The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-05
today, to give Mr.. Lawrence an OPP
portunity to speak.
THE ROBINSON LETTER.

Mr.. Sloan had held before the assem-
bly, letter in which, he said, mem
Der had declared he owed higher
| allegiance than his allegiance TO the
state, and had threatened to chal-
lenge the vote of that member, should
it decide the election. In yesterday
mornings Herald it was stated that
Mr. Robinson was the member re-
ferred to.
Mr. Robinson said he rose to a
question of personal privilege. He was
prompted by the article in The Herald,
and by the request Of several Demo-
cratic friends, who had asked him to
remove from their shoulders the odium
implied by Mr.. Sloan's remarks. He
then read The Herald article, headed,
His Vote DID Not Elect"
IF the gentleman were here, said
he, Il would ask him to read the let
ter in full but as he is absent l will
read copy of it and explain the cir
cumstanceS under which it was writ
ten
This letter was from a Republican
to one trusted by the Republican party
by being endorsed with the nomination
for Mckinley elector. 1t was private
and confidential, but the Sanctty of
private correspondence was invaded
and it was printed in the Tribune as
an evidence that some of the legislators
held their allegiance to the church
1t was copied as such evidence by sew
eral country papers and Mr.. Sloan gave
notice if the writer should decide the
senatorial contest that his vote would
be challenged on the above grounds.
Smith wanted me to take a higher
ground than party policy and vote for
Moses Thatcher"
THE LETTER READ.
Mr. Robinson then proceeded to read
the letter, as follows:
'Kanab, Kane County, Utah, Dec. 81.
Mr. Joseph A. Smith, ogden, Utah.
Dear Sir:-Your letter of the 18th
instant received. ! at present am I'M
able to take that higher ground CD
you speak of and endorse for the high
est civil position that Utah can give
one who has proven himself recreant
to a cause 70 which he had so wholly
and completely pledged himself, and
which 1 should judge you, in connection
with myself, consider even higher and
more sacred than that of the United
States Senatorship.
This, sir" said Mr.. Robinson, sus-
pending the reading of the letter, re
ferS to the saving of mems souls, and
l am one who takes it to be a greater
honor to be doorkeeper in the house
Of the lord than to be president of the
United States.'
follows: Upon this question I am free
and unpledged, and intend to remain
so, but unless my views are materially
changed, l will not in my feelings nor
by my vote, indorse Moses Thatcher
for senator
Il would have made the same re-
fusal, continued Mr.. Robinson, had
1 been asked to vote for Mr.. Thatcher,
or Judge Henderson, or any other
Democrat. ! have voted for a Re
publican in every instance, and thus
1 answer the gentleman
HIS COMPLIMENTS TO SMITH.
Referring to Mr.. Smith, and his con-
duct in publishing a confidential letter
Mr.. Robinson said: Il liken this man
to a recreant cur.
Mr.. Robinson was Missed by many
of the spectators.
JUDGE HENDERSON.
Mr.. O'Brien then addressed the chair
Il have the honor to announce said
he, the presence of that distinguished
citizen of Utah, the honorable Henry
p. Henderson,
Judge Henderson's appearance was
the signal for another burst of applause
and his happy remarks put the as
sembly in the best of humOr.
In presenting Judge Henderson
Speaker Perkins said: THE senatorial
toga would add nothing TO the great
ness of this oak Of Democracy, the
honorable Henry P. Henderson,
Judge Henderson said:
Mr.. President, Ladies and Gentle
men of the joint SeSsion-for 1 under
stand you are in joint session now-I
was only notified a, few minutes ago
that my presence was desirable and
let me say, as said by the one before
that I rulafa hA ilx-
upon the fact that this contest is end
ed, and let me say, as heartily DIS you
are to be congratulated upon that fact,
the candidates that have added to your
suffering, are more to be congratulated.
do not believe that there is a candi-
date who has been in the field that has
desired this contest to be prolonged
beyond the time when it was apparent
that he could not be elected. Let me
say more, what l have said at least a
thousand times before that I belong TO
a political party in which l take pride,
and whatever you may have heard as
to my want of fealty to that party,
am here to denounce it as untrue.
cloud applause.) l have been with it
all my life, 1 believe it, L trust it and 1
stand with it upon the issues made by
it in 1896. Let me say further, that
while | can answer for the past, | can
answer just as certainly for the future.
L snail SEanQ DV the CnOlc6 you nave
made; l will support and uphold his
hand in trying to advance the interests
of that party. l shall be as loyal in the
future as [ have been in the past.
Whenever 1 can do anything in the
fight now undertaken in behalf of the
common people of this country, l am
willing at all times to do it. (Applause.)
The choice that you have made is
of one who will ably represent you and
this state, and he will never forget, I
am sure, that while he is senator from
Utah, he is a senator of the United
States, because, after all, the fact is
that the politics of the United States
is working at a problem that is greater
and higher than any party question.
A question as to whether humanity can
be governed by itself is on trial with
the American people. If it fails in the
United States, it has failed for centu-
ries; if it wins in the United States
the time will come in the near future
as we count governments, when it will
become universal over the world, that
people will govern themselves. We are
on trial here. We have made history
you have made it yesterday and today
and you are making it now, and the
question whether Utah shall aid in this
great contest on this question of civil
government, and will take its place
among the states of the Union to help
solve the problem-I am sure it will
aid in this result by its example and
good counsel. l am also sure that the
people of Utah will be ably and well
represented.
Il thank those members who sup