The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-20
UTAH WENT "MORMON''
RATHER THAN REPUBLICAN, IN OBEDIENCE TO COMMAND
 OF THE CHURCH.
National Issues Had Nothing to Do With It-Word Was Sent to All Counties Directing the Faith
 full How to Vote.

Salt Lake City special to The New York World.
 Unless the unexpected happens, Reed | Shoot, the youngest of the Twelve Apos- | ties of the Mormon Church, will be the successor to United States Senator Jo- | seph L. Rawlins, whose term of omce | will expire on March next. East of the Rocky Mountains the im- pression prevails that Utah went Repub- lican at the last election. Members of that political organization have congrat- ulated members here upon the fact that the State which gave Bryan 51o00 ma jority in 1s96 had been redeemed" and | taken her place in the Republican col umn But Utah did not go Republican; Utah went Norman.
 The people of Utah voted as they did, not because they believe in a tariff for protection or In the gold standard-for they do not; or in the retention Of the Philippine Islands. or the restriction Of the trusts, but for the sole reason that the church authorities desired that Apos- | tie Shoot be sent to the Senate Mormons Made Clean Sweep. The Mormons made a clean sweep of
 it, too. From Cache County. on the north. | to Kane County, on the south; from | Uintah, on the east to Death Canyon, | on the west they carried everything | Counties which have been regarded as | rock-ribbed in their Democracy changed | political complexion in a single night. and | men who would have wagered their all on | their chances of success, awoke the morn- ing after the ballots were cast to find | themselves defeated.
 The change was easily effected in the Mormon counties. The presidents. the VI rd hiahons their c0iin sallora the teach : CTS and the home missionaries. all fell into line, with the result that thousands of members of the Church chanTed their political beliefs and voted ''as the Lord directed"
 Nor was this all. So smoothly did the plan work that in Salt Lake County. a Gentle stronghold, where the non-Mor- mons hold tho power; in Weber County, where the Outsiders are very strong; in Summit County, where Mormons are few, the Gentiles were shut out almost com pletely and Mormons were sent to the Legislature.
 Six Gentiles in Each House. There are sixty-three members in both
 houses of the Legislature, eighteen State Senators and forty-fve members of the lower house. Of the former six are Gen. tiles. The House has the same number. The Saints have an overwhelmingly large majority, and can do exactly as they please when it comes to selecting a United States Senator. No combination of Gentle Republicans with Democratic Mormons can defeat the plans of the Chl rch leaders.
 This condition of affairs is due in part to a bargain made by the Church au- thorities two years ago, when Thomas Kearns, a mining magnate, was sent to ho fa wa a Judge Goodwin, then editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, that Kearns made a money bargain with the then President of the Mormon Church, Lorenzo Snow, since deceased, and this allegation has never been denied. Shoot. who had been 'set apart" as an apostle. was a party to the scheme which landed Kearns in the Senate, and the latter Is said to have agreed to repay him by assisting him to succeed Rawlins Kearns kept his word.
 In Salt Lake County he presented a slate to the convention which was nominated on the first ballot, although there were efforts to break it. It was made up, with single exception, Of men whose only qualification for office was their fidelity
 to Shoot and their acceptabiiity to
 Kearns. It was the same way in Weber County and in Summit, the Senator's home.
 Gentle Republicans Dissatisfied.
 But as time passed on and the election approached there were murmurs of dis satisfaction among the Gentle RepubIl- cans. They did not like the idea of vot- ing for men who would send to the Sem ate member of the Church in such high standing as Shoot. This dissatisfaction spread. especially in Salt Lake. Weber and Summit, and thousands of lifelong Republicans announced their intention of voting the Democratic ticket to prevent what they termed a calamity.
 This was brought to the attention of John Henry Smith, better known as the whispering Apostle" It is John Henry who carries the word of the Lord un- der the title of the wish of the author ities." or the desire of the brethren to the lay members when occasion of mo- ment arises. John Henry appealed to the Presidency He informed it of the great Gentle slump, and told it that if some thing were no. done the State would go Democratic and Brother Smoot would be defeated.
 Something was done. Although there were excellent chances for the Democrats to carry the three counties mentioned, which under ordinary conditions would mean Democratic victory and the re-elec- ton of Rawlins so excellently did the OnurCn dutnOrltleS WOFk tHdl QeSplte the fact that in Salt Lake County at least 2,000 Gentle Republicans voted the Dem ocratic ticket, and that hundreds in Weber and Summit counties, in all three of them the Republican legislative ticket was elected by general setting apart of the members of the Church to desert the Democratic Party and vote with the Republicans.
 The Church cannot deny this assertion. The State and County Committees of the Democratic party have ample proof of such work. The Bishop of the ward in which lives the aged mother of Senator Rawlins approached the old lady and told her it was the will of the Lord" that she vote the Republican Legislative ticket And that, too, when the Bishop knew that her son, on whom all her hopes were centered, was candidate to succeed him. self
 William J. Horne. candidate for Coun- ty Commissioner on the Democratic tick et was away from home attending to business, and a teacher approached his wife and informed her 1t was her duty to vote the Republican ticket because it was the will of God" Instances with out number may be cited where tickets containing the names of the brethren the Church desired elected were left at homes of Mormons. and the people were in structed that it was the Divine command that they vote for them. and they did.
 This policy was pursued all over the State. Fearing that they might not sue ceed in the Gentle counties, Church ennis saries decided to make their position doubly secure, and word was sent down