The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-02-01


l attended the meeting of Thursday even
ing last, in the chamber Of commerce, to
hear what was to be said in reference to
the infamous articles and editorials in the
New York papers, of which much has
been said recently. | was somewhat sur
prised at the motive that inspired the oppo
sition to that paper. All that the Illus
trdted AmericdR has published against the
Mormon people and against Utah has been,
in substance at least. published over and
over by the Salt Lake Tribune and has been
written by correspondents OF the HOLSTER
type, by missionaries, tourists, federal Of
ticers and what-not Yet, in forty Utah
years of Misrepresentation Of the Nor
mon" people no movement on the part of
the GENTLE or anti Mormon element was
ever made to protest against the mlSr5p-
resentation until now. Why is it made
now.
OF course, I speak only for myself, and
no reader Will be foolish enough to censure
this paper for publishing the opinion of so
Insignificant person as your correspon-
dent is-in the eyes of the Utah Liberal
contingent. But | want to answer the
above question, and want to answer 1t as
heard it answered in that meeting Thurs
day evening. The protest was made against
the course of the Illustrated American, be-
cause it was preventing eastern capitalists
from coming to Utah to invest their money.
That was the burden of the speeches made
by most of the speakers. One man did not
hesitate to ''roast'' an anti Mormon organ,
but the injury done to Utah in keeping
money olt was the burden of the evenings
prose- There was no evidence that the
action was being made as an act of justice
/ to the Mormon people. The motive was
avarice, apparently, Seeing that, l Won
A. a hah
had word to say against the anti Mormon
villitiers who have all these years been
making money out of their abuse of the
Mormon people. | said to myself: ''If the
Illustrated american has done so much to in
jure Utah in one month, in heavens name,
what have all these U tab Mormon eaters
| done in twenty years."
for myself and not for another, that if the
Illustrated American is the enemy of Utah
and that it is no one can douot-then all
through these last thirty five years the
Mormon haters who have written books and
papers against the people of Utah have
been the enemies of Utah, and the Salt
Lake Tribune has been for nearly twenty
years the worst enemy of them all.
Nevertheless. l want to say in addition
to the above, that if, even under the spur
of avarice, dashed by the whip of selfish
ness, the anti Mormon, shall | say thor
oughbreds, have been reused to q kicking
! activity IN so righteous a cause, am glad.
If the end ever iustitieS the means, it must
be in such cases as this. Greed never be-
gat anything so near noble impulse in
Utah as in this particular case. But now,
and / trust every man interested in the
meeting of Thursday evening will pardon
the liberty l take in making the suggestion,
l hope THAI meeting will be
speedily followed by another in
which the same men shall, with
equal emphasis, protest against the
course of the Salt Lake Tribune as being
also and equally injurious to the prosperity
of Utah.
Will they do this.
Hard question, The Illustrated American
in its issue of January "a, think, said, in
substance, that when it received the report
of the Utah commission and heard from
Governor Thomas and Judge Zane it mad
no doubt its position would be streng hened.
With this in mind suggested the import
ance of asking the Utah commission, Gov
ernor Thomas and Judge Zane to deny the
statement of the american, and 1t was my
conviction that the commission and Thomas
would not sign any such denial as was pro-
posed, and that Judge Zane would sign.
l have heard since ] began this letter
that Thomas has refused to sign, Why
OF course can only guess. / will ask g
question. Is the governor a partner in the
American ring, as he is in that of the Trib.
une! hear, also, that move nent has been
started to have the proposed protest anG
denial smothered. If the committee Of
three in whose hands that matter was left
should prove so false to the trust reposeC
in them they would deserve the detestatior
of all honorable men and women. But if i
should appear that scheme is on foot t.
suppress that protest, let there be another
and let the motion under the next one bs
not only avarce, but also eternal Justice;
desire to put an end forever to the perse
cution to which the Mormon people have
been subjected for the benefit of adventur
ers. CHARLES ELLIS.