Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-02-08
me "NEwsn AND MIR. ruAICnER,


today (Mouday) contain letter from
Mr.. Moses Thatcher, oritlcising the
NEWS because this Journal, in Its daily
issue OF Friday last, took up the gentle
man's prediction, made in speech
before a public body, that "the day
must come in Utah when he who
holds a higher allegiance than that
which belongs to the State must not be
q Iawmaker In the State" and we
showed that his position WAS violative
OF the ideas expressed in the Declara-
ton OF Independence, the national
Constitution, and by such great mon
as George Washington, Thomas Jelier-
son and Andrew Jackson, wherein lie
recognized the fact that In this nation
there Is understood and upheld
higher allegiance than that which be-
longs to the state, namely TO the God
Of the universe. In the recognition OF
this fact 10 the guarantee to religious
liberty In this land.
Now the gentleman claims that in
our remarks we HAD resort TO Especial
pleading, sophistry and misrepresenta-
tion." We must admit that the gem
tleman takes the palm for anything OF
that nature yet presented. The proof
is in comparison of the NEWS article
and the letter; the article was direct
exposure OF the iallacy OF his prophecy
about higher allegiance other than
that (Which belongs to the state;" the
letter is an adroitly worded evasion OF
the point under discussion, as bare.
faced an illustration of Especial plead
ing, sophistry and Misrepresentation"
as is often seen. The point OF the whole
thing 10 that Mr.. Thatcher was cor
nered in the position hestook,, and, in
order TO fool the public, resortei to
Especial pleading, sophistry and mis-
representation" The public would
have thought much better of him II
he had been like man and stood up
for bis position, or finding it inconss-
tent ana untenablc, had Withdrawn
therefrom.
In the first place he says that the
sentence We quoted did not convey the
meaning carried in the whole para.
graph. The meaning which the
News took was the point Of higher
allegiance. Tho whole paragraph
conveys no other meaning;
and there Is no prediction
outside OF the sentence quoted. TWAS
the gist of the whole thing. But he
says dit has no meaning other than
that which is expressed in the accom-.
panying phraseology. VIVA! Has 1t
no meaning in Its own phraseology?
VIII q man OF honor AMI sense claim
that for his own Language? But here it
is, as he said it should be with its
meaning injected between brackets:
Tho day must come in Utah when he
who [being an officer in the Statel holds
higher allegiance Ito the chiefs of any
alien or church organizaionl than that
which under his solemn Dahl belongs
TO the state, must not be u lawnaker in
the halls of the State.
That does not help bis case in the
least; for II GOd be the chief
OF any organization which the gentle
man may call "aliep," still the
Supreme Being is entitled to the
higher allegiance, and such allegiance
is not Incompatible with the obliga-
tions OF the citizen, or cause to bar
out the citizen from the "halls OF the
State" The simple question in this
whole business is whether man has q
right to hold his allegiance 10 Deity
az above that 10 anything formed by
man. We insist that he has that con.
stitutional, inallenable right. The
NEWS neither misunderstood nor
misrepresented Its readers were
not misled; they knew exactly
what was meant. The gen,leman's
specious denial of the right OF God to
claim the highest allegiance oil man
was exposed; that is all there ia to his
complaint.
There IL another fallscious i1oa
which the gentleman presents in his
IolltIt L1e Huy . talAt NhhAbh aIA kaLt
are coordinate. That iB true under
certain conditions enly. II the church
ne organized, oricered and directed by
God, and the state be tina same, tuey
might bp classed as coordinate in q
certain sense, belug under the came
Immediate direction; or u both church
and state have their origin aud power
ia men, they are "o0.Ordiuate" in
theft source. Blu. II the church be- OF
CO., and the state of man, although
allowed by Deity and thus ordained Of
Him, yet He being given no voice Ia
lie government 50 far as mems views
are concerned, then they are not or
ordinate. There is Supreme Cover.
nor OF the world, bus coordinate
powers presiding over each country.
In tue interior sense tue govsrnnen.