The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-11-11
PARTY LEADERS
QUIT COMMITTEE
Democratic Chairman, Vice
Chairman, Secretary and
Committeeman Resign.
ORGANIZATION GONE
NO USE OF CONTINUING FARCE,
SAY THEY.
Especial to The Herald.)


Ogden, Nov. 10.-The Democratic
party in Weber county is tonight with
out head Continued defeats and lack
of interest on the part of the members
Of the party has brought about this
condition and at meeting of the coun-
ty central committee held this after
noon, the designations of the chairman,
vice chairman and secretary and eight
of the committeeman were received and
accepted. There were but seventeen
of the committee present and the re-
naming seven failed to elect a new
chairman and secretary. BY some it is
claimed that the action of the Demo-
Gratis was taken with a view of opening
up the way for the American party
into Ogden and Weber county. Ger
tain it is that this question, together
with the matter of church influence"
was discussed fully at the meeting yes
terday. A motion to disband the Demo-
cratic organization in Weber county
was lost by vote of fourteen to two.
The session was a. lengthy one, last
ing all the afternoon. There We're a
number of heated discussions and pleas
for the old party were made by several
of those present. The majority, how
ever, were for the dropping of the whole
thing as far as they were personally
opposite direction was of no avail AS
the matter was left there is no Demo-
cratic party organization left in the
county.
The first business taken up was the
resignation of T. d. Johnson. chairman
of the county committee. The reSigna-
ton was a simple document which
stated that he rendered his resignation
as chairman of the committee and also
80 fea from hn 7,
ward, Ogden, but it was what, Mr..
Johnson said afterward that hurt. Here
is what he said:
Mr.. Johnson's Reasons.
1T is your right that 1 should state
frankly my reasons for rendering my
resignation to you at this time.
My association with your committee,
as we'll as with the Democratic COM
mittees of this county, with which in
the past have had the honor to be as
sociated has always been pleasant. and
it is with exceeding regret that / now
sever my connection with you. / do
so now because / am convinced that
the longsI continuance of a Democratic
organization in this county will serve
no useful purpose, and while during
the past campaign / was only nomi-
nally chairman-the work being done
done so far as he was concerned-I do
not feel that l can justly remain even
nominally at the head of an organiZa-
ton in whose usefulness l have lost
faith.
MY reasons are these;
1.-The members of the Democratic
party are not agreed upon any issue
that was before the people in the past
campaign and there is little hope of any
better agreement in the future.
THAT the members of the party in
this county are hopelessly divided on
the question of the prOpriety-tO put it
miIdly-of public officials appropriating
to themselves public moneys in viola
ton of law is abundantly proved by
the open opposition of some of the
candidates nominated and the platform
adopted at the late convention, and is
further shown by the failure of a still
larger number TO vote at all at the
election.
Church in Politics.
'@That the party is equally as hope
Iessly divided on the question of the
propriety of high church officials of
the Mormon church participating in
politics is unequivocally shown by the
large number of So-called Democrats in
Salt Lake county deserving their own
standard and going over bodily to the
in distress, and there are large num-
Der of Democrats in this county, as you
all know. who believe it is perfectly
proper and legitimate for Apostle
Smoot or any other apostle to aspire to
political control in the state, and who
90 not seem to appreciate the impossi-
bility of divOrcing political from eccle-
Siastical leadership.
IF we direct our attention TO ma
he hoy in Of lA
party is not so much divided as ignor-
ant of the basic principles which under
lie true Democracy.
For years and perhaps at no time.
has one-tenth of the Democrats of this
county had a Democratic newspaper in
their homes.
1.-The people are not to be blamed for
this, for the very good reason that
there has been no local Democratic pa
per to be had. The members of the
Democratic party who are able finan-
cially to establish Democratic paper
in ogden. no longer ago than last year
treated with contempt the appeal of
Henry Civilian and others to save the
Journal for the Democratic party. and
when it was represented to them that
the paper must either fail or reorean
ize, they, with the utmost unconcern,
said, let it die 1t lives through the
grace of Republican money.
The Democratic party of Weber
county stands today without an organ
to proclaim its principles, and / am
ashamed to say without sufficient
party loyalty to support one if it was
presented to them as a gift.
'It has been truly said that a house
divided against itself cannot stand, and
under existing conditions it seems use
less to me to attempt 10 maintain a
party organization upon any issue
Stool Pigeon for Republicans.
eff the Democratic party is neither
for graft nor against it, as an effective
force; if it is neither for church jnfu
ence and churchmen in politics. nor
against them. as a coherent force: if
Continued on Page 2.