The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-25
WE ARE READY FoR THE TEST.

| Unable to meet the plain statement
of facts presented by The Herald in
reference to statehood and the Demo-
cratic party, the Salt Lake Tribune
| falls back on its common custom of
misrepresenting the position of its OPP
ponents. The Herald repeats the chal-
lenge to produce the names of the Dem
ocratic leaders who, it is claimed,
| pledged or promised use what
ever term you please-the admission of
Utah into the Union, either in 1885 or
at any time during Clevelands first
administration. The Tribune says:
THE Herald does not deny that
prominent Democrats did make that
promise but it says that the Demo-
cratic party did not make that promise,
which is mere quibble.'
The Tribunes statement is more than
tended and shabby. The Herald did
deny both that the party and its lead
ers made any such pledge or promise,
and showed that no man or men had
the right to pledge the Democratic par
ty to anything of the kind. The Herald
is in a position to state the positive
facts in the case, and the Tribune is
only CHANGING an assertion which it
cannot substantiate.
During Cleveland's administration
there were number of Democrats in
Congress who were deeply interested
in Utah's redemption, and who did all
that was in their power to bring it
about They made no pledges either
for themselves or their party Those
who persist in stating they did, draw
largely upon their imagination or pur-
posely misstate the facts.
AS to the forcing of the passage Of
the statehood bill by the Republicans,
we are willing to let the dispute, if any
there actually be, stand by the test the
Tribune proposes. Leave it to Hon. J.
l.. Rawlins. Let him state whether he
believes that the bill for statehood
would ever have gotten out of the pig
eonhole of Senator Faulkners desk ex-
cept that it was forced out by Repub-
licans," just as the Tribune puts it. Of
course anything he states will be 'on
his honor and just the same as though
he was on oath. The Tribune says it
believes he is an honest man and is
willing TO make that test We are in
this on common ground.
We do not believe any person or pa
per not gone wild over politics, down
deep as the Tribune would say, really
adopts the absurd notion that the Dem
ocratic Congress was forced to pass
the Democratic statehood bill by Re-
publicans who had always been OPP
posed to it. The silly statement is
jeered at by almost everybody, and is
only used as a sort of badinage by hon
est Republicans who keep their mental
balance.
There is positively no evidence what
ever to support the nursery tale 1t is
true the Tribune correspondent, known
in Washington as Ananias, told it to
comfort Utah Republicans who had
predicted the bill would not pass. But
that was one of the strongest proofs
that the tale was not true 1t is not
surprising that he should tell it; but
it is amazing that any sane person
should believe it.
The Tribune does wisely in not re-
viewing The Herald article containing
facts which cannot be refuted. If it
would display as much sense in re-
training from tackling other matters
about which it knows no more than the
tailless fox which is its prototype, it
would less frequently exhibit its own
unwisdom and make itself less often
the laughing stock of the public.
When Mr.. Rawlins returns we will
look for his statement, though we do
not know that he will care to notice
anything which appears in so thor
oughly contemplate paper as the
Salt Lake Tg.jbune