The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-11-26
THE TRUE NoNPARTISANsHIP

THE TRUE NONPARTISANSHIP
When tho Liberal party took hold
Of the schools Of this city and made
them into unified, splendid system,
that was admitted to be genuine non.
partisanship. There was no quarrel
with it by anybody; all agreed that
the Liberals best understood the school
work and what was required of it, and
best knew how to put our educational
system in good form and give it the
proper impetus to progress and perfec.
| tion, There was no quarrel then with
the idea of turning over the manage
ment of the school system to those who
best understood the schools. who were
the best friends Of tho schools, and
knew best how the schools ought to be
organized and managed, and what the
community had right TO expect from
them. That was genuine nonpartisar.
ship, and was admitted to be such by
every one.
That condition applied here up TO
the election Of 1894. At that time the
parties divided as Republican and
Democratic, and a number of the old
members of the school board declined
to have anything further to do with
school management on the partisan
lines proposed. The partisanship that
ensued did not hurt the schools In par
ticular for some time. It took a good
while to undo the genuine nonpartisan
work Of the old Liberal school manage.
ment. But gradually, under tho part
isan idea, the Mormon church edged
in, and by electing n Mormon Repub-
lican here, a Mormon Democrat there,
and so on, 1T finally got control of the
schools, and for some years past has
managed them very largely in the in
terest Of tho Mormon church, and by
no means so much In the interest of the
schools themselves, or of the cause of
education. That partisan management
resulting In the turning over of the
schools to the Mormon church authori.
ties is now grotesQuely pretended to
be a nonpartisan movement. and the
Mormon partisans arc blatherskiting
against the proposition of making the
coutrol of the schools a political,
partisan matter. That is, after having
got control of these schools through
their base partisan methods, for their
partisan purposes and used them in
such, the Mormon politicians now de.
mand that they shall be recognized as
the nonpartisans and that the genuine
nonpartisans who built up the schools
in the first place shall be called par
tisans, and be kept out of the control
that Justly belongs TO them, as those
who know best about the schools and
who are, IN fact, noupartisaus through
out, in making the schools do their per.
feet work, and who arc in the majority
in the city.
So far as all this matter is concerned,
the American class of the population
is substantially the successors of the
old Liberal portion in this particular
business. 1t is true that tho American
party fight is quite different fight
when it comes TO politics, from the old
Liberal fight. But so far as the school
control and management are concerned,
there IS no particle of partlsanship in
the American desire to rescue the
SCHOOLS IIOlH Inc mormon control. IL
is simply the question Of lettering the
schools, and throwing off the church
grip that has fastened upon them. Iu
this desire and effort, those who are
now engaged in the genuine non
partisan movement are noupartisans
precisely as the old Liberals who built
up and consolidated the schools in this
city in the FIRST place were nonpartisaus,
and were on all hands admitted so 10
be. They are, TO a largo extent, the
same persons and their motives arc
precisely the same in friendly regard
and effort 10 have the best possible
schools here, that attended the Liberal
nonpartsaD effort in the first consolida.
tion, The Mormon church nonpsrtisau,
ship on tho other hand, is the direct
successor Of the pariisnnship which was
introduced in the schools upon the or
ganization of the Republican and Dem
ocratlc parties IN this State, and is tho
evil and direct successor Of that par.
tisanship; 4 partisanship which was
used adroiflv by the Mormon church
leaders for their own advantage. the
leaders of tho church putting in their
mon under the different party names
in tho different wards of this city uu-
Ill they got complete control of the
schools 1t was an adroit move, but
10 call II nonpartlsan movo would
be TO reverse the meaning Of words. |
The genuine nonpartisanship towards
the schools here is the American move.
ment so redeem them from Mormon
""ntrol