The Boise citizen. (Boise, Idaho) 1906-1910, 1907-02-08
M0RM0NS
HDVISED
Frl6ndIQ Paper Talks
To Saints
HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
GentileS Will Be Forced TO Unite
in Solid PhaIanx
HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

The Lewiston Tribune, which has de-
clared time and again that there is no
Mormon issue in Idaho, begins to see
the light as the following editorial from
its columns testifes:
The bipartisan Mormon and anti
Mormon combinations in the Idaho leg
islature will doubtless be smoothed out
during the course of the session, as such
eruptions are usually smoothed out, and
as the exigencies Of the case, if nothing
else, will require to be done. But with
normal lines restored the cause leading
up to the combinations will remain, and
seems to be fraught with serious import
to the political life of the state. The
Mormons have asserted, and the state
at large has felt, that they were not es-
sentially different from other sects and
ought to be allowed to pursue their way
without distinction or segregation, the
same as other sects This natural and
reasonable course, however, they them
selves seem unable to pursue They
seem to insist upon carrying church
lines into their official duties and to pre-
sent solid phalanx of Mormon votes
for or against pending public measures.
In doing so they are clearly within their
rights, though it is stupid policy for them
to do so, particularly at this iuncture,
when shrewd politicians are so alert
about seizing upon the opportunity to
still further widen the breach between
that sect and other sects. If the Nor
mons choose to exercise their lawful and
physical right to band together and to
actually create a distinction between
themselves and others, they need not be
surprised if -Mormons eventually be-
gin to exercise similar rights and to OBJ
serve a similar distinction. This is
prospective situation the Mormons will
have to work out for themselves and
out of which they cannot be perma-
nently assisted by any power outside OF
themselves. Among Democrats, it is
true there will always be support for the
policy of repudiating church lines and
of ignoring church distinctions as the
cardinal quality of their creed, the
touchstone by which their title may be
tested. There are not enough of them,
however, to cope with the more spe-
cious and exciting doctrine that the poll
ticians offer to the masses, coupled with
the promise of substantial offices and
lucrative spoils. In politics all signs
may fail and all differences be waived
as means of retaining party power and
rewards, but unless present signs and
tendencies fail more signally than ever
before the Mormons are playing Sena-
tor Dubois game to perfection and rap
idly providing the means for an anti
Mormon party that can scarcely tail
to become the controlling element in
the state.
Meantime, the state has a very serious
concern that legislation be not enacted
in the manner that the present combi-
nations propose to enact it. Broadly
speaking, it seems prposed that whatever
emanates from one side is sound, and
from the other side unsound. There
will be exceptions, of course, but new
measures will prevail that could
or should not do so if considered on
their own merits, and other measures
will fail solely because advocated by
the weaker side. With this sort OF law
making going on the state, the people, {
ar he sole victims The individuals
to be punished are not pun
shed at all save as they share in the
injury done to the general welfare. The
Tribune does not know whether the
news reports from Boise concerning /
hese matters which are not of record