The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-10-20
REPUBLICAN CHURCH INFLUENCE,

REPUBLICAN CHURCH INFLUENCE.
The outburst against church inter
| ference in political affairs, which has
agitated the community for several
days. and which has occasioned the
call for the re-assembling of the Demo-
cratic state convention, is the result
of many attempts on the part of &C.
clesiastical officials, of more or less
prominence, to influence members OF
their church to become Republicans.
! There have been numerous hints and
suggestions that certain men in the
church were out of favor with the pre-
siding authorities because they sup
ported the Democratic cause. The
proofs of this are too numerous and
positive for any candid person to
deny
Remarks made by leading church
authorities in public and private meet
ings which no doubt they never in
tended to bear the construction put
upon them, have been repeated with
limitations that they were intended
to favor Republication. Men, too,
who avow that they are mot in poll
ties" and who have not made public
political speeches, have spent much
time in travel for the express purpose
/ of inducing their fellow church men,
bers to be Republicans, at the same
time that they were exercising their
functions as church officials.
All that has been irritating to Demo-
Gratis and has prepared the way for
what has recently occurred. 1t is of no
use for Republican papers to pretend
that no such constructions have been
put upon the utterances of church
leaders. Nor IS it Of any avail to dis
pute the plea of Democrats, that it is
not 50 much what has been said that
is objected to as the unfair advantage
taken of it by Republicans.
In Illustration of this, here is the
Salt Lake Tribune. making light of
the position on this matter taken by
the most thoughtful and conservative
of Democrats, and rfdiculing the idea
that it is the wrong use to which Re
publicans have put the language that
started the fire which has been burn
ing SO f1ercely and so widely. And yet
that paper has itself been guilty of
that very thing, and has taken church
teachings and construed them TO
mean support of Republican doctrine.
As proof of this we make the follow
ing quotations from that paper, taken
from editorials written after the close
Of tho 1Io,,,,o m, soy7 fay-oD0n.
The tone Of the conference was
striking in its declaration for and In
sistence upon the policy of home man
ufaotures; this is Republican doctrine.
Tribune, October 8.
In fact ON both points, the general
proposition Of sustaining home indus
tries by the people, and building UP
new ones by rhe aid of all the COM
munity, and on the specific illustra-
ton of calling for hearty support for
the Lehi sugar factory, the church
authorities, without in any way mean
ing to be politicians, We're preaching
pure and robust Republicanism.
""That explains why Democrats can
not be included among those who are
hearty friends of home industries and
who can be depended upon to help es-
tablish and support them. The issue
is plain on this question; the dividing
line is as clearly defined as a mountain
range; the Republicans are on the
sunny side. the Democrats are in the
gloom, and that's exactly where they
deserve to be. Tribune October g.
The apcstates who rebel at the CON
ference teaching to support and build
up home Industries are all Demo-
Gratis. Tribune October Is.
After the rumpus created by the
unwise remarks at the Mormon Priest
hood meeting had aroused the whole
territory, the following choice editorial
remarks were made:
The high officials of the Mormon
Church must decline nominations for
political offices or resign their offices
in the church, else unmeasured
troubles would be precipitated upon
the erritory-Tribune, October a.
We need quote no more from the pa
per, which once posed before the ma
ton as the opponent, par excellence,
Of Mormon influence in Utah politics
and which now apologies for the very
thing which it affected to hate, and
attempts. in its own columns, to in
terpret Mormon church utterances to
mean support Of Republican doctrines.