The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-07-17
IN THE CROWD.

In the Mauti Messenger OF recent
dare appears an article under the IL
tie. Birds OF a Feather which Is
reprinted In this issue OF The Tribune.
Evidently the American party senti-
ment Is growing in Sanpete County,
and the clerical editor of the Messen-
ger proposes To make anticipatory con-
demnation Of it's membership in order
to weaken its cause with the people.
This is not the first Indication which
has appeared in the newspapers of
Mormon proclivItles OF n concerted
plan on the part of the church TO
frIghteu its people away from Ameri-
can party aff1lIation But the argu-
ment Is likely To do more than to de-
feat itself, for it may be used as
dirccu attack upou Mormon leader
ship and Mormon church member
ship as well as upon the political or
ganlzations which subordinate them
selves 10 and become sycophantic
hangers-on OF the church, The Marti
Messenger says:
1T is a fixed law or nature and OF
human dtlI'l, dUh In'lS is no th'uSf
for person not of the same class be-
ing in the crowd He would share the
experiences OF old Dog Tray, and no
would deserve TO share them because
no cause however worthy was ever
helped by association with leaders or
that kind. No patriots ever tenn
porlzed with wrong or sought the aid
OF wrongdoers."
What kind OF a cause Is il then that
Is led and ruled absolutely by law
breakers. defiers of the statutes of men
and the decrees OF Cod? Speaking OF
the bad men I'm Sanpete. how about
those men who publicly taught 10 ali
the women OF the Mormon church that
polygamy had been repealed. and who
secretly taught the propriety of po-
lysamy? If birds of a feather flock
together. then Smoot himself must be
at heart a. polygamist, if not an ac-
tual practlcer of the offense II he Is
not Of the polygamous class, accord
ing to the Manti Messenger, there is
no excuse for his being In the
crowd You see. Mr.. Messenger, thai
you have absolutely gotten over on the
ground that the American party has
been occupying for some time past In
its argument that when people accept
as divinely ordained leaders of a
movement, certain men who teach ana
practice certain things as having come
from God. the Immediate associates
and upholders OF those men may be
justly held responsible as being or
the same class
The Manti Messengers argument
makes OF every member of the hie-
rarchy responsible polygamIst. ana
makes OF every follower of a law
breaking leader himself a lawbreaker
Is il any wonder that the Christian
people of the land warn their children.
against the Mormon church?
BY the way, is it not little biz
ridiculous for a paper published in thu
interest of the Mormon church-while
history still retains upon its pages =.
story of the Mountain Meadow mas
sacre, and while every one knows tho
awful record OF the apostolic quorum.
the Sunday-school board, and the rest
of the church gangs In practiclng new
polygamy. while al the same time theft
chosen representative swears that a
new plural wife is no better than I.
nistress-is it not a little ridiculous.
we ask, for a paper OF Mormon asso-
Citations and In the Mormon interest to
charge other human organizations with
harboring murderers and libertines?
------------------