The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-13
THE SOLUTION OF THE pRoBLEM

An attempt is made to make the
candidacy Of George @. Cannon for
United States senator appear as an in
reference of the church with the state.
and if he is elected all sorts Of dis
asters are to befall the state. not only
in a political way but in business
way also. The wheels of progress are
to revolve backward. All that has
been done in the past five years to put
Utah fairly in line as an American
state IS to be undone in a moment;
Utah is to be rolled back twenty years.
every possible advantage that it was
hoped statehood would bring is to be
destroyed: our borders viii be closed
to the inflow of either people or cap
ital: and such distrust created that
in a little while the confidence of
neig'hbor in neighbor Will be de-
stroyed. and it will appear not only
in politics but all along the line Of
business
How the choice of George @. Cannon
for senator would be an interference
on the part of the church in politics
is not. and we are of opinion cannot.
be made clear. We have said. and
we say again with increased emphasis.
if that is possible. that the less talk we
have about undoing the work that has
been done in the last five years for
Utah, ana rolling Utah back twenty
years. the creation of distrust and
preventing the inflow of either people
or capital into Utah-the less of that
talk we have the better.
How will the election of George Q.
Cannon to the United States senate
be an interference of the church with
politics or the domination of the state
by the church? It must be remem-
bered that the very great majority of
Utah's people are of the Mormon faith;
that nearly ali the male members of
the Mormon church hold some degree
or other Of the Mormon priesthood;
and so numerous are the church Of
f1cers. so elaborate the organization
that nearly all the men of the Nor
mon faith Of any marked ability and
character hold some high ecclesiastical
Office. Yet these men-these high
church off1cers-are not like the min
istry of other churches. They are not
a class separated from the people and
especially dedicated to the work of
preaching. True. in many cases, they
receive some remuneration for SER
vices performed. but that is slight,
and in no sense can they be considered
a hireling priesthood or a paid min
istry. They are men of affairs. They
are farmers. stockmen. merchants,
mechanics. schoolteachers. lawyers,
doctors and sometimes miners-yet
they are also high ecclesiastics And
this is true of presidents of stakes,
seventies and anostles as well as Of
bishops and others. Now what is to
be done with these men in politics?
Retire them all to the rear, and allow
them no active part? To do that would
deprive the state of some men that are
capable of rendering the best service to
the state. and the people ought not
1 TO be deprived of their services. Shall
we say that merely the general officers
Of the church such as the apostles,
/ shall be barred? But the reasons that
would bar these men from the gen
eral politics Of the state would bar
4 presidents Of stakes and bishops of
wards from local politics: for the &C.
/ clesiastical influence of the latter in the
/ locality where they operate is just as
great as the ecclesiastical influence of
the apostles is in a general way. None
s of these men can be. nor ought they
to be. barred from participation in
politics. The only thing that can be
! demanded of them is that they do not
presume upon their church positions
as giving them any right to dictate in
politica. affairs; that they recognize
the fact that in politics as before the
( law all men are equal. and that the
church official has only the same right
in politics that the layman has. That
in the political arena the apostle, the
bishop and the lavman can only count
for what they are-their knowledge OF
the affairs of government. their stand
ing for truth. for honor and upright
manliness determining the station
they shall hold. and not their office
in the church.
This is what may reasonably be de-
manded Of these men. This can be
and will be. enforced. And with this
enforced. the non-lIormon member.
ship of the respective political parties
ought to be and will be content.