The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-04-01
The MINORITY
Objections to Home
Rule for Utah.
A REPUBLICAN, TRICK
The People Of this Territory
Cannot be Trusted.
so SAYS A G. O. P. SPOKESMAN
He Pretends That the Bill Is Ruse to Create
the State OF Deseret in Defiance
ofthe United sta,es.
4 REPUBLICAN TRICK
so SAYS A G. O. P. SPOKESMAN
HERALD BUREAU,
Corner 18th and G Streets, n. w. !
WaSurNcTOC n n Marcb u


publican members of the House territories
committee, has prepared q minority report
against the Home Rule bill. The report
begins as follows: 1.-The minority OF your
committee dissenting from the majority of
the committee On the bill here reported,
directs attention Ito the anomalous
character of the bill, phrased Home Rule
bill.
''2-To the conditions existing in Utah
necessarily offered in excuse for such
bill, and
''3-To the fundamental arguments for
the necessarily laying back of the measure
here proposed, in other words, the real
purpose the Liquidation sought is intended
to promote"
Some space is devoted after the forego-
ing paragraph to
THE MORMON HEGIRA
from the east and the Democracy estab-
lished by Brigham Young in Utah. The
report continues:
1.-THE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saintsrestaollshed is the kingdom of
600, acting under divine authority, as re-
yealed through its priesthood, owing no al
legiance to law otherwise proclaimed.
There Is no evidence that the fundamental
OF the creed have as yet changed. The
faith is founded upon direct revelations
from Goo. In tina faith, so far as it is
unbrokep, the presidency of the church
holds power over the people. AS the tide
OF population spread westward under tie
impetus of gold discoveries on the Pacific
coast, and In stronger volume under the
influence CT the construction of the Pacific
railroads, the issue between the authority
of the government of the United States
and the authority of the church grew in
Intensity. The Mormon question TINS
became enc of the problems of our national
government. The contention conferred on
polygamy. The novel proposition embraced
III this bill has its explanation in this long
contention. 1t Is confession On the part
OF the promoters ot The measure that the
people of the United States are not vet
ready TO remove the barriers Congress has
been compelled TO set up in Utah in conse-
quence OF the resistance of the dominant
church to the laws of the country. SIM
ported, as they are in this instance, by all
the
MORAL INFLUENCES OF OUR CIVILIZATION
at is alleged in support of this bill that
the particular cause Of difference has been
removed by tue abandonment of polypemv
cepted in good faith the decree of the su-
preme court and that they foreswear re-
slstance to the laws, and that the support
of plural marriage will not not be made or
encouraged. The bills evidence. however,
that further period of probation is not
an unreasonable request on the part Of tho
government, or on the part of the people
on whose moral sense the government has
proceeded. The minority of your COM
mittee call particular attention to this
Judgment as expressed by the bill itself,
1t may well be urged that if Utah is
entitled to the Home Rule here professed.
II Is also entitled to statehood. Indeed. il
is urged that its passage will speedily pre-
pare the way. If this be the contention of
the friends of the bill, then is it not wise to
dem onstrate that fitness under exlsffny
foundations to which the people are adj
iusted, rather than to to enter now upon an
UN SATISFACTORY FORM OF ABBREVIATED
STATEHOOD,
for which there is no precedent in the his
tory of the country. But let US make a
casual examination OF the existing circum-
stances of the territory.
An anomalous condition OF government
has existed in Utah since the first settle
ment of the country. In q general vay
the history of the territory is sufficiently
well understood TO render unnecessary
anything like detailed review Of it here.
1t is also understood, and nowhere dis
puted, that the church has fought to the
last ditch for the preservation of its ne
culiar institution, aud the authority under
which that institution has been 30 stub
bornly upheld. In a political sense the
territory has been divided into peculiar
parties, organizations not elsewhere
known. The Peoples party, the party of
the church, and the Liberal party, the
party in opposition to church dictation. and
supporting the
AUTHORITY OF TIE GENERAL GOVERNMENT
These two parties, not to go further
back, contested the election in 1890 for the
delegateship in the House. The candidate
of the Peoples party received 16, 1853 votes.
The candidate of the Liberal party 6.9l2
votes. But last year the PEOPLES party
formally dissolved, the reason alleged for
such action being that the occasion for its
further existence had disappeared In the
election following, involving the territorial
legislature, 2S,O3O votes were cast, 1850
Democratic. q, 7S5 Republicans, 1896 i,ib-
erals and a few scattering. It will be
noticed that the Liberals gained less than
SEQ, while the Democrats and Republicans
together gained more than 5000 votes. The
figures indicate that the abandonment of
the Peoples party left the real political
situation in Utah
PRACTICALLY UNCHANGED"
The report next refers to the manifesto
issued by President Woodruff in Septem
ber 1890, and continues: AT the general
conference Of the church in October fol-
lowing, the manifesto was accepted as
authoritative and binding. AT the general
conference year later, viz, in October.
1891, the manifesto was again introduced.
a congregation of ten thousand to fifteen
thousand people, it is said, being presen t.
1t was then resolved by the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that
whatever appearance there may have been
in past times of union of church and
state because men holding ecclesiastical
authority were elected to Offices by popular
vote, there is now
NO FOUNDATION OR EXCUSE
for the statement that the church and state
are united in Utah, or that the leaders of
the church dictate to the members in polit-
ical matters. Tha. no coercion or influence
whatever of an ecclesiastical nature has