The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-20

ehS lutent OF the instrument as much
as you please, They viii say Hell is
paVea With good intentions" You
may assure them that the power will
only be used for the government of the
church and not for interference in
matters OF state. They will answer,
BY their fruits Obvious and possfble)
saal We know them They will not
come TO Utah to ascertain what is
meant. They will gather its meaning
from the instrument itself, read In the
light OF such beliefs as I have cited. 1
oeheve 1t was emphatically a case, and
ume, when the church should have
avoided the appearance of evil" Even
my friend candidiy admits that such a
power is capable of being so used as
70 make it a clean violation of the
american" doctrine Of the separation
OF church and state. When they be-
heve that the power is susceptible of
such use they will ask no further ques-
lions. They Will assume that at some
time it win be so used and repeat to
you the old maxim that Eternal vigil
lance IS the price of liberty" They
will say that
NO THREE MEN
on Gods footstool' are fit to be en-
trusted with such powers [ shall also
disagree with my friend so far as to
say that it is of tremendous import
ance If we care for the DEVELOPMENT
of this great and promising state what
the people outside Of Utah think of US,
since 1t must be largely done by immi-
grafton and the influx of outside CAPT.
tai, and if we are to judge by common
report, no one is better aware of this
fact than the leading men in the church
up even to the very head of it. 1 should
say further that large part of the
American people implicitly believe that
a large majority of the members of the
church are under the complete domi-
nation of the first presidency. And
with such belief how can they see
any way to correct the evils which my
friend admits may flow from the mani
lesto, II the powers given by it shall
De abused, as he admits they clearly
may be. If I shared this belief 1
should despair for Utah, and should
waste no time in Directing to the mani
Iesto- For to whom could one appeal
In TACT his argument admits not only
my hrst point that the outside world
would think the manifesto conferred
TINS dangerous un-American-repubii
can-autocratic power upon the head of
the church. but that it did actually
CONFER 1t upon them if they should ever
be disposed to use it.
Thlg goes by leaps and bounds far
beyond anything in my former article
IN condemnation of the manifesto and
makes me almost ashamed of my eau
tlon and timidity of statement therein.
will close my statements on this
oranch of the case by saying that in
stead OF being filed with the deepest
regret, the profoundest sorrow at the
issuance of the manifesto as 1 was, /
should, had l had the feelings of some
Gentiles in Utah, have reioiced at the
FULLEST possible realization of
MY WORST PREDICTIONS
should have tainted nv GENTLE
friends of statehood with the fact that
they had been tickled and hoodwinked
despite repeated warnings; that they
flad walked into the trap with their
eyes open. But l frankly admit that 7
nave not the fears from the manifesto
Ihat they have. I believe it will be
Iound SO intolerable in practice, that
IL VIII soon be modified and shorn of
us objectionable features so as to be
comparatively harmless. I might urge
an objection to its indefinitenass
lnd that even Mormons differ widely as
TO It's application, some holding that
us provisions only extend to the amos
Ties, presidents of the seventies and
hrst presidency, while others claim that
IL includes ali officers down to and in
ciudlng the bishops And 1 am led to
dlsoelieve that it includes members of
the frst presidency, from the fact that
When one of that BODY was 90
lively urged for a senatorsbin 1as+
winter he did not, in declining to be a
canoldate, urge any incompatibilitv
Tor holding the office with his onerous
uulles TO his church, or hint that he
mad counseled with anyone in relation
70 accepting the office. but rather left
II TO be inferred that his sole reason
Tor declining was that it would cause
ascension ~ and bad blood in the party
II he allowed his name to be used.
IT'S PRACTICAL WORKING.
AS to the second point, the question
of the practical working of the man
ifesto in politics, shall leave it to your
readers to judge whether the diff
ficulties of working under it are as
unreal and imaginary as our friend
believes, only suggesting that they are
queries that are constantly being made
IN Salt Lake city and throughout
Utah, and that no party convention
viii take the risk of nominating any
office-seeker within the prohibited de-
grees upon his mere assertion that he
has obtained the permission of the
first presidency to be their candidate.
They will soon learn to demand docu-
mentary proof of the fact 1t is too
easy to throw away the work of a
whole campaign in case of a misun-
derstanding. Politicians well know
how prone a sanguine man, ambitious
for office, is to overrate and misinter-
pref in his favor expressions and ut
terances that had no such meaning
as he puts upon them, and they will
remember that the first presidency is
usually composed of men long past
middle life, usually of men of failing
memories as regards sublunary things,
as was painfully evidenced by we'll
known incident in last falls campaign.
EUGENE LEWIS.