The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1906-10-12

' a
Murray r. Hattabaugh Of Grange
vile, Idaho, Democratic candidate fol
Congress, spoke at the court house
Friday night. The Eagle Bald came
up from Pocatello to play for the oc
casion, but the attendance was small as
it usually is at political meetings now.
Mr.. Hattabaugh is a,young man, rath-
er fine looking, has good voice and is
evidently new at stump speaking. He
spoke on two subjects, the tariff and
the Mormon question. In dealing with
the tariff he spoke for tariff reform, or
tariff revision and told that old story Of
the sewing machine and the typewriter
that are made in America and sold
cheaper abroad than here. There are
always individual items in the tariff
schedule that would stand trimming
and Mr.. Hattabaugh's presentation Of
the subject was narrow and weak. He
also talked little on the railroad rate
question, taxing the ground that the
rate bill recently enacted was ineffective
and told of the Short Line and the O. r.
& N. hauling freight from the east to
the coast cheaper than to Boise and
Spokane, but failed to show wherein the
new rate bill is lame.s His talk on this
subject sounded like scraps of Senator
Hey burns speech on the rate bill, but
without any definite object in view. In
the course OF his talk he criticised the
administration for substituting the press,
but failed to carry the argument far
enough for the local newspaper men to
see any truth or application in it. It is
easy to refer to such things in a,suggest-
i've way, but we want Mr.. Hattabaugh
to get down close to his subject and give
us the details if he really knows his sub.
ject, and if he has just SIMPLY been
coached by somebody, we want that
somebody to come to town and make
these things plain to us. II there is
any subsidy being passed around, we
should like to get hold Of the rate card,
or find what form 1t travels in, and
whether they require front page posi-
tion in red letters or any position we
happen to give them.
Mr.. Hattabaugh saved the Mormon
question for desert, and read from the
report of the senate investigating com.
mittee, showing that Jos. f. Smith and
other officials high in the church stated
under oath that they were at that time
and had been since the manifesto, liv-
ing in violation of the laws Of the land
and the rules of the church, When
asked if he intended to continue to do SO
one OF them said, 81 had thot of nothing
else" The speaker presented num-
Der of other rank things which he had
the proof for, but If he had presented
OILY the one above mentioned, he had
put every member of the Mormon
church in a position where lie must ask
himself how much integrity there can
be in church that is manipulated by
men who will violate the rules Of the
church themselves and in addition to
that, violate the laws Of tho land after
having been once pardoned on the prom
ise Of future observance of the law. No
body disputes the government record OF
the testimony given in that case and it
makes one feel sorry for the individual
membership of the church, who having
been true themselves, must face the sad
spectacle of following leadership that is
not trle.
The speaker failed to show how or by
what means the Democratic Party in
Id.4no Vi elsewhere, W1utd punish these
leaders str open the way for tho ra..k
and t.e Of Mormons who are sincere and
law abiding, to be true to themselves and
to the government. Everybody knows
that men and women who have grown
up and raised children under the teach
ings of their adopted church, will not
drop that church absolutely, even If all
the leaders and half their teachings
we're shown to bea fraud. Human ma
ture and religious devotion are not SO
constituted and a conspicuous thing
about each of the Democratic campaign
speeches we hear or read, is the holding
up Of the sad or Objectionable things Of
the Mormon Church and then saying,
"Vote to elect U.S."
Every thoughtful person knows that
this is a deep stern problem, one that de-
serves to be handled with a. firm but
merciful hand and the Democratic
Party has not yet pointed out a solution
or anything resembling solution Of it.
Unless they have a5mething more
reasonable and tangible to offer than
has yet come to light, we do not see why
citizens with a sincere wish to see this
matter dealt with according to the con-
stitution, should expect 70 see such
action except thru the party that solved