The Idaho scimitar. [volume] (Boise, Idaho) 1907-1908, 1908-01-11
Republican Doctrine.


count against the control of the Mormon church in
politics and in government and has urged the voters
to pass party considerations and unite for the
good.
1t has held that people of every political faith
owed it themselves and to their State to destroy
polygamy that the defense of that institution might
longer render it necessary for the organized Nor
church, holding the balance of power to ally
itself with the Republican party any other party,
that it might dictate terms of government to all
the governed.
Especially has The Scimtar addressed its appeals
to those members of the Republican party who
free from the dominating influence of the machine,
urging them to exercise conscience first and attend
to party matters afterwards, to remove an infamy
from their State and then settle the question of its
governing influences upon legitimate party basis.
1t has found the machine controlled press of the
Republican party to be arrayed in opposition to the
reform it has suggested found it everywhere in al
lance with the Mormon church, openly denying that
the church is influence for evil and that its sup
preston political and governing factor is
thing to be desired
1t is with a sense of pleasure that The Scmitar
takes notice of the fact that the machine controlled
press of the State not always under the corrupt
ing influence of Mormonism, that it once honest
with the people whom it addressed the advocate
of the right side of high moral question 1t takes
pleasure in reproducing editorial extract from the
Boise Statesman of June 8, 1904 in which that paper,
the leading representative of the Mormonized Repub
lican machine of today, said:
To this end the Republican party should adopt
resolutions at its coming convention similar to those
adopted by the Democrats 1t should go a little far
ther demanding that emascu1ated election laws
be amended to harmonic with the constitution
the subject of the exercise of the right of franchise by
polygamists.
Republican citizens should take this matter in hand
make themselves heard in every way possible in
Guiding primary action, and see to it that the reso-
buttons adopted by the State convention of the party
shall ring true this great question.
Let it go forth this fall that the people of Idaho
are preparing to force the Mormon church to keep
its promises; that they have taken the control of
political and legislative action out of the hands of
the agents of the Mormon church and peo-
pie, though differing party questions are deter
mined to bring the church to realization of the
duty it owes to the general public and to its own
people.
If this is to be accomplished nothing can be taken
for granted. Nothing but persistent agitation and
tireless work can accomplish the result
Had the Republican party followed the advice of
the newspaper that then strongly proclaimed the
right, the people of Idaho would not now be con-
fronted by the that threatens to destroy their
citizenship rights. The question would have been
settled and the Mormon church would have been
forced out of politics and out of government.
The resolutions referred to in the opening para
graph of the foregoing extract from the Boise States
man the resolutions of the Democratic party
Of the State. They referred to po1ygamy and the
constitutional denial of the suffrage right po1yga-
nists One of the resolutions said:
We demand the determination of po1ygamy and I'm
lawful cohabation within the State of Idaho and the
complete separation of church and State in political
affairs.
Such was the declaration of the Democratic party