The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-10-29
WHO SHALL RULE UTAH?

BY a peculiar combination or cir
cumstances. the politics of Utah for a
number Of years has been dominated
by a little group of men commonly
known as the federal bunch. They
have controlled the machinery Of the
Republican party. named all its candi-
dates. state, county and city; have des-
ignated the men who should be ap-
pointed to state and federal Official
ways designating some one OF their
number if the plum was particularly
fat. They have put all recalcitrant
Republicans under the stamp mill and
crushed every semblance of opposition
against them or their system.
To secure power and then 10 retain
IL. they have appealed To the religious
prejudices Of a large body of citizens
on the ground that attacks on their po-
liticai machinery were aimed at the
Mormon church. In past campaigns
they have worked this base appeal sue
cessfully. alternating a good many Dem
Ocrats from their party allegiance and
strengthening their own grip on the
offices and emoluments of political vic
tory
In view Of the power they have
welded and the decentralization they
have wrought i'm political life here
both In and out of their own party. il
is OF interest 70 recall who and what
the men are who have been and now
are the real rulers of the state and the
Republican party in the state.
To begin with. Senator Smoot is a
man of good character, some business
acumen and unlimited appreciation of
his own good qualities. Until he was
elected to the senate. he had never held
public Office. although he was a candi-
date for mayor Of Provo, his own home
town, Republican stronghold at the
time, and was defeated. Until his pro-
motion 10 an apostleship ne had not
been regarded as an important factor
In public affairs, nor was he consid-
cred seriously for high office.
Next in order comes William Spry.
He had held Office in Tooele county
and was a member of the legislature,
where he assumed to pass the word"
Tor what the members knew as the &c
clesiastical steering committee VIII
lard Done and Thomas Hull had both
tried To handle this delicate mission
FOR the machine which was then in
formation. buo Spry was preferred as
the more expert i'm that line As state
chairman. Spry evolved the plan to get
two Democratic votes for Republican
candidates for every Republican who
went 10 the American" party: and he
made good with what result. is seen in /
the city administration of Salt Lake. !
After this election. Sprys friends at
tempted to make the supreme court ap-
point him clerk of the court. but the
court would not have him. Firm in the
belief that Spry was entitled to hold
Office forever. he was given the job of
United States marshal. which he held
Until he was pried loose by the presi- |
dent after he became a candidate for
governor. Spry's one notable exploit
IN public life is his visit to Judge How
ell OF Ogden. where. the judge SAYS.
Spry attempted 10 influence him in a
court decision.
OF Spry's qualifications for the Office
OF governor, nothing can be said be-
cause there is nothing to say. and the
less comment the better for Spry. Nei-
tier in his civic life nor his official rec
ord has he ever shown any of the charac-
teristics which the people Of a state like
TO have in their chief executive. He is
the petty partisan. the trader in Of
fices and convention delegations. the
subservient tool Of machine. AS a
seeker for office he has been magnifi-
cent success; as a promoter OF the
states welfare he has failed Just as
magnificentiy. His political profits
have been won at the cost of bitter
ness, heart-burnings and destructive
warfare among the people And that
Is his sole claim to the governorship.
Hiram f Booth. United States dis
trict attorney. is minor cog i'm the
machine. a sub-lieutenant in the army
Of federal oficehoIders. Until his Sc