The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-02
APOSTLE LYMAN I'M POLITICS.

Many prominent churchmen in Utah
have been perniciously active in try
ing to influence voters by the use of
church influence, but none more SO
than Apostle Francis Marion Lyman.
He has been regarded as the man who
button-holeing than any other high
authority in the Mormon church.
In yesterdays Herald were pub
lshed the affidavits of two leading men
in the counties where they reside, tell
ing of Apostle Lyrnans method of ex-
erting ecclesiastical influence in politics;
in Beaver, Mr. j. f. Tolton; in Willard,
Mr.. Alma Greenwood. Mr.. Tolton.
who is counselor to the president Of
his stake, says that in the meeting to
which he refers, which was in June,
1891, Apostle Lyman declared that he
had called the meeting for the pur-
pose of talking politics. 1t is impossi-
BILE to convene a more strictly church
meeting than that was. There were
present at it two apostles and repre-
sentatives of five stakes. To talk poll
tics there was as thorough a mixing
of church and state as is possible.
And what did Apostle Lyman want to
know first of all? "How is it that so
many Of you leading brethren in
Beaver are Democrats?" he asked.
And what difference should it make
to an apostle as an apostle
whether his brethren were Demo-
Gratis or Republicans? 1t must
have made some very great diff
ference to Apostle Lyman, for he
said. This is not as it should be-"
And. pray, why should it not be so?
Were the principles of the party
whose cause he was endeavoring to
bolster UP with ecclesiastical authority
SO weak that they could not make
their own way? Or were they so
young and new in Utah that, like an
infant industry, they needed ''protec-
tion?" Could not their advocacy be
Evidently they could not in Apostle
Lyman's opinion. He also stated that
it was the desire of the "authorities"
that the people should be about
equally divided between the two great
political parties. That has at least
a tinge of being fair, but why on earth
was it said that it would be proper
for some to remain Independent or
neutral? If it was desirable to have
d division on party lines it was non
sense to wish to have some voters in
dependent or neutral. To the common
American mind, looking upon politics
as a practical. everyday matter, Of con-
Germ to all alike. the proposition to
have an independent or neutral body
of voters is a proposition to create a
balance of power to be used for trading
purposes. Apostle Lyman declared as
much when he said, Each party will
then cater to US more or less in order
to secure control of this territory"
That is simply an infamous PROPOSE
ton, worthy of Tammany under
Tweed or the Philadelphia Gas ring.
Mr.. Greenwood states that Apostle
Lyman, not in any church meeting,
but in a walk, said to him that as his
right that he should be a Republican.
Profound reasoning, worthy of ATachia-
ve!li himself. Yet this was not ALL
eve will never get statehood unless
we have more Republicans in Utah.
and in fact Zion needs you," he urged.
To the lay mind this looks as though
Apostle Lyman had COMPOUNDED Zion
and the Republican party We have
heard a great deal of what Zion would
be in our day, but we never heard be-
fore that Zion needed Democrats or
Republicans. 1t was simply an at
tempt to influence a man politically
through his religion by his ecclesias-
teal superior.
Apostle Lyman's career in politics
since the division movement is not an
enviable one, for no one has sought to
bring about political results through
the use of church influence more than
he Such work as his can only bring
trouble. Let it cease.