The Idaho scimitar. [volume] (Boise, Idaho) 1907-1908, 1908-09-19
History of the Case.

termne which OF two contestants is entltled 10 tHe
name and organization of democrats in Idaho is
interesting.
The Dubois faction lays down the proposition that
the democratic party has the right to determine the
policies of the party and to exclude from the party
councils and conventions those who have not and
will not support the party unless certain principles
or policies are abandoned
In 1904 the democrats in convention at We1ser and
later at Lewiston declared that the party If given the
power would pass adequate legislation to punish
polyeamists and would make effective the constr
tuition of the state in regard to the franchise
The constitution of Idaho contains "test oath"
which voters must take 1t is now dead letter.
The democrats in the Lewiston convention IN 1904
pledged themselves to the separation OF church ana
state in political affairs and the determination OF
polygamy There a great many Mormon dele
gates in the Weiser and Lewiston conventions, ABOUT
one-fourth of the entire membership They fought
bitterly against this policy of the party but without
avail The policy was adopted by the democratic con-
ventions The Mormons refused to support the tick
ct or to contribute in any way to its success. On
the other hand they openly repudiated IT.
In 1906 with this issue squarey presented to the
democracy of Idaho the democratic party III con-
vention at Occur d'A1ene unanimously re-afflrmed
their position of 1904 and declared in plain language
IFS intention to enforce the test oath and to pass
legislation which would make it possible to suppress
po1ygamy.
The Mormons announced in 1904 that they
could NOT sunport a party which stood for such
polices or purposes and they did not support the
democratic party in 1904.
At the Occur d'Alene convention in 1906 two sets
of delegates presented themselves from Fremont
county. one a Mormon and Mormon sympathlz1ng
delegation, the other non-Mormon delegation
VI. o1Ic1yn t
party. The convention unanimously seated the non
Mormon delegation In this convention of 1906
there were three Mormon delegates from Bear Lake
county and there was no contest of any kind against
them The convention refused to allow them to
elf and left the county of Bear Lake unrepresented
The convention made it plain that in its Judgment
a Mormon could not and would not be democrat or
vote the ticket so long the policy OF the party
was to enforce the constitutional requirement Tor
voting and to punish polygamists.
The party refused to change its policy in order to
secure Mormon support, but on the other mana
plainly showed that it did not expect or desire Nor
mon support This may have been bad Judgment
and bad policy politically, yet it was the deliberate
Judgment and policy of the party as evidenced by
its action in three successive state conventions l. e.
the Weser and Lewiston in 1904 and the occur
dA1ene in 1906
After the 1906 convention the MormonS III tnelr
various counties in county conventions, denounced
in resolutions the democratic state ticket and plat
form, and organized county tickets under various
Names in Fremont Bear Lake and Oneida counties.
Tn these three counties there was no democratic
ticket at all In Bingham the Mormons and their
synpathzers held democratic county convention
and nominated a democratic county ticket, but III
their resolutions denounced and repudlaed the action
Of the democratic state convention The non-Mor-
mon democrats of Bingham held an american"