The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-22
A GOLD BRICK.

The Lewiston Gda) Tribune says
| that the three years delay in bring
| ing Senator Smoot's case to a determi-
nation has been largely occasioncd by
| cowardice and unwilllngness to go on
| record In the Mormon lmbroglio one
way or the other"
That may be true There may have
been some method employed by the
Smoot bureau to spread fear In the
minds OF the politicians; but II any
one, particularly the party now In
power in the Nation. has been thus In
flIenced, he has been frightened by the
poorest shadow Of Il scarecrow mat
ever tapped It's broomstck arms In n
cornfeld- The political power In the
Mormon church Is only n tyranny To-
cally; and, like most tyrannies, 1t Is
destroying Itself It will not be able
TO deliver one State In the intermoun-
tain country to either party after 1905.
The evidences Of disintegration are so
manifest that one hns no need TO claim
presclence In order to Justify assertlve-
ness on this point.
II has been part of the policy Of
those distinguished gentlemen in the
East who have had relations with the
hierarchy TO eXaggerate to their party
chairmen and committees the value of
the goods which they could deliver In
behalf Of the Mormon church. 1t has
been repeatedly asserted by such pro
moters' that the hierarchy controlled
ar nj hoI
litical influence in several others. TAX
ing the situation at its worst. that Is
monstrous eXaggeratlon. The politi-
clans wish II were so In order that they
might gain party reward for deliver
ing party success. The Mormon
bierarchs wish It were so because then
they would have the real power which
now their emlssarles pretend; and in
addition they would be that much near
er to tho contamination, as they desire,
of the overthrow of the Government
Of this United States-to make Of 1t II
mere civic expression of the Will Of the
prophets. seers, and revelators who rule
the kingdom of God, as they blasphe-
mously claim. But. however much they
desire, the fact is not In accord there
with. The Mormon church absolutely
rules Utah In political sense. 1t DOM
mates Idaho. 1t largely influences
Wyoming 1t affects Colorado and Ore
gon In small degree Those are the
limitations OF It's sphere In the States;
and, as Americans are being aroused
throughout the intermountain country
In resistance to the tyranny. that
sphere will grow less and less. Church
control has no place in State or county
or city or school district, and the bat
tie Will be waged until ecclesiasticism Is
driven from the domain into which 1t
has made It's unholy Invasion.
One may ask why, then. should there
be a strenuous fight against Smootsm
II it's pretensions are so vain? The an
swer is clear; Because II there were no
fight against Smootism the pretensions
would become crystallzed, and the
church might come to a control OF
nine States and as many more. IT is
the fight against Smootism that is de-
stroying Smootism The fight against
SIlpollsIIl, inlSCdliiuE llhcll hcpuDHtdn-
ism, was justified because the apostle
was running his party by making 1t
mere attachment to the hierarchica1
council of the church. The triumph of
Smootsm In the nine States would not
be a victory for Republicanism. but for
the church alone. 1t Is, therefore, not
a fight against Republicanism or
against Democracy, but a fight against
church control.
II the politicians at Washington are
dealing with Smootism for political
power In the ihtermountain country,
they are buying a gold brick After
190S-and possibly In that year-there
viii be- such crashing Of the cccle-
edifice Of the Nor
mon church that no politician will mix
up with them thereafter except as a
means Of committing hari-kari