The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-07

church in his former attempt 10 go TO
congress. al combined 10 give him great
strength with young, Utah" and to Sc
cure his nomination and election.
The question We now have TO ask our
selves IS:
First-Was our action in nominating and
electins Mr.. Roberts wise? Probably
most of your readers viii say there is no
such question. That in view OF the then
and now existing condition. i was con-
summate folly and on the borderiand of
idfOcy. Utah was peaoeabie the old ami
n0slties were rapidly dying out, the
state was beginning to come up in the
eyes Of the world; It was well known, or
at least strongly suspected. that in many
casas the former polygamists were main
tanning the cid relations but It was gen
+ euaaly felt that the church was strongly.
discOuTaging further plural marriages, IN
/ less, indeed. they were allowing II among
a few Of the higher officials of the church
in special cases; that in q decade or so IL
would become practically extinct. Some
allowances has been made for the inevitable
evils and hardshiDs that would eRsue
F from q vigorous enforcement Of the law.
Had these men who were maintaining
/ their former relations been content to I've
quietly. not allowing themselves to be
/ come prominent, especially in politics;
had the party been willing TO let them re-
main in retirement; had the Democrats
nominated some Mormon of ability. no
matter how strong he stood for his
church, if free from this blemlsh (Do YOU
/ say there were none?' The woods were fun
Of them) everything would have gone
! smoothly. Utah would have prospered.
The old sores would have rapidly healed.
Now we see them torn open afresh, Utah
disgraced and dishonored, inundated in
the eyes of the world, denied representa-
ton in the national house. her name made
a reproach, a kissing byword throughout
the civilized world. radical, severe legis-
lation about to be enacted AGAINST her
people her missionaries abused and per-
secuted. many of her older citizens about
TO be driven TO take refuge beyond the
limits of the United States And what do
we gain? Echo answers.
The Democratic party Of Utah cannot
retrieve this blunder. worse than a, crime.
which has brought them dangerously near
political suicide. But it can at least avoid
the same pitfau hereafter, not by further
Hari Kari, not by passing bombastic res
buttons Of defiance to and condemnation
Of congress and of the American people
and religious bigOts. but rather by alb
staining from putting forth any resolu-
lions which in any degree justify or even
seem to justify polygamy. But by sober
" considering existing conditions and by
nominating and electing, if they can-han-
dfcapped as they are by the results of last
years folly-a man whose skirts are clean
OF any suspicious of defying the laws Of
the state in regard to marriage, and who
is Wen known TO have no sympathy with
the practice Of DOlygamy. Any other
course is liable TO give thousands of Dem
ocratic votes TO the Republicans in the
hope Of bringing peace 20 Utah and her
reconciliation with the nation, if for no
other reason.
The older people in this country will re-
member that 20000O00 of the people of
the United States raised over 100000 SOL
diers and expended s10000.OO0000 to
put down a rebellion of a majority of
100000 people. which grew out Of Afci-
can slavery. and feel that 100000 would
make very short work of a rebellion of a
very small minority Of 1000 people arfs-
ing out of nolygamy Our wisaacre poll
ticians who have led their party into this
mess are now whining because this hue
and cry has been raised against Roberts.
the people of Utah and the church. and
say it has been raised by bigots, to hurt
the Mormon church and by the Republi-
can politicians to hurt the Democratic par
ty. Suppose it is true, what thea? The
poor innocent lambs trying to play poll
tics! Why did they give them such an op-
portunfty?
We're they not warned of just these con
sequences ar the time and before the nom
nation? Was not the history of the Nor
mon church Of itself alone sufficient warn
ing? Did they not know that both the
/ Republican politicians and the hostile
churches were on the watch for just such
blUHders? Did not some of our over-san-
guine politicians, drunk with statehood,
loudly proclaim that they welcomed this
issue?
Now they have got it: now do they like
it7 Are they still so fatuOusly blind that
they cannot see the calamities present
and imminent which followed their ac-
ticn?
DO the sober-minded, conservative DEM
Ocrats of Utah propose to follow the
leader sheep Of such lambs further? Are
they going to butt their heads against a
stone wall, at their bidding. or are they
going to Let the dead past bury its
dead" and show some degree of common
sense IA the future?
: The writer is not writing this article to
curry favor with any one. He knows that
the plain, unvarnished truth is often IN
welcome, and that often when men feel
constrained to follow unweleome advice
they still bear little grudge or feeling
, Of hostility towards the one who bestOws
r It. But he does feel that it is all-impOrt-
ant. both to the Democratic party and to
the people of Utah that they shall act
, wisely in this emergency in their history.
EUGENE LEWIS.
Salt Lake City. Jan. 3. 1900.