The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-10

tor But If layman assert his rlgnt
to disbelieve in President Smith s right
| to break the laws of God and man and
| to borrow the layman before election
and return him with thanks after cleo
| tion. that layman becomes an apos-
| tate. with all that the name implies!
| In so far as the term apostate applies
| to the charge that ! have "departed
most earnestly deny the charge, and
endeavored in my letter to The Trib-
une few weeks since. TO make that
| fact entirely plain, If am
| to be tried for declaring my absolute
disbelief that Joseph F, Smith is a
prophet, seer. and revelator, il would
seem TO be rather late, as 7 have been
nearly fifteen years.
If ] am to be impaled as an ex-
ample 70 other Mormon Democrats for
openly denying Reed Smoot is proph-
ct, seer, and revelator, | will plead
guilty and ''take my medicine. - From
Reed Smoot s general career as an
apostle, and from his political harangue
in the Salt Lake Theater Just before the
election, | do not believe the Almighty
could get revelation through his skull
with a thunderbolt of million voltage,
That individual, whom thousands of
people semi annually vote TO sustain
as n prophet, seer, and revelator, is
a politico-religio mountebank.
A Little Inside History.
Just the other day n dcvout Nor
mon and Democrat gave me the in
side history of Reed SmooJ S election
TO the Senate, and, in brief, 1t is as
follows: AT about the time of the
death of Reed Smoot s father, the late
President Lorenzo Snow promised HIM
TO look after the promotion rchgiously
= tlo,
The latter couldn t wait minute; he
wanted to be elected at once but there
were. so my Mormon friend told me,
other engagements involving the Sen
atorship. In the meantime President
Snow died, but before doing so exacted
a promise from the prophet. Joseph
i. Smith, 10 the effect that the latter
would assume the responsibility of the
ful6llment Of the formers promise
relative To sending the boy orator OF
Provo 10 the United States Senate, At
the first opening, the eloquent dime
squeezer of Provo demanded the full
fllment of the compact, and the
much against his will $50 it is said),
to give his "consent, and supported
the Senatorial aspirations of the intel
lectual pigmy from Provo. The pco-
pie Of Utah know the rest.
The foregoing story was told to me
as a complete yindIcation of Joseph F.
Smith S betrayal of his promise that
cally freel The best and only defense
that Mormons can make for JoseDh
+. Smith : political treachery to the
people of Utah Is that he violated one
sacred compact III order TO fulfill an
other compact made by a man who
didn' live long enough to personally
attend to it!
OF Personal Nature.
Just n few words Of a personal ma
ture and ! am done with this unpleas
ant subject. so far as the public is con
ccrned. unless again forced into it as
a measure of self-defense.
Heredity is my chief Hapology' for
being liberty loving American citizen.
Francis Dana. one of the members of
the first Continental Congress, is my
e-cut- grandfather on my mother s side,
My ancestors on my father S side
fought in the American Revolution and
in the War of 1912. From the cradle
! was taught to revere the name of
liberty and 10 respect the memory of
the heroes who established the Govern
century has been the shelter of the
Mormon people, as of all other wor
shippers of Jehovah. ! inherited the
love of liberty, respect for truth. and
IN unspeakable hatred of slavery. of
hypocrisy, cant, and double dealing,
Some thirty-fve years ago I raised the
first banner of revolt against political
nominations in "teachers' meetings
and against duplicate numbers for bal
lots and voters. 1t was down in Mil
lard county. We-the bolters-came
within thirteen votes of winning out.
At the next election we again rebelled.
And then and there | committed the
great and only crime of my life-a
crime that has haunted me like an ugly
nightmare and has frequently inspired
me to almost curse myself for the only
act Of cowardice on r,y part that I can
remember BY participation in the
campaign with Gilbert Webb, whom we
had nominated for the Legislature rs
against Francis Marion Lyman, who
was at that time on a mission in Eng
land, ! had. to all intents and pur-
poses, agreed 10 vote for Gilbert Webb.
The ballots We're so marked that the
identity Of voters was certain. ! was
young. with all Of life before me. There
was no refuge to which I could flee
from the punishment Of ostracism and
accommodation that would follow the
objectionable crime of casting a free
ballot Under the pressure of those
considerations | was false to my God,
to the memory of my ancestors, to the
teachings of my parents, and to myself,
and voted for Francis Marion Lyman.
Through all the years since that in
famous act of cowardice, ] have suf-
fered self humiliation that has been
torture, partly because / suffered in
silence; for. not until this will be print
ed, has q living soul, except those who
afterward examined the ballots, ever
known of that despicable surrender on
my part.
But One Chance.
The division on party lines in Utah
came to me as food to starving man.
During the past fifteen years / have
fought for freedom of the ballot under
the banner Of Democracy. ] was loyal i
TO that organization rs long as a ghost
Of hope for success remained. The
American party affords me the only
chance of continuing the fight against
the most heartless and infamous politi
cal despotism that has ever disgraced
the pages of history.
] have now the chance to register
my uudying hatred of the religio-po-
litico regime that is curse TO every
man, woman aud child in Utah. The
fight is not for myself alone, for am
now on the sunset side of life, but for