The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-03-15
OPENING THE WAY.

About the only ground upon which any
body opposes the Home Rule bill is thepro-
fessed belief that the measure will delay
statehood. That is no ground whatever,
for the reason that it is confession on the
part of those who present it that they do
not understand the situation. If they
would indulge in alittle intelligent thought
and consideration they would certainly
abandon their opposition and know that
Home Rule would hasten rather than re-
tard statehood. Let them ask themselves
who are the real opponents of both Home
Rule and statehood? Then let them in
quire as to the motives for this earnest
opposition! Honest answers to these
queries will be sufficient to convince the
fair-minded and intelligent citizen that
statehood is likely to come through the
adoption and operation OF Home Rule.
The men who 90 not want Home Rule
are those who are deriving the benefit from
the territorial system. The governor says
officially that he is opposed to Home Rule,
and is content to let things remain as they
are. OF course he is. While the present
condition continues he will occupy fat
Office; he will be an autocrat, welding
greater power than the Gar asserts
in any part Of his vast domain
he will have almost unexampled
political patronage. and will lord it over the
community in monarchical fashion The
governor does not want Home Rule, which
would at one stroke reduce him to the
ranks and insigniicance. The Utah COM
mission do not want Home Rule They never
will want it. They will oppose as long as
! life lasts and they remain in Office. 1t is
to be supposed that they would favor
Home Rule, which would relegate them to
private citizenship at their distant homes,
and deprive them of the pleasure of draw
/ ing $1,000 u year each and expenses for
passing few weeks G year within the
borders of this territory! 1t is possible
there are men so patriotic, so regard
full Of the rights of others and
so conscientious and self saeritic-
ing that under the circumstances
surrounding the Utah commission they
would desire Home Rule for this territory
with its certain consequences to them
selves; we say, possibly there are such
men. Who will say they compose the
Utah commission? And we might run
through the list of those who pose in oppo.
sition to Home Rule, and we would find
them either holding Offices which they
would be compelled to vacate with the in
auguration of Home Rule, or deriving di-
rect or indirect benefit from the
continuance of the territorial gov
eminent Before statehood can come
these officials and their interested following
must be gotten rid of, and their direct anG
Official influence against a state govern,
ment overcome and nullifed We viii
undertake to say that everyone of these
official gentlemen is working against every
chsnge in the government which mioht dis
turb them. What they are doing is seen il
the reports, and their efforts are encoun
tered elsewhere.
VIII not our Republican friends ant
others, if there be any, who think tina
Home Rule may put eff statehood under
stand that statehood can be easiest an,
earliest obtained after those thrifty gen
tiemen whose interest is in keeping thing
as they are have been relegated to tn
rear and their influence destroyeda Witt
3 Home Rule and the peaceful and properou
tunes which it would bring, it would be
comparatively easy matter to secure state
hood, for it would then be to the interes
Oh those now opposing emancipation il
every form to get state government tina
we might have full citizenship.
: We believe, and everything iustifies tn
: belief, that statehood will follow HON
: Rule, and we almost doubt that the forme
. Will ever come except as the Successor n
l. the latter, so determined is the official an
: interested opposition to any change.