The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-11-01

What the Sultan of Turkey is TO
Europe, the Sultan OF Utah is to our
ntermountain country. PoluciahS
wink at Abdul Hsmid 5 lubrlclty, arc
hoodwinked by his duplcity or seek
20 make use of his despotic authoritE'
lie and his pashas may outrage com,
non law and social seemuacss py
oolyeamous living. aud restrain re-
.peech and free action by tncir use VI
he all-seeing eye and the cruz pH.
little does the political gameSte[ T.
a long as he has hopes that tAc sutt"H !
,gilI throw his Influence on E!s males
ty's side OF the game. H..
The snltans of Utah, like the sulsauS
II Turkey, have all been polygamlsts'
rhe sultans OF Turkey, being Nosiems'
1re allowed to have but four wives
rbe sultans Of Utah have not been SO
,bIioed TO modify their tendency TO-
ards promiscuity. The Turkish sui
an Abdul Hamid, has fewer wives
IAN the laws of his land allow hlm
aud bas only thirteen children; inc
Utah sultan, Joseph +. Smith, has aJ
,easf four more wives than the laws
torty-tbree children. The Sultan OF
turkey evidently thinks he IS living
within the laws Of Islam and Allan,
rhe sultan of Utah and his grand
vizier have acknowledged that they are
living IN violation Of the laws ol Coo
and the laws or man.
As in Turkey only c minority oi the
Moslems have more than one wire, so
n Utah only q minority OF the Nor
.lons have more than one wife. In IUT'
kew. polveamy is looked upon somewhat
n the hight OF a luxury: II IS one or the
privileges of the sultan, the pasha or
he Moslem of wealth: Among the SUP
iects of the Sultan OF Utah a piuTsnt9
If wives is not orlv one OF the p!lTl-
eyes OF the peculiarly pious, but ~ ls
: counsel of perfection. AL the It9h
5ultans have been addicted 10 TINS modl-
fed form Of promls Tlty. Inc PToPh'
ats, seers and reve!otoS VINO nave AZ
various times belonged 20 the caolnet
II these Mormon sultans have as Tule
6een polvcamists; so also have leading
svake presidents, bishops ana o5he-
pashas. The Mormon pasha who does
not believe N the principle. OF poIyG-
amy or live polygamous ne maNes
2 noise like an oyster. lt Aposlle,
Prophet. Seer. Revelator and United
States Senator Smoot does not inoorse
polygamy as a principle, and the po-
{vgamous living Of the present Mormon
sultan as good, pure and holy, he has
never dared TO say so publicly. None
Of the usshas OF the Utah sultan dare
20 take such q stand.
Il is rather difficult 70 get az the
number of polygamous harems there
are IN the turkey OF 9SuU' si""'- =:
Sultan of Utah, however, has wltnln
tbe last few wears vouchsafed to give
tho outside world some figures con-
cerninp the number Of such harems
There are in active operation IN his su.
Zerainuv. According 70 his report OF
1908, there were among his suolects
s97 such over stocked connub1al cor
porations- Now. the sultan Gt ha5 eta5
claims at most four hundred thousand
subjects. The other Sultan has some
five million in Europe, and, say, forty
million in Asia. This means that II
polvgamy is as prevalent In European
Turkey as it is among the subjects OF
our American sultan. there are over
eleven thousand polygamous haIems IN
some eighty-eight thousand polygamous
harems in Asiatic Turkey-which / also
doubt. II looks quite probable that
polygamous living is more prevalent
among the subjects of the Sultan or
Utah than among the subjects OF the
Sultan OF Turkey. The old Aslat1c
weed has taken surprisingly deep root
in the new soil or some OF our newer
western states.
Both of these sultans are, by virtue
of their official claims and natural dis.
positions, despots. The one calls HIM
self "the Shadow" the other "the
Mouthpiece," of God. In neither sui.
tanaIe have the people eltner power OF
initiative or freedom of speech and ac-
ton, Neither sultan is elected; both
must be sustained. As no Turkish Mos
lem dares publicly criticize the ways
of the sultan. SO no good Mormon dares
TO lift up his voice or register his pro-
test against his sultan S open violation
of the laws of God and man.
AS the Sultan OF Turkey claims and
is accorded the title of Commander OF
the Faithful" so the Mormon sultan
demands and receives the obedience Of
his subjects. He also is Commander Of
the Faithful. His first commandmen nt
is "Multiply and replenish the earth.
His second is, "Obey my counsel as
transmitted TO you through my
pashas.'' His third commandment IS
s'Mind your own business YOURS not
to reason why, yours TO obey and multi
ply. SO when he and his cabinet ask
the Mormon people to sustain them
there is nothing for these subjects tc
do but to throw up both hands. try To
look pleasant and say they like it, ol
else be branded as foes OF the Mormon
fairh and disturbers Of the people.
Even the Gentle who dares 10 cal
attention to the polyganous habits Of
our sultan or his pashas is rebukec
for bringing reproach upon the fai1
name OF Utah Not content with cram
ming their degenerate marriage cod
down the throats OF their own subjects
most Of whom are homogeneous, nam
of whom are sick Of the sorrow anC
scandal which has been brought upol