Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-07-14
CAUSE OF THE CHANGE.

t54 ID
a correspondent from Salt Lake City
sends to the chicago Eveniilz Post a
aletter which VIC take the liberty OF re-
producing elsewhere on this page.
As viii \ be seen, liz says the old Salt
Lake CITY has passed never to return,
SSnnd the City: IS RAPIDLY becoming one
cities III the West.
lie does not account for this by al
Icging that .Nlornonlslnt is Passing .
4 as indeed 1t Is not and FEVER vii | be, but.
8 he says, the conviction that the influ-
@ence and spirit of Mormoiiism were
Z such rs were bound to retatd progress,
4 has passed. or lis rapidly disappearing.
The correspondent has his ideas Of
( The past and present conditions hero.
some of which are correct while 9TH
5crs are not, hut tho thought just re-
TERED to Is true. Non t Mormons'' have
been forced sradually to admit that
their prcjudiccs against the sr Mormonsf
{. have not hccn well founded and that
there lis nothing in .Mormonis1ri' to
retard matcrial progress, and as this
! conviction has gained in strength, In
spite OF thesclamor Of tho irrccpncilabes
$ who have made a pIotit table business
@sout OF agitation, conditions have chang
q I'd entirely. v,
The members Of the Church who
Z c;iine to Utah and founded this state!
had no other desire than to make these.
@settlements the most modern and pro-
$gressive in the West They had no
.s3ttef plan than to make them Ameri-
::atl in everything They loved the
American flag and revered American
institutions as God-inspired. Nor did
they expect to monopolize this region.
They invited all decent citizens TO join
them in the building UP OF a glorious
American state in which equality, lbs
srty, and fraternity were to be exempli-1
Y fled unde righteous laws.
The progress during the first quarter
of ascentuiy was truly marvellous. All
early Travellers testify to the thrift, the
1 skill, the enterprise of the settlers, as
shown In their5J homes, their public
buildings their roads, brid ges, telegraph
lines, railroads, etc. etc. Utah was In
svery respect progressive and ranked
among the first OF pioneer states.
Then anti .mormonismr ,,crept In,
and like the dragon, at Drakenfelsl
on the banks or the Rhine, demanded
Its daily sacrifice The people. COM,
PEELED TO defend. their rights as Ameri-
can citizens against fanatics who
sought nothing less than their dlsfran-
9chisement, We're not in position to
buildSas fast as they would have done
under favorable circumstances 1t may
be possible to go on with the work of
construction with the trowel in one
hand and the sword In the other, but
not quite as well as when both hands
are free to work. Internal strife. caus-s
ed by the most un-American OF all
sentiments anti-..Mormonism" re-
tarded progress! somewhat for a time.
a. But, as the correspondent notes, this
has passed, or Is passing. Non" NJ or-
mons do not. as a rule, any more be-
5lieye in the wild stories Of the traduc-&
gers of the Church. They have learnt
to place thenl III Il class With the abs
surd yarns that circulated In Rome
about the Nazarenes. Of the. first CEN
turtles @of our era. They have found
that whenever tho charges have been
before competent trihun-
ais they have been found untrue, Just
as the Prophet VAS acquitted when
ever his enemies confronted him in
court. They.have found that tNlolinon-
ism" stands. for patriotism, loyalty,
morality, truth. liberty. aud progress.
And so i-@@Mormonismi" has lost it's
grip, and the result is cooperation be-
tween citizens for the common adj
3yancement. This is the secret of the
change noted; which. by the way, is a
return to the first prlnciples---to the
activity that marked the strenuous
years of the Pioneers, rather than a
change to something new in the history
or the State.
Utah Is destined to become one of the
great states of this Union. 1t has every
natural advantage, including Its NAL
cstic5 mountains with their hearts of
gold and veins swelling with life-giy-
ing water II it Is true that mountain
people have always impressed their
features upon the pages of history by
dominating the dcstinics of nations, it
follows that the people in these valleys
will some day become the very center
of national life. And why not? We have
the talent here, the brains, the energy.
But the fight must first be fought to
a finish against the anti-American
tenGecies manifested in bigotry,
tyranny, graft and immortality. When
the victory is won Utah will develop
and fulfill rs God-gi*en destiny.