The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-30
A ALE AN 'ALF 'OPE.

The attitude Of the church Demo
Gratis upon the question of church con"
troll in Utah politics seems to be about
like this;
First-The church does not exercise
any political control
Second-Tbe church has heretofore
and for altogether too long time ex-
orcised control Of its voters to the
help Of the Republican party, and this
the Democrats have been protesting
against for good many years.
Third-It lis time now that that
church control was swung around to
the help of the Democratic party. BY
the aid of that control this can be made
Democratic year, and this is pre-
cisely what the church Democrats want
But. it will be asked, is this con-
sistentG To which the reply would
naturally be, ''What has consistency
got TO do with it7' The Democracy
are after votes this year, and they do
not want the church 10 throw Demo
cratic votes this time for the Republi-
can candidates; on the contrary they
III
votes TO Democratic candidates.
Two years ago Chairman Spry OF the
Republican party made public an ex-
plicit announcement that the Republi-
can ticket would gain from the Nor
mons four Democrats to vote for the
Republican ticket to every Republican
that the American party took away
from it. The returns justified his pre-
diction and showed him to be in this
prophet, seer, and revelater. OF
course, before making the prediction
ne had definite word from the "au-
thorities,' who had in general confer
ence been formally sustained as proph-
cts, seers, and revelators, 30 that
Chairman Spry knew that he was on
safe ground in making that prediction
it was good deal in his case as to
this, rs in the case of poultryman who
agrees to deliver certain number of
fowls, dressed, to his customers; he pre-
diets that he is going to do it, he goes
out into the poultry yard, makes the
killing, and delivers according to
agreement. That is precisely the sort
of prediction Mr.. Spry made with re-
gard to the Democratic votes which
would be delivered to the Republican
party in 1904.
1t was quite properly said at the
time, that if Mr.. Spry was able to full
I'll his declaration and prediction, it
would be as good evidence as any ono
ought to want that the ecclesiasts had
vast number of controllable votes
which they could place at the service
of either party at will. They placed
| them that year at the service of Mr..
Spry for the Republican party. They
delivered, in fact, full measure, pressed
down, and running over.
The Democrats realized this situation,
| they know perfectly well what struck
| them, and their outcry was long and
loud They had no doubt, whatever,
about the church participating in poll
| tics that year, any more than Brig
Roberts had any doubt Of the church
control in directing his nomination and
| election while he posed as Democrat
in serving them. That was the year
| for the church to help the Democratic
party. There hasn't been a year since
In which the church has done this, and
the church democrats this year are in
sisting that it is time the pendulum
swung the other way. If it actually
does so, they will be even more fervid
than they are now in their protesta-
tions that there is no church influence
in politics, But in case the pendulum
refuses to swing and still remains on
the Republican side, there will be no
| doubt whatever in the mind OF any
Democratic politician that the church
was in politics this year also, and in
helped the Republican party.
After all, however, that kind of pro-
| testation as TO ecclesiastical control in
politics is so half hearted as not to
reach the real core of the question.
When Democrats or Republicans either
become sincere in their opposition to
church control in politics, they will
denounce it Just as forcefully when it
and that is what both parties will have
TO come to il they ever succeed in
forming n real Republican or real
Democratic party in Utah, The
church must keep out altogether if We
would have political peace, and refuse
| to allow it's chief hierarchs to be poll
y tical bosses.