The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-22
The Mormon Church
and Business.

Butte lMontonoJ Miner
The announcement that the Mormon
church has decided to sever church
and state or more exactly speaking.
religion and business Ia one OF the
most important declarations made pS
that sect since II officially placed the
ban upon polygamy.
Now, II 1t will get out Of politics II
would appear that the people Of Utah
would have little complaint to make
against this organization.
The church In Salt Lake has owned
the franchise for lighting the city, ana
II has controlled the street car sys-
tenn, ard nearly all the valuable pubic
utilities have been in It's hands.
The effect OF this has been to array
against II many citizens I'm Utah, who
are not oVer-particular regarding mat
ters of creed.
II is claimed that the condition Ill
many respects has been similar TO
that found in some cities where one
big corporation runs everything. only
in this case It has been religious So
ciety that has been In the saddle.
There Is always more or less an
tagonism stirred up when churches
mix up in business affairs, and the two
things can, seldom be conducted along
consistent lines.
The saving OF souls and the amass-
ing of dollars are not usually kindred
proportions.
Without any question there is
widespread prejudice against the Nor
mon church which is not justified. and
IL would eppear reasonable 10 suppose
that IL the organization deYoteS Itself
in future to spiritual matters and drops
business concerns, that there VIII be
less bias against the religious society
In the future.
OF course. there has been a very bit
ter feeling stirred up against the
church in Utah, and at the last city
election in Salt Lake a party which
vas formed for the solo purpose OF
fighting the church triumphed at the
rolls.
Now that the Latter-Day Saints
have eliminated polygamy from their
have severed the relationship be-
tween the church and business, IL
would seem. at this distance as
though very little valid reason exists
for continuing the warfare against
them.
These people, with all their past
peculiarities. must be given great
credit for what they did in the matter
OF helping to settle the West.
They have always been an Indus
trious people, and they settled in
Utah with the intention of building
homes in which to live permanently.
During the last trip that Mr.,
Charles Dudley Warner made through
the West, he told a friend IN this
State that the most home-iike look
ing farms he had seen after crossing
the Missouri river We're in Utah.
There, he sid, the farm houses in
dicated that the people living In them
had male up their minds to stay, and
they had beautified their homes.
In ether portions of the West he
found houses that needed painting,
that had shutters off, that had 10
dooryards, or trees planted around
them. and in conversation with the
people. they talked about raising two
or three more big crops of corn and
moving OH somewhere else to take up
rev land.
The Mormons, on the contrary, when
they settled made homes, and made
their places look CHEEKY and COM
Portable.
In many portions of the country the
Mormon has been getting the worst
OF 1t lately, but It should be reInem
bered that he has done much in build
Ing up the West, and that he has many
rcdeeniing characteristics, among which
IS thrift.