The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-17
THE ASSURANCES GIVEN.


We have the guarantee of constitu-
tional provision that there shall be no
union Of church and state, nor shall
any church dominate the state nor In
terfere with its functions.
/ shall be asked, however, what these
guarantees amount to if the Mormon
! church authorities choose to set them
aside and dictate in political affairs,
| Notwithstanding their existence? My
answer is that it is a matter that I'LL
timately rests with the people, and
! having by voting to accept the state
constitution solemnly pledged them
selves to the maintenance of the Am
| erican doctrine as to the separation Oh
church and state, 1 cannot believe that
they would submit to a violation OF 1t,
by the Mormon church officials II
| it is feared that the Mormon people
might submit to such interference, 1t
must be remembered that the very
large non-Mormon populations popu-
lation constantly increasing, and that
will increase more rapidly in the fu-
ture-will render such interference alb
solutely impossible.
DESIRABILITY OF PEACE.
Another consideration ought not to
be overlooked, viz, that the Mormon
church leaders must certainly be as
anxious for peace as are the politicians;
and if the politicians are anxious to
keep the church out of politics, the
! Mormon church leaders must be no less
anxious to keep politics out OF the
church AS to what people abroad may
think of US matters but little II we can
only understand each other Alright in
these matters here in the state of Utah.
My conclusion is that the new Nor
mon manifesto, if operated for the reg
ulation of church affairs, is reasonable
and in every way a proper rule for the
church to adopt. If abused, by which
/ / mean is so operated as to undertake
the domination of the politics of the
state, then it must be corrected, ana
can be corrected by the source Of all
political power in the state-the people;
and therefore there is no occasion for
apprehension in respect to this matter.
THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF 1T.
The second heading under which Mr..
Lewis considers this matter is the prac-
teal side of it. He wants to know now
Democratic and Republican state con-
ventions will manage under this newly
formulated regulation. with their re-
! Spective chairmen, says he, send to
the first presidency for list of the
church officials whom they would per-
NIT to become candidates for office in
their respective parties A certain
number from whom they may be al
lowed to select a candidate for gov
ernor? Or will the church officials
! limit them to one in each party and so
on for representative to congress and
senators? Or will the delegates from
st. George, from Logan, from Ran
dolph, from Kanab and from every
hamlet and precinct meet say at Salt
Lake, nominate ticket and send a
] I'll
pleasure Of the first presidency, and
if they refuse to allow the party to
nominate in convention any one or all
of the candidates, Will they try again
tiH they have done their pleasure? Or
will they come into the convention and,
sitting there as a tribunal OF last re-
sort, announce to the convention whom
they will and whom they will not ad-
low to become candidates, or will the
convention meet, nominate their ticket
and go home, and if the head of the
church disapproves, will their chairman
reconvene their convention and recon-
vene it again and again till they get it
satisfactory to the powers that be?"
WOULD IT CAUSE CONFUSION?
Here we think Mr.. Lewis has de-
parted from that sensible moderation
which characterizes all that goes be
lure III Ills dI 11lu loyo
open to the charge of being absurd. He
knows we'll enough that before men go
into conventions it is pretty well under
stood who will be candidates for nom
ination. Usually it is a question that
is agitated some months before the
convention is called who will likely be
candidates for office before it. If among
that number there should chance to be
high church officials, it is an easy mat
-, ;r,fo DO
whether or not they can be candidates,
and in the event Of their taking that
course-a course which reasonable men
viii take-then all the absurd situations
conjured UP by Mr.. Lewis will have no
existence. It is but natural perhaps,
for men to imagine the worst in the
consideration of such a question, but
it should always be remembered that
things never run into their extremes.
1T is a very great mistake remarks
a noted writer, that mankind follow
up practically any speculative princi-
Piles either of government or of freedom
as far as it will go in argument and
logical elation. We Engishmen stop
very short of the principles upon which
we support any given part of our con-
stifution or even the whole of it to-
get91er. All government, indeed every
human benefit and enjoyment, every
on compromise and barter. We balance
inconvenience; we give and take; we
remit some rights that we may enjoy
others. and we choose rather to be
happy citizens than subtle disputants.''
THE CHARGE OF BAD FAITH.
This new manifesto is announced by
the church authorities as church reg
uIation solely. 1t is neither fair nor
prudent to charge them with bad faith
and with the intention of dominating
the politics of the state by means of
it. Let us take their declarations on
this subject in good faith, conscious
that if there is an attempt to misuse
the powers they claim to exercise in
the management of their church affairs,
the people are strong to resist en-
croachments upon the state, and they
can be trusted to do it. To take any
other course is not only to discredit
the declarations of the Mormon church
officials, but to doubt the truth and in
tegrity of the entire people, who are
pledged to maintain a separation of
church and state; and to vote popular
government a failure in Utah-tnat
we must not do-that there is no need
OF doing; for it has not and will not