The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-14
DISFRANCHISENENT.

Az Oiidb CCIldlu
nent Liberals are at present in Washington,
laboring to secure the passage eff the STRU
BILE Acknowledgement bill, recalls a remark
of the great French historian in re-
gard to political serfdom:
We are not without examples OF men having
submitted to the heavy yoke of despotism, OF
their having become accustomed to it, nay
more, of their having freely accepted it. Reli
gious despotism, monarchial despotism, have
more than once obtained the sanction, almost
the love OF the population which they governed.
But feudal despotism has always been repulsed,
always hateful. 1t tyrannized over the destinies
of men without ruling in their hearts. 3
1t was the authority of man over man; the dom
ination of the capricious will of an individual.
This perhaps is the only tyranny to which man.
much to his honor, will never submit The mo-
ment that the authority which presses upon
him is no more than an individual, a human
will like his own, he feels mortified and indig
nant, and struggles against the yoke which he
IS compelled 10 bear.-GUIzoL
The despotlsm of rule of characterless
carpet baggers, in case tbree-fourths of
the people of this territory should be dis
franchised would be simply uncomfortable,
not only to the disfrancbised Mormons but
to the masses Of non-M ormons who would
be outside of the Liberal ring.
The writer of this can conceive of no
political slavery more revolving to any Am
erican than to be ruled by men of such in
ferlor mental capacity and of such meagre
personal attractiveness as Governor 4. L.
THOMAS, who is at present in Washington
advocating his kingly claims and divine
right to rule the people who redeemed this
territory from desert. He is there in all
the base greed of his little. pertdious spirit,
asking-no, demanding the disfranchise-
ment OF the people who reclaimed one of
the most absolute deserts on this continent
and made it possible for him to live here in
peace and comfort. Yet the petty tyrant
knows only too well that these people obey
every law of their country ten times better
than the people who in the pretended esti-
nation of his small mind, alone should vote,
hold Office, and levy, collect and spend the
taxes Of this rich territory.
This man is at Washington, advocating
the disfranchisement of thousands of
American born youths, on the ground that
the parents of a few of them once violated
certain law, believing they were right in
doing so, and were imprisoned and disfran-
chised for that offense. and afterwards
without exception acknowledged the su-
premacy of the law
A mans property, his horse OF COW, his
field or his house, are possessions of com
paratlvely small Importance, and if de-
priVed OF these he can win others anew by
his toll and industry; but q mans right to
vote, his right to exercise those functions
of citizenship among his fellows, that
alone are his guarantee of any justice what
ever, that alone mark him as a free man
and responsible agent-these are posses
sions of vastly more worth than mere prop
erty to self-respecting human being.
A man may have some charity for the
highwayman that takes his property; but
for the individual who seeks to make
political serf of him he can entertain only
the profoundest feeling of contempt and
eXecration.
The meanest thief that ever robbed de-
fenseless widow is not a 1.-THE so despicable
as the individual that attempts to strike
the ballot from the hands of abiding.
patriotic and virtuous Americans
If the proposition were made with respect
~ duJ UCuST hIutTlcdu commonwealth that
the law abiding majority should be dis
franchised, in order that the law-breaking
minority (of whom there are ten tried or
convicted in the courts to one of the
majority might rule and plumber, the
authors of it would be hooted and Kissed
into retirement And similar fate awaits
those creatures who are now straining
every one of their meagre abilities to strike
down an unpopular people.
If they could only tantalize and trample
upon the Mormons till the latter would
attempt to turn on their oppressors, what
field for plumber would then be open to
the disfrauchisersl
But there are only two short months left
in which the disfranchisers can hope to
accomplish this unspeakable villainy. For
this and other reasons they will fail.