The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-10-01
NO REAL POLITICS HERE.

The fake impassioncd appeals here
for party politics aud party tickets, in
| the party sense as understood by the
| country at large is the merest humbug-
| There is nothing Of this sort in fact, and
all know that there is nothing TO it.
The whole humbug pretense is mere
selt-deception, if not willful impos-
ture.
When the Democrats here uomi-
| mated Apostle Moses Thatcher for the
Senate, they nominated him because he
was an apostle in the church, aud they
hoped and expected to get the support
Of the Mormon church for their party
by nominating an apostle. They bad
no chance 10 elect him, because the next
succeeding legislature was Republican.
But the legislature two years after WAS
Democratic. Did the Democrats
hasten to give Senatorship TO Moses
Thatcher9 Not at all. Why's Because
In the meantime he had been deposed
from his apostleship. The democrats -
did not want Thatcher the man; they
wanted Thatcher the apostle.
Again, in 1898, the Democrats
named B. H. Roberts for Representative
in Congress- Most of the Gentilc
Democrats were opposed to him, be-
cause be was polyRamist and because
they feared the result Of sendipg
polygamist to Congress, even though
ne was high in the church, and in cccle-
siastical favor. His nomination was
distinctly and clearly church selec-
ton, and the result was overwhelming
shame for Utah.
Next it Was the turn Of the ''Repub-
licap' party TO be made the catspaw
of the ecclesiasts who dominate Utah.
These promptly selected Reed Smoot
for the Senate The ''authorities "
couldn t cram polygamy down the
tbroats OF the American people, and so
they thought they would try the next
best thing, member Of the Twelve,
who was not known TO be polygamlsJ
He was not only not opposed by any
Republican, all knowing the futility of
any candidacy against the approved
candidate OF the church, but the
".Democrats also knew the futility of
it, aud there was 10 democratic y
candidate, either
Again, when the State Republican
convention Of 1904 met, it was taken
possession Of bodily by the ecclesiasts;
there was no real nomination By dele
gates; 1t was church-Smootite-
choice, against the undoubted party
sentiment. And the boiling propensity
that was developed in the municipal
campaign of 1908 here, among the
church crowd, was made The predomi
nant influence in the Republican
party.
Still later, the present year, we see
the alleged Democrat" organ in
Salt Lake boiling regular Demo
cratic nomination and platform in Ida
bo; though il insists upon It's Democ-
racy and poses as party organ, not one
word has it said In favor Of the Demo
cratic campaign in Idaho this year.
And we see the Smoot Republican"
az gency iu this city pushing with tear
ful pertinacity an appeal to Mormons
as such 10 desert all other political
affiliations and rally TO The support Of
Smoot, this without the least shame.
and without in any way showing that
doctrines should be pre-
ferrcd. AS a matter o1 fact, 1t doesn {
know anything about Republican doc
triues; and it appeals TO Mormous poj
on any ground of principle, but merely
to their prejudices and their fears OF
what may in its disturbed imagina-
tion happen in case of The triumph OF
the American party.
All these things show beyond question
that there is no Republican party in
Utah, as is there no Democratic party;
and DO party political principles enter
IN the least into the vital issues here.
The real, the dominant, the vital ques-
tIoD is, shall politics and civic affairs
be free from church control, and shall
the biersrehs cease their domination and
their breach Of faith with the people of
the United States. On that line the
American party will flight it out until
the 6pal victory is won.