The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-10-19
FOR AMERICAN LIBERTY,

1
ccpt in the determined unscrupulous cf
fort of the priesthood TO maintain and
enforce It's civil and political power and
rule, and the natural resistance 10 that
effort
The American party is often referred
10 enormously as the party that stirs
up strife. The American party, how
ever, stirs up strife only us n man
fights when lie is attacked. Any man
on being attacked by n murderer viii
fight for his life. Just so the Ameri
can party is fighting for the life of
are attacked by The politically muir.
dcrous hand of the Mormon priest.
hood
The American party, therefore, is con.
ducting righteous warfare Of resis.
tancc. strife that it would be criminal
NOT to engage in. strife that is vital
to tho welfare of Salt Lake and of
Utah. and always vital to the cause of
American liberty.
During the American Revolution
there was a prevalent and miserable
sentiment among the Tories that the
patriots were creating needless trouble,
stirring up bloody strife without
cause; and it is this same Tory idea
that is responsible for the charge that
The American party is stirring up strife
in Utah
The situations are parallel During
the Revolution the British monarch un.
dertook TO exercise an arbitrary con.
troll over the American colonies IN their
political and civil affairs, and in their
business
Just so in Utah The Mormon priest
hood automatically and Illegally grasped
the Teins of civil. political, and busi.
ness control and retained that control
unrcsistcd as long as only its own sub
lects were here Presently. however.
there came here American citizens who
asserted their rights in spite of the au-
tocratic priesthood. and denying the
position Of the Mormon leaders chat the
Territory was theirs by right of discov-
cry and settlement, and the claim that
nobody had any right TO come here ex-
cept the Mormons. took up their resi-.
dence and claimed their rights. The
priestly cXclusiveness undertook 10 and
did deprive American citizens of their
lust rights on American soil. That un-
dertaking was resisted, but the priest.
ma iority of the population of the State.
and by reason of the majority vote
which the church commands, kept Mp
their dcspotic rule.
Against this priestly control Of civil
and business affairs, the Americans OF
Utah protested and resisted. precisely
as the American patriots protested and
resisted and enforced that resistance by
their success in the American RcvoIu.
ton. We, more fortunate than thcv
do not have to undergo seven years
war. nor wade through misery and blood
10 retain the freedom fought for by
the American Revolutionary patriots
We demand the rights of American citi-
zens through peaceful, legal means
Our contest is prolonged far beyond the
period of the revolutionary warfare,
aud yet our triumph is Just as sure as
was the triumph of tho Fathers Of the
American Republic We are asking pre-.
ciseIy what they demanded, nothing
more, nothing less.
The arrogant, autocratic power That
We have TO fight here is both religious
and secular. II claims government
over the souls and bodies of men. Pres
ident Joseph +. Smith. in his Provo
speech, frequently quoted, announced
dictatorially and uurcservedly that the
man who admitted his right to rule
spiritually and denied his right To rule
temporarily lied in the face Of God that
is, if he understood enough to know
what he was talking about.
That, plainly and precisely. is The
claim of the Mormon priesthood. and
that claim the American party was or.
ganizcd TO resist and TO put down The
American people never will consent
TO system Of government where
astical position. shall be given the right
TO rule men temporarily. nor concedc the
claim that the right 10 govern spirit.
ually carries the right TO temporal rule
The idea is SO false, so utterly un-
American. that it cannot be tolerated
anywhere in this Republic. The people
of Utah arc unfortunate in that this
abominablo ecclesiastical claim is put
forward here. and is put into practice
TO such an amazing extent among the
people of the State. The fact that so
many Of the Mormon people concede that
dictum and agree that Joseph +. Smith,
by reason of his right 10 rule them
spiritually has right To rule them tem-
porally, makes the situation one that
calls for active and pntriotic resistance,
uncompromising and absolute.
But the American party is educating
the Mormon people on the true lines of
American liberty aud individual rights
The rights Of manhood and womanhood
in this American Republic are not sub
lect, and cannot permanently be made
subject, To the viii and rule Of any
ecclesiastic by virtue of his ccclesiasti
cal position TO say that the majority
Of ihe ppoplr nG I'tah u1rcc In Stcl