially proclaimed it de-
funct, and the members being absolvei
from all allegiance to an organization
which NO longer exists, are either holding
aloof from politics or .sre publicly joining
with one or the other Of the political
parties. They are not joining these organ
nations at the dictation of the church,
but because they believe in the principles
advocated by the respective parties and de-
sire to see the principles prevail. The
heads of the church have distinctively
and in the most emphatic and unequivocal
language denied either their right or their
intention to dictate to their people in
politics. It Is certain that the hand OF the
authorities has not appeared In the politi-
cal movement which has attracted so much
attention, and our knowledge of the people
induces US to declare that church interfer-
ence in their political affairs would be re-
scented. Convincing evidence that the ex-
members Of the defunct Peoples party are
in no mood to tolerate church interference,
mush less dictation, 10 found IN the fact
that where high cnurchmen appear as pri-
vate citizens in the political field they are
almost invariably received in . spirit OF
coldness and they meet with poor success
in making converts. Ask any Gentle
Democrat or Republican who has
been active in the present proselyting cam
paign and who has necessarily associated
more or less intimately with official and un-
official Mormons, and he will tell you that
he has discovered not the slightest sugges-
ton Of church interference, the masses be-
ing a. free 70 oct - are the people Of any
other American community.
Then, polygamy having been abandoned
and the church being out Of politics what
excuse can any Democrat have for remain
ing in the Liberal ranksa What further
demand can be made from the Mormons
that his political principles will justifyl
We can understand why certain men
should want to keep the Liberal party
alive. They are the ONCE seekers, the
spoilsmen, the men whose ideas Of politics
are that principles are not involved,
personal power and individual gain being
the incentives to party loyalty. These ara
the men who corrupt elections. buy votes,
vote hotel registers and tombstoDes, and
change the ballots Of electors-all for the