The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-06-06
AMERICAN GAIN

falsitier and always n speciCus ore. l.;
the matter of the case against Apostle
Reed Smoot II did no. dare to claim
that the hlerarch had won victory, In
fact 1t ungraciously but completely ad-
mitted his defeat. But TO compensst re
for its back-slidIng into truth (an un-
forglvable offense in the eyes of Its cdi-
tori 1t comes out with an editorial as
essentially false as though It We're to
deny that men arc human. The recent
omanation of tho News was Doomed
TO Disappointment" An editorial which
is reproduced IN this Issue Of The Trib-
une.
Taking up this article of the News
latter giving to it complete presenta-
tlon as Is the custom OF The Tribune.
and as is not the custom OF the News
when 1t desires to meet tho argument
of an Adversary. this paper offers the
following observations upon the eener-
al falsehood OF the church organ
First, there is no anti-"Mormon" cru
sade, There is nom church movement
against the Mormon hierarchy; 1t has
Its origin in a desire to fulfil the Con-
stitution OF this State. which declares
for a separation OF sectarianISm and
civlcs. II 1t Is Mormon" to disobey
law and TO flout Constitution, then the
movement-of necessity-ls anti-"AIor-
mon; but the proponents of the oppo-
sion to the Mormon hierarchy do not
adopt the word even though that par
ticular designation and the confession
which must accompany It, are fur
nished by the Deseret News Itself, tho
church organ and the representative OF
the law-breakers.
The News assumes that the disap-
polntment Of Americans Will be more
keen II the Senate shall dismiss Srnoot
than If 1t shall retain him. Americans
Will take all tho risk involved In this
time we are cognizant of the great fact
that the retention OF Smoot by the
United States Senate will continue the
warfare against tho Mormon hierarchy
With concentration and effectiveness,
The best friends of the church and the
ablest opponents Of the American party
are those certain intelligent men who
begged the Mormon leaders to compel
Smoot to resign in order to suspend the
conflict
The News worries about the language
In which the prot stants and peti-
TONERS against Reed Smoot couch their
sentiments. 1t is especially anguished
because some good women In certain
parts Of our common country call Nor
mcnism an octopus" Refinement in
the use of names about an unref1ned
thing would be useless euphemism.
Mormonism is, in broad terms, Smith
ism and Smoousm. Smithlsm means to
have five wives and forty-two children,
and eleven of them born outside OF the
law and then some. Smootism means
a people. small wonder II certain South
Dakota women failed to differentIate
Between an octopus and a devilfsn.
The News assumes that efforts have
been made to disguise the fight against
the Mormon hierarchy under Snoot.
y,
sense! Every effort has been made to
keep the fight plain-to expose its en-
tire workings. To show how strenuous
has been the struggle to give an intel
ligent account Of the characteristics of
the warfare, The Tribune has repeated
ly reprinted articles from Joseph F.
Smith and Brigham H. Roberts. and heo
reprinted such intelliGiblo and nom
obscene articles as the Deseret News
has offered on this subject. The News.
with characteristic effrontery, insists
that there is no Mormon hierarchy In
Utah. There are twenty-six men who
are constituted by their own act and
by the vote of the subordinate mass to
be a governing body; fifteen OF them
are prophets, seers and reveiatorS; ono
OF them is THE prophet, seer and reve-
lator to all the world, and his voice Is
the voice Of God. To offend this body
is to be communicated from the
chuch-and to be destroyed in business
and political affairs II one he Nor
mon, and to be turned over to the hate
of the whole mass II one be Il GENTLE.
These men may claim that they are not
hierarchs; and If the Deseret News pre-
fer the other synonym. they are brig
ands,
The News appeals to history to pro-
tect itself and Its tyrarnies by showing
that once men were slain for so-calIed
hcresy; but In reality the argument
turns itself against the Mormon lead
-ers and their organ, for they are the
crucifcrs of today. 1t is they who insti-
tute the thumb-scrcw and the rack;
ii is they who make the test by fire and