The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-20
Platform Of q Salt Lake Secret
Order.
"THE WESTERN STAR. .
1t Is Also Opposed to the Nor
mGnSs
The Liberal Party's New Tail-win ii
wag the Dog?-organize for the
Prevention of Political Emoin-
ment for the Catholics.

For some months past a secret society
has been quietly organizing in this city.
it is called 1.-The Star of the West" or
tsWestern Star, . and its avowed and os-
tensible object is to prevent church domi-
nation in politics. Its motto is, mo
Catholic or Mormon need apply The
first questions asked a noyitiate are,
s'Are you a Catholic? Are you Nor
mon? Are yon over 81 years of age and a
resident of this city?'' Where man is
known to be member OF the Mormon
church, and is believed to DO a desirable
acquisition, the Mormon question is over
looked, and great many of the members
OF the society are OF that faith. Not so
with the Catholics, however, they are ex-
Guided Internationally. The novitiated
having answered the first three questions
satisfactorily in the negative, is then put
through an examination something like
this:
s'Do You believe in the entire separa-
tion of Church and State?'i
do you believe in giving the city
Offices to men who you know Will work
for the interests of the resident taxpayers
in preference to outside workmen2"
tWlll you sustain the members of this
society, and work and vote for them and
with them for the purposes named in
preference to any others?'
1t will be seen from the foregoing that
while the organization is formed pro-
fessedly for the purpose of fighting church
influence, its chief antagonism is to be
directed against the Catholic church; but
a moments dispassionate reflection will
not fail to show the true inwardness of
the scheme, when taken together with
the fact that the majority of the members
are disgruntled Liberals.
In the first place, the Catholic church is
not, nor ever has been, dominant here,
nor is there the slightest occasion to be-
lieve it ever viii be. Again, the result of
the last three municipal elections has
shown that there is nothing to be feared
politically from the Mormon church in
this city. The mere proposition that
there is anything 80 be feared from the
church element is so absurdly ridiculous
as TO disproye itself, and is not worth a
moments serious consideration.
The only reasonable conclusion to be
drawn, then, is that the true object of the
organization has political significance.
AS before stated the membership OF the
society has been drawn chiefly from the
Liberal party, and now numbers over 800.
That the Liberal party is aware of its
existence, there can be little doubt; and
the only reason that it receives no oppo-
sition from the bosses is in the fact that
they did not know of it until it had be-
come too formidable to oppose, and that
a number of Liberal Office holders have
registered their names on the member
ship rolls already.
If the Liberal party countenances this
society, it may be asked why it does not
do SO openly? The answer is easy to find
when it is remembered that the very
financial and social backbone of the Lib
eral party is composed mainly of the
Catholic element, and it would hardly be
possible to reconcile those gentlemen to
the notion of affiliating openly with an
organization whose ostensible object is
their political determination, individ-
ually and collectively. On the other
hand, the Liberals dare not oppose the
society, because without its help at the
coming election they would have no more
show than the proverbial snowfall in
sheol.
If, then, the true object of the society is
to secure political power and emolument
for its members, of which there can be no
doubt, to which party must they natur-
ally offer themselves for sale? Not to
either of the national parties, because
they are chiefly composed of the
''church' element, and further, because
not having the offices in hand to give,
they could only make conditional bar
gain.
That this society is already sufficiently
powerful TO copmand recognition from
the party IN power. 1t Is only necessary to
say that the various branches of public
work are now largely controlled by its
members. It is stated that the carpenter
foreman of the joint building is a member
of the society, and so are many, if not all,
the men employed by him.
Just how far the influence of the society
extends is hard to say; but it looks at
present as though it was only question
of months when the Liberals will not have
the option of absorbing il for any price,
but will be absorbed by it for nothing.
In any case it is a menace to the common
welfare OF the community and should be
thoroughly exposed