The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-08-22
OGDEN DEPT.
RERHLD BRUNCH OFFICE.
5l3 UTAH LOAN g. TRUST BUILDING.
Ogden. August %.
POLITICAL.

In the Standard of Tuesday evening
is a long editorial attack on Mr.. Eph-
rain Nye, of this city. The main
thing charged against MIR. Nye is
that he recently made statement at
a Democratic meeting in the country,
chat there was not a good, respecta-
BILE, sound Latter-day Saint in author
ity in the Republican party in Weber
county, and that the Republicans were
all a dirty, low set of Liberals"
In the first place, Mr. Nye never
made any such statement, and if he
had done so it would be absolutely
against the policy of the Democratic
party.
The statement attributed to MIR.
Nye. as has been stated, was never
made by him. and the charge in the
Standard to that effect 5alls to the
ground. The attack on Mr.. Nye is
only prelude to u long editorial no
tee on the part OF the Standard in
which the declaration IS made that
certain high officials in the Mormon
church are Republicans, ard It gives
a lis. beginning with the first presi-
dency and including eight of the
apostles, and then mentions a .ot OF
prominent church people in this
county.
Now, there is. a purpose in all thm.
and while the Standard claims that
it does not desire to mix up church
affairs with politics, it makes a false
statement in regard to Mr. Nye an
excuse for parading the fact that GER
tain prominent Mormons, whom it
names, are Republicans, with the evil
dent intention of having that fact, or
alleged fact, cut some figure in the
canvass that is now being made in
this county.
Any Mormon. high or low, has a per-
feet right to be a Republican if he
so desires, and so far as the Demo-
cratic party is concerned it makes no
particular difference. Whether high
officials are Republicans it does not
follow that it must of necessity exert
any particular influence on the Nor
mon people to make them Republic
cans.
The Democrats have every confidence
in the honesty of purpose on the part
of the church officials when they made
the declaration that the Mormon peo-
pie were absolutely free to choose for
themselves which party they would af-
hliate with and that SO far as the
church authorities were concerned
there would be no effort made to in
huence them in their choice.
This parading of the names Of
prominent church officials before the
public for the purpose of influencing
men and women to become Republic
cans is obnoxious alike to Democrats
and republicans who are sincere in
their, desire not to allow church in
huence to cut any figure in politics. 1t
is unfair and unjust to men whose
names are used in this way, because
1t is to be presumed that it is done
without their knowledge or consent
and it only subjects them to the
charge of acting in bad faith if it is
done with their consent. The list pub
hshed in the Standard could be sup
pIemented with one giving the names
OF prominent Democratic Mormons.
but that will not be done, because
democratic Mormons are not better
Democrats because they are Mormons
and then the Democrats do not desire
accessionS to the party of men and
women who can give no better reason
Tor the faith that is within them than
that Brother So-and-So is a Democrat.
democracy is based on a broader prin-
clple than that and it would be con-
Trajectory to Democratic doctrine to
Try and influence the action of any
man or woman on such a ffimsy pre-
text. The Democratic partv wants
the support Of men and women
who are possessed of sufficient
to determine for them
serves whether they are Democrats or
not, and 1T is a cardinal principle of the
party that recruits shall come from
that class of people.
1t is we'll known that in this county
Republicans have made statements to
the effect that Joseph Smith and Brig
nam Young were Republicans. If they
were, that is no reason why any man
or woman should be a Republican to-
day. But it is not true-neither one
of the men named were Republicans.
Yet that is no argument in favor of
Democracy. This statement on the
part of Republicans has been frequent
ly met with by Democratic canvassers
in this county and it has been prompt
ly contradicted, not for the purpose of
use of the fact that the two
leaders were Democrats, but
to correct a wilful mistatement Of
facts in hopes that men and women.
learning that deception was being prac-
ticed by Republicans in this particular,
might be induced to reflect on other
statements coming from the same
source and maybe come to the con-
clusion if deception was used in one
instance, it would of necessity be as
readily used in Others
So far as the Democratic party in
this county is concerned, there will be
no departure from the we'll defined
course heretofore pursued, viz: abso-
lutte enforcement of church and state.
No one is authorized to pursue any
other policy and no one has done so.