The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-10-21
POWERS F[AYS SMOOT|SM
AND TELLS Of ITS PER|LS
Describes Despicable Campaign Being
Made by Republican Machine Lead
ers to Retain Office.
Democratic Party Making No War Mormon Church. but
Does Propose to Smash Smoosm

At the Sixteenth ward meeting house
last night, in the presence of an audi
ence that occupied practically all of the
seats in the big auditorium, Judge o.
w. Powers, Democratic nominee for
the national house of representatives.
made his first extended speech of the
campaign. Judge Powers was given the
most careful attention from beginning
TO conclusion. Frequently at the con-
elusion of telling argument or point
forcefully driven home he was inter-
rupted by applause and cheers. and il
was evident that the people were with
him.
Judge Powers did not make any at
temptS at fanciful rhetoric. Neither
did ne indulge in much of the brilliant
oratOry for which he has become IA
nous. On the contrary, he talked in a
conversational tone, speaking with an
e2rnestness, a conviction and a logic
that was at once impressive and con-
Vnclng. Judge Powers references to
Smoot and Smootism, to the unfair at
tempts OF the machine runners in this
campaign to drive Mormon Democrats
INTO the Republican party, and his de-
Eunclatlon OF such methods were mar
ticularly well received.
The fact that the lights in the hall
tllckered and went out at one STAGE of
ms remarks did not discomfort judge
Powers. lie happened 10 be DISCUSSING
SmootlSm at the time 1T is fitting =
SAID ne, that we should talk about
some things in the darkness. This is
one OF them" Judge Powers occupied
little more than an hour with his re-
marks. He said:
The local issue in Utah casts into the
background all questions of national pol
icy; II FORCES Itself to the front and it
Will continue to agitate the people of this
state until II be finally settled and set
tied right. Before the people are ready
10 listen 10 discussion of the matters
MIllcn olVlde the voters OF the eastern
states, there must be settled here the
question as to whether we shall be ruled
by a political boss and whether our polit-
zeal affairs shall be manipulated by a self
Ish and grasping political machine In
other words. whether we shall sit slipineIy
by and allow the conditions to continue
which have been aptly termed '.SmOOt-
ISM, the fruits of which are bitterness
ana strife. Timid souls declare that the
Democratic candidate for congress in
Utah ought not to attack "Smootism -
They declare that he should not criticise
the politics or the political action of SEN
ator Smoot. Why? Because they fear
in their souls that by so doing the can
didate will invoke the wrath of the dom
lnant church in Utah The fact that such
fear does exist in the breasts of good peO-
trucking course in order to gain votes is
a strong and unanswerable argument in
favor of that plank in the Democratic
platform to the effect that the election
of an apostle to the United States SEN
ate was unwise. and that it has resulted
in grief and trouble to this state: be-
cause the sole reason why these people
fear to have political attack made upon
Senator SmOOt or his policies is that he is
an apostle of the Mormon church. and
hence. they feel that he is hedged about
with a divinity that does not surround
the ordinary candidate. But TO me the
political flesh of Senator Snoot has no
more sanctity than the political flesh of
Senator Sutherland He has made him
self an issue in this campaign. To sat
iSfy his ambition. the state has been
brought to the very brink of a religious
war. and people are dividing politically
along religious lines. The zine has come
for men to speak right out in meeting -
and to denOunce without flinching that
which they conceive to be wrong.
Evils of EccIesiasts in Politics.
The Republicans have a nominee for
congress Possibly you have heard that
fact stated before. They have a nominee
in the person OF Hon. Joseph Howell, am
able and an excellent gentleman. but /
am aware that as the Democratic candi-
date for congress, I am not running
a.