The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-10
AN OPEN LETTER.
A. T. SCHROEDER WRITES TO
RAWLINS AND HENDERSON.
Gives His Views on the Senatorial
Situation and Suggests That
They Withdraw From the Contest

Gentlemen-I take the liberty of adj
dressing you in this public manner be-
cause the subject matter of this letter
is of public concern. l desire also at the
outset to EXPRESS to you my high appre-
citation for your several attachments and
qualifications as United States senators.
Under ordinary conditions, the desire to
honorably and devotedly serve the peo-
pie is an ambition worthy the greatest
of men. There are times however, when
a sincere devotion TO principle by appeal
ing 10 still higher sense OF duty, would
prompt true patriot to forego personal
ambition because more good would come
10 the people by having that ambition
remain unSatisfied.
No one knows the history of Utahs
past struggles for liberty better than you
gentlemen. Often when worthy citizen
saw the light of freedom through the
mlStS OF SupernaturaliSm. the power of
priesthood would be used to crush him
politically, financially and socially. In
those days, you would have considered it
disgrace for any processing the gospel
or liberty to have either directly or indi-
rectly aided the church authorities in
heaping humiliation or business ruin upon
the man who was earnestly fighting lib
ertys battle.
Conditions have changed but has
our moral code also changed? Is that now
honorable which you once considered dis
honorable? Is it now the duty or even
tIC 4AN4lCSc VI lIlpSe PROCESSING u IpNc
liberty and individuality. to become the
allies. or even the submissive tools of
church leaders, and by so doing. be the
means or huniliatlnC man, who, with
superior ability and extraordinary cOur-
age is making fight for the right?
Have the former champions of liberty
so fallen that now a SenatorShip can bold
ly be sought for as the reward for having
permitted oneself to become the cats
paw for church dignitaries? No You
nave only permitted your ambition 10
temporarily blind your minds eye. You
Go not see quite as clearly as you used
I be that this is SO because you have
been too much engroSsed in watching for
an unsolicited but none the less coveted
supply of forbidden political fruit?
You are morally certain that Mr..
Thatcher will be defeated, and yet not
one has questioned his fitness as a man
or Democrat 1t is not want of merit
in his candidacy which makes you GER
tc:2 of his defeat. but rather a well-de-
fined conviction that improper ecclesiasti-
eel influences will accomplish the result,
and that result is one by which you eX-
pect and secretly hope to benefit.
II you will stop to think a moment.
you know how it will be done. Trusty
AGENTS of high officials will. in terms of
members of the legislature, pleading your
cause as a candidate. but above all
things, the brother will be 'cOunseled''
to vote. against Brother Moses
Between the lines of this counsel and
solicitation, the brother will be re-
minded that he who says you (the
priesthood) may control me spiritually
but not temporarily, lies in the presence
of Cod
Amid the solicitation of those who ac-
company their demand for obedience
with claim of divine right to rule tenn
brother will see threats of political
AID business ruin. as well as a loss of
those spiritual gifts which he believes he
can receive only through the church.
Hypocrisy being the homage which vice
pays to virtue, this brother now be-
comes hypocrite. He Will conceal his
real motive by dattering you and pretend
ing TO sham patriotism by which he
W.l try to convince you that a high
sense of justice (Which he does not
nossess) requires that the new senator
should be q Gentle.
Under the guidance of more cunning
leaders, he will use your vanity and am
b1tton as the wool and warp from which
to weave the bandages for your eyes,
which calls upon you to support Mr.
Thatcher.
a man who. under these circumstances.
casts his vote for you. is not a free man.
Are you now willing to accept without
protest the benefit of these votes Sc
cured by such coercion? OF course all
your votes will not be of that kind. but
You will hardly pretend that either of Won
such votes. Do you want the senator
ship so much that you are willing TO ac-
cept it when you know that you can get
1t only by such help and the sacrifice of
Mr.. Thatcher besides?
ire accumulated wisdom of ages is
crystailized in the equitable principle that
he who knowingly accepts the BENEFITS of
another 6 1niQuitieS. is equally guilty with
the Wrongdoer. Are you now prepared
to say that the church counsel method
of defeating Mr.. Thatcher is morally
right?
These few church leaders cannot win
In their fight against Mr.. Thatcher with
out your help. ] don't beieve they want
an avowed church candidate. or that they
VII nave one If you can be induced to
remain in the field. They need your can
didacy as mask behind which to con-
ce=l their real motives. and they need
your appreciatiVe help 10 quen opposi-
give support TO their denial of ecclesi-
asticaa interference. VIII you thus lend
Yourself in consideration of senator
sht2? Would not that high office ac-
CURED by such help be q badge of dis
grace. rather than an honor?
In the not distant past, you very severe
= condemned those things by which YOU
nope soon to be ben fitted. VIII you now
% back upon your own records. by ac-
ceDting the benefits OF this improper
church influence and thereby admit that
your past fight for alleged PRINCIPLES was
I'll d hollow mOcksry to he cast aside
when personal ambition can be gratified
~ so doing? No. You will not deceive
the peoples hopes, nor thus disgrace
yourselves
Do not allow q false patriotism, which
degenerates into demagogisrn 10 misIead
You into the belief that for future party
success Mr. Thatcher should be defeated.
The only success worth achieving is
that which involves the practical estab-
liShment of our principles OF personal lih-
erty as opposed to ecclesiastical control.
The mere success in acquiring Office if
accompanied by a surrender of our party
organization to the control OF some
church official, would be an infamous
surrender of principle besides which even
defeat at the polls on a tight for prin-
cioie would be a glorious achievement.
In the reconvened convention one of you
consecrated your life and your property
TO uphold certain principles. among them
of right are. free to think. free to act
and free TO vote without fear. moIesta-
ton. intimidation or undue influence"
1t is fair to assume the other endorses
this sentiment. If either of you, with
the help OF the church leaders shall sue
coed in defeating Mr.. Thatcher, you
know that his political downfall viii be
pointed to for years. as 4 horrible ex-
ample of the consequence OF living up to
the principles above set forth Thus you
are. by continuing your candidacy. d.
rectly lending yourselves as an inStru-
ment by which the freedom of others will
be destroyed through intimidation and
undue influence.
This same convention also said that
no citizen. by reason of his association
with any church. can be absolved. from
his duty to the state either in time of
peace. or in time of war. without the
consent of the state
Mr. Thatcher has consistently and at
great sacrifice. lived up to this principle
For this, and this alone, he has been
deprived of his priesthood do not