The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-07-10
LET 1T SHOW ITS HAND,
The Tribune is Invited to Tell What 1t Knows
About the yiolators Of the Laws.

About the ViOlators OF the Laws
To The Editor OF THE HERALD;
The Tribune says: "We say polygamists
are living their religion in this territory as
much as they ever WERE" This must be
true or false. II true, the Tribune knows
1t. IL false, the Tribg1e-is true to its gen.
eral character. But If it knows that the
law 10 being violated why does it not have
the guilty parties arrestedl The man who
receives stolen goods is guilty with the
thief. The man who permits murder that
he could prevent is half murderer. The
man who knows that law Is being violated
and does nothing to prevent it Is guilty
with the law-bresker. Let the Tribune ex-
pose and give up these men who are prac-
Using polygsmy as much as ever in Utah
and We will have regard for its words.
Otherwise we must write it down as
making a cunning attempt to deceive the
public as far as 1t reaches. That 1t intends
only this is evident from the language
used. 1t says polygamists are 'livlng their
religion as much a. ever" 1t means 10
convey the impression that it knows that
they are still practising polygamy. But it
knows that polygamy has been given up
and is no longer part OF the Mormon re-
ligion. 1t Is not honest enough to say this.
but with the cowardly heart OF a slanderer
it distorts the truth to hurt the people who
have never done it wrong. To assume
that 200 900 people are liars because they
have openly given up the observance OF a
practice forbidden by law, requires per-
version of the sense of justice that Is no
credit to the person who makes the assump
ton. The Tribune would never have ad-
nitted that the south was entitled to am
nesty, because it never would have ad-
mitted that in saying they had given
were sincere. The TTibune's policy il one Of
of retrogression. 1t would carry humanity
back to the days of barbsrism when truth
was an unknown quantity and might was
the only right Progress is impossible
without confidence and while all Utah is
striving heroically TO rise above the old
condition of local strife and distrust, the
Tribune stands as the organ Of bakers
dozen of men who have made money out OF
the strife and would continue it to increase
| their wealth. The Tribune is the Bourbon
of Utah. With contempt for the prosper
| ity Of the masses, IL insists upon carrying
on the old regime that kept a shoddy arts
tocracy of official glamour at the head Of
! Utah affairs. The Tribune has pandered to
/ place and power until toadyism has become
its normal condition. 1t sees rightly
enough that if the prosperity Of Utah were
encouraged that would put an end to the
Tribune's day and generation. The Tribune
knows that if the truth were known over
the country in regard to the Mormon peo-
pie the old hatred against the sect would
speedily disappear and the nation would in
sist that instead Of paying sl75, 200 annu-
ally to keep Mormon hating officials in full
purse, the people Of Utah should pay their
own political expenses. The Tribune
knows that IL the nation could but once
understand the real situation in Utah there
could be no more millions gathered to run
missionary work that has piled up vast
wealth in the territory in the past twenty
FIVE years, but has never made a convert
from the Mormon church, for the reason
that in morals, sobriety, industry and truth
fulness the people to be converted
were the superiors Of those who came TO
convert them. The Tribune knows more
than it thinks it does, but its naturally pig
headed perversity keeps it out OF breath
pounding men Of straw. There is a chance
for il to get back at myself in its usual
style.) II it only could get rid of its bile
and cataract, becoming clear at both ends,
| it would soon see grander field in free
and united Utah than could by any posi-
bilIty come under its old rule of falsehood
and hate. / wish it would taxi thought
an mend. as Burns said Of the devil.
CHARLES ELLIS.