The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-10-13
THE ONLY FREE VOTE.

considers the matter important enough
for editorial mention, that no man has
20 vote the American ticket even II he
is engaged IN public work in this city,
To others, this is mere trmsm of
no special interest, and not worthy OF
any especial prominence. The Amerl~
can party considers every voter per-.
fectly free and independent TO vote as
he or she chooses, without the least
direction, control, or counsel from
any source whatever.
And there Is where American party
voters have decidedly the best of the
voters of either tho church parties. No
one, for instance, can say that the
person who is working for Apostle
Smoot in politics, business or otherwise
is free to vote as be chooses. The fact
is that such a person is obligated 10
vote not even with q choice of two
church tickets, but is obliged to vote
the selected ticket that the inner
priesthood dictates, and no other.
The American party man, in voting
precisely as he chooses, without inter
ference Of any kind or from any source,
is merely carrying out his party prin-
ciplcs If this party principle could
be established as the rule in the other
parties in this State, then long way
would have been travelled in achieving
the results for which the American
party was formed And is continually
ID 1--..lry, IN ,,p1iN5pg1
with every voter absolutely untram-
meled and secure in the exercise OF an
independent vote, is the great political
issue IL Utah today, and Will remain
so until that right is established firm
", and IS made unassailable from any
quarter.
In the Presidential election of 1904,
Chairman Spry of the church Repub-
Gcan State Committee, openly claimed
that the church would be able to con-
troll four Democrats and compel them
to cast their votes for the church Re
publican ticket for every free and IN
dependent Republican who voted the
American ticket, Mr.. Spry was entire
~ NpLIcNI IL tA-Ss dS NiI -CslA4G IA'' N''
and the returns Of that election es-
tablished that the controlled vote of
the Mormon church IN this State runs
from $4,000 to $4,000, for those are
about the figures that would meet the
reckoning oS the situation created by
Mr.. Spry in his announcement as to
what the church would do with church
Democrats in compelling them to vote
the church Republican ticket
With the open announcement and
recognition by Apostle Smoot through
his organ that American party voters
are entirely free in the exercise of
their elective franchise, may we not
hope that it is beginning to dawn up
on the minds Of some Of the ecclesiasts
that this is good condition for the
voters OF Utah to be in; to be en-
tirely free 10 cast their votes not only
without interference from ecclesiastical
or other eXtraneous influences, but with
such clearly established, independent,
unqpcstioned right to such freedom OF
votinl that there can not be even
the shadow OF compulsion or claim of
right from any ecclesiastical source TO
direct that vote or TO upbraid the
voter IN case he votes his independent
conviction entirely regardless of the
wishes Of his ecclesiastical superiors.
While the zeal Republicans and the
real Democrats of this State were try
ing to affiliate. in the partisan sense
with the two parties they continually
felt themselves at a disadvantage. They
knew that there were 10 reasonable
grounds upon which they could predi
cate the result of an election; they
! knew that on the Sunday evening prior
TO any Tuesday election, the WORD
| could go around in the ward meeting
houses that would absolutely set aside
al probabilities, all canvassing that ha6
been done, and all legitimate forecast;
of the result, Neither party knew up
on what it could depend, and neither
was in the slightest degree dealing
with elements that were amenable tc
party discipline. They knew and recog
nized the power that was in the back
ground, overshadowipg sll party disci
pine, overshadowipg all party prin
ciple, setting all probabilities at naught
and changing the individual prefer
cnces of the voters in such q way a:
TO utterly confuse all reckoning. Tbi:
continued year after year, until the
situation became absolutely unbear
able; and when President Smith added
to that the unspeakable insult thai
the Gentiles of Utah were condoning
bis open defances Of law and his vii,
lecheries, the spirit of independence
took fire, and from that date The
American party was an established
fact.
This fight is going on and is bound t.
be fought out until the voters of th,
other parties are Just as free as tbc
voters Of the American party, and un
til 1T can be said Of all ss it is now