Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1896-12-18
Stands Now Where He Has
Always Stood.
Thatcher Replies TO President SHOWS
Communication. Meeting ALI Its
Charges Point by POint-A strong
Document.

written for publication in the Deseret
News at the request of five young men
of Salt Lake City demands an answer
from me in the intrest of fairness, friends
family and the Saints throughout the
world The duty is painful one; so
painful, indeed, that personal consider
ations would be a motive insufficient TO
induce me, even on a matter so vi'ally
important to me and mine, to take up
my pen in self-defense.
have read and re-read your open let
ter and have purposely delayed replying
to 1t hoping and praying that sense of
right and justice may dictate what
write to one holding the high and re
sponsible position you occupy in the
church and for whom | entertain senti-
ment of profound respect, no matter
what you may think or say about me.
confess establishment, not only at the
letter, but at the spirit Of your commu-
Inication; for as have always under
stood your disposition, your ideas of
justice and your love of mercy, that
communication does not appear to your
advantage. Lorenzo Snow, as have
known him during all these years of his
presidency over the quorum of apostles
no where, to my mind, appears in that
bitter and acrimonious communication.
Our political differences in Utah have
unfortunately and, as l believe, unneces-
sarily resulted In ordinations and re-
examinations and the resurrection of
misunderstanding long since explained
or settled. Before their introduction
never saw you turn deaf ear to plead
ings for specifications on the part of an
accused brother. Nor is 1t like you to
ignore my earnest, often repeated re-
quests for charges against me, which
you furnished by the column, with evil
dent alacrity, for public print in order
to crafty the apparent curiosity of five
yung men of Salt Lake City. If, as you
say, was not entitled to public hear.
ing, as my case was not public matter
why did YOU make public charges
against me in a newspaper when you re-
fused to give me even an intimation Of
them in private5
1t is difficult for me to understand
why you!have publicly accused me wher
privately you would not; why you pre-
scented specific charges against me after
my deposal instead of before; why yor
so readily granted the request of tht
FIVE young men when you presistently
refused mine; why you gratifed theil
curiosity and that of the public con
corning an affair in which you declared
. l was "the principal party interested
= This treatment, this dissemination, is diff
cult for me to comprehend.
1 Nor can l conceive the object of thoss
young brethren in asking further ex
PLANTATION ofthe conduct of your quorum
4 towards me, the entire correspondence
E on the subject being In their possession
E The Deseret News had already declared
officially that the action of deposing mi
had been "lnspired. dictated authorized
and approved of God" Holding Nh,
News statements in view, it may seen
strange to many of the saints that tht
young men should ask further reasonl
: for my disposal and stranger still tina
. YOU should deem it necessary to furnish
them. Besides, the published CORES
pondence was complete. 1t told its owl
story of the patience and forbearanc'
: which had been shown me-
The appearance of those letters in sec
ulaar newspapers land infer from you
. remarks that the Deseret News is no
secular) was probably brought about b,
the direct personal attacks of the News
which has not appeared to be friendl,
to me under the present management
And why should | have gone to thu
News when Its columns were daily filleS
with misrepresentation of my conduc
4 and position2 When 1t was falsely de
clared that had been pledged poIitica
a support for monthsa When it wa
, forcing me upon platform | neve
! constructed and attributing to me word
had had never utteredi But have yol
not seen even official declaration from
those occupying higher positions thar
| ever held, appear first in a secular pa
per and afterwards in the organ of tht
!, church,
Why should you feel called upon "t'
meet some of the statements" contained
in that public correspondence Wer,
you not satisfied with the judgment o
the people as to the merits of tie contro
versyi Your side was placed before then
just as fully as 1t had been placed be
fore me. If you believed further ex
PLANTATION was due, why did you not Civ
it to me when | requested it time ant
again.
Pardon me for quoting the following
harsh expression from your letter: 9Th
evident purpose n publishing these com
r munications was to excite public sym
4 pathy and the unnecessary and super
n fluous appeals they contain convey tn
: impression that they were con
}. cocted for that purpose" Juding from
/. the way these appeals were treated, the,
) were indeed "superAuous and unn eces
, sary" Had l known that they woul,
: have been SO regarded never woult
have made them. / will confess the,