The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-10-21
THE VICTORY LOGICALLY WON.

We have full faith that there IS man
hood enough and womanhood enough
in the ranks of the Mormon church to
revolt at the false pretcnses. the bad
faith, and the lawlessness Of the lead
ers of their church. We believe that
there is human nature enough in large
numbers of tho Mormon men and women
to cause them to revolt at being used
as mere chattels or oonveniences for the
glory and aggrandizcment of the selfish,
intolerant leaders who boldly and bias
phemously proclaim that in their lives
| they are defying the laws Of God and of
man. 1t must be an intolerable situa-
tion for wellmeaning men and women
| of the Mormon church to be bound to
the chariot wheels of the Unsuitable
greed and Inst for power that is so
much in evidence among the leaders of
the Mormon church. By the secret bal
lot these loyal, candid voters will be
able to assert and to maintain their
independence in their political and civil
affairs, Of tho INSCRIPTIONS and damna-
bic machinery through which the church
| leaders usurp an authority in political
and other temporal affairs, that is by
no means their right, despite their i'm
pudent claim Of rule. The ecclesiastical
right gives no such power over the tenn.
| poral affairs or mankind as Joseph +.
| Smith claims where he insolently and
despotically proclaims that when a man
admits his right to guide him spiritually
and denies his right to guide him tenn
porally. that man lies III the face of
God. Such presumptions and temporal
usurpations as this are absolutely in
tolcrable among a free people. And we
| believe that it will be resented by hun
| dreds and thousands of good Mormons
at tho coming election on the third day
of November.
On the general issues here presented.
| the opposition has been fought to
standstill. Every candid, intelligent,
| loyal Mormon must see this IL he has
had opportunity to follow the prlnci-
| Piles laid down in the American plat
forms and the discussions on those prin-
ciples that have been had from time to
time during the present campaign, The
| opposition has been able TO assail the
American platform only by misropre-
senting il and by the fake pretense of
inserting in it things that are in no
wise referred to therein. American
speakers and writers have presented
the issues fairly. candIdly, powerfully.
There Is no escape from the logic of
the presentations as made. In the
presence OF good audiences the Ameri-
can champions have carried their points
with vigor and power absolutely ire
sistible and unanswerable. There is
really nothing worth while for the op-
position to say. Their organs are silent,
save in the way Of puerile misrepresen-
tation, absolute falsehood, and assump.
tions Of things that have no substance.
In all this campaigning the American
speakers and writer's have had the ad
vantage of an impregnable case, and
of the prestige Of American institutions,
OF freedom, and of liberty, TO sustain
them, The opposition, speaking for a
despotic, lawless, robbipg, lecherous
priesthood, have been at such disad-
vantage that it was impossible for them
to rally to tho making of any sort Of
an effective campaign. They have been
on tho defensive all the time, and thew
have not defended. They have sought
to evade, but they have not been able
to evade. They have lied, but they
have been caught in their lies They
have been tricksters, but they have been
caught in their tricks and exposed. And
all along the line the wreckage of the
abandoned material of the losing en-
gagement has strewed the progress of
the campaign, in the retreat Of the op-
position.
Speaking for itself. The Tribune has
absolutely proved every point it has
made by quotations from the authorized
works of the Mormon church and the
declarations, speeches, and sentiments
of the prophets. seers, and revelators, of
that church from time TO time We
have given the precise reference where
the matter can be found. The matter
as quoted is in exact accord with the
general sentiment of the address from
which it is taken. There is no wrestling
of meaning, there is NO excsiou or in
terpolation, nor have We at any time
INDUCED in any way in changes of
the meaning of the speaker. We have
made scores of these quotations, giving
exactly where they are TO be found.
The church organ would have been only
too glad If in turning to those refer.
ences it could at any time have made
the claim that we had misreprcseuted
or given false impression of the mean
ing of the speaker by the quotations VIC
used. 1T follows necessarily, then, that
these quotations are the true sentiments
of the Mormon priests. that we have
presented them fairly, and that there
Is no fault to be found with that pre-
sentation.
On other points also. the general is
sues here, the pledge breaking of the
Mormon leaders, their complete bossism
of both parties, as shown by the cleo
tlon returns, their unscrupulous disre-
gard of the popular will. their domineer.