The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-01
Address at Mt. Pleasant.

Mt. Pleasant, March 51.-At the ear
nest solicitation of numerous promi-
nent gentlemen of. Sanpete county, 3.
H. Roberts this morning, for the first
time in the campaign, briefly and con-
cisely dealt with and reviewed the
causes which have made necessary the
holding Of the special election which is
to be held in Utah next Monday. He
stated that heretofore he had refrained
from abiding to these matters at all,
and had not attempted to fix the re-
sponsibility for the state Of affairs in
existence in this state, as he was Of
the opinion that the people all knew
where the responsibility should rest,
and that they were familiar with the
causes leading to this election. But
he would defer to the judgment Of the
gentlemen who had importuned him
for a statement, and would call atten-
7 ton to the plain facts as they were.
The audience was a large one, not
withstanding that the season and the
hour Of the day-10 a. m.-were not
conducive to large gatherings. The
opera, house was filed to its full seat
ing capacity by an assemblage of rep
resentative citizens of both sexes, who
followed the speaker closely and with
interest and delight, and demonstrated
their approval of telling points by ap-
plause.
Mr.. Roberts Statement.
/ Mr.. Roberts statement of the case
was in substance as follows:
In 1898 the Democratic party of the
state Of Utah, in convention assem-
bled, had selected its nominee for the
Office of congressman; there had been
some opposition made in the cOnven-
ton to the gentleman finally selected,
but it had been more loud than nU-
merOus, and one ballot had settled the
question. Soon after the selection of
B. H. Roberts by this convention, the
/ leading Republican organ Of the state
/ had made a bitter personal attack on
him. He had not condescended 70 an
swer these charges; he had been be-
fore the people for twenty years and
they knew him The convention which
nominated him knew that he possessed
every constitutional qualification for
/ the Office and if he did possess them
and the intellectual qualifications, and
| in the estimation of the people he pos
SesSed the moral qualifications neces-
sary, then who was to be the judge?
Were not the people of sovereign
/ commonw the sole judge of these
Qualifications in their representative?
| The personal charges made strength
[ =
| didate, rather than tending TO weaken
them. He would not say that the Re
| publican party favored the personal as
sault, but they did not repudiate or
disclaim responsibility for it; there was
no word or action on record Of such
| reputation. The people made their
| choice. and by all fairness, if the will
Of a sovereign people was to be recog-
nized. the controversy should have
ended here. But it did not. A con-
! spiracy was entered into to- defeat the
expressed will of the people. and d plan
( put on foot 70 reawaken the old hatreds
/ and prejudices Of the people OF Utah.
1.-THE agitation was spread. Eastern re-
| ligiOus fanatics, acting in conjunction
with religious and political fanatics of
| Utah, had created a sentiment against
| the state and its representative, before
which congress had quailed in fear.
That body had then proceeded with its
action Of excluding the representative
from Utah, said action being regarded
! now by those Of conservative judgment
| as unconstitutional. By the very worst
methods known to have been used for
years, the house had made null and
void the viii of the people OF Utah. and
| they further announced what kind of
a man the state should elect as a rep
| resentative, and they prescribed adj