The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-03-09

widest excitement Moses Thateher's
nomination was again endorsed Apos-
ties and elders now took the stump
and the manifesto of 1894 was openly
violated Thatcher was denounced as
a bad Mormon, and the first legislature
of Utah elected Frank L. Cannon and
Arthur Brown senators to the United
States senate. Senator Browns term
has expired and the present legislature
had to elect his successor. This legis-
iature is practically all democratic.
There are only three republicans in the
house, one republican and one populist
in the senate. This, of course, is part
of that free silver cyclone which swept
the mining states last November Moses
Thatcher was the regular democratic
candidate for senator, but the Mormon
church again opposed him. Singularly
enough their candidate was Joseph L.
RaWlins, who was an apostate Mormon,
but he was democrat and had been
the second in nomination at the demo-
cratic state convention of 1895. The cry
of the Mormon church was anything to
beat Thatcher, who, though a Mormon,
had openly defied the Mormon church
After a long and bitter struggle
Thatcher was defeated by just one vote.
1t win thus be seen that almost one
half of the Mormon legislature pre-
ferred to vote according to their politi-
cal predictions rather than follow the
leader of the church. This is long adj
vance from the days of Brigham Young.
Yesterday a Gentle merchant of Logan
informed me that the branch of the
a. C. NJ. L." in that city had closed
because it could no longer control the
Mormon trade.
In Salt Lake City at the time of the
admission of Utah to the Union the
Gentiles had a majority of the voters,
but the new constitution which estab-
lished woman suffrage has made the
Mormons, it is believed, a majority in
that city, and they are an overwhelm-
ing majority in the state, the greater
part of which majority is still undoubt-
eddy under the control of the church.
During elections in Utah it is the Gus
tom to quote upon the stump the opln-
ions of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young,
Heber Kimball and other Mormon
prophets, very much as it is here to
quote the opinions of Washington, JEFF
ferson and Lincoln.
Woman suffrage has certainly not
tended to diminish the political inf1u-
ence of the Mormon church. Yet the
Gentiles, who are the better politicians,
have not been slow to turn the force of
this advantage. There are three Wo-
men in the present legislature, all there
by Gentle rather than Mormon inf1u-
ence Mrs. Martha Fl. Cannon enjoys
the distinction of being the only Wo-
man who holds a, senatorial office in
the United States. She is a Mormon of
the modern type and believes in being
politically independent of the church
She was the polygamous wife of Angus
M. Cannon. The Edmonds' statute
compelled the Mormons to abandon all
but their first wives, so the senator is
an abandoned wife. In the last cleo
tion she ran upon the democratic tick
ct against her husband, who was the
republican candidate, and beat him by
a handsome majority. She is a good
looking woman about thirty-five, and
very well educated, a member of the
medical profession, a good speaker and
far better qualified to fill the position
she occupies than most of her male col
leagues, some of whom are rather I'M
couth and illiterate. Mrs. Emma An
derson, representative from the City
of Ogden, is a widow with five chill
dren Her husband left large business
interests which she has personally
managed since his death. She is the
most noted and most successful bust
ness woman on the Pacific slope and
is a Gentle. Mrs. e. K. LaBarthe, a
representative from Salt Lake City, is
an unusually fine speaker, and has in
| this respect no rival on the floor of the
| house of which she is a member and
| is at the same time a woman of gem
uine feminine graces. She is also a
| Gentle.
| It may perhaps be inferred from what
| has been said that Mormonism is de-
! creasing. Such however, is not fact.
| 1t is steadily increasing, By the aboli-
| ton of polygamy Mormonism has, of
| course, gained as a religion. 1t is be-
| lieved that polygamy is practiced in Sc
| cret to some extent by the older Nor
mons, but the younger Mormons marry
but one wife. Mormonism processes he
lief in God and in Christ, and has in it
the vital spark of real religion. This
| Si'N-S Ates'N
| Sunday in the Tabernacle 1t was
| Children's Sunday, and the Sunday be-
| fore the birthday of MILFORD Woodruff,
| the president The vast auditorium
was packed with an audience of more
| than twelve thousand people, fully half
of which were children. 1t was certain
! ly a most inspiring surprise to hear
| these six thousand Mormon children
singing the same Sunday school airs
and substantially the same Sunday
| school hymns that are sung in our
| Christian churches. 1t was a moment
| that made Mormon and Gentle akin
when twelve thousand voices repeated
| the Lords Prayer.
The superstitions of Mormonism are
| sure to pass away, but the Mormon
| church, as distinctive body, may new
er pass away until there are no longer
| denominations in the Christian church.
A.
| ANNUAL. MTTSTCAT, FESTIVAL