Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-05-13
aga.AiERICAN IDEAS"

At a characteristic "lAlnerican' party
meeting, held last Tuesday evening in
4 this city, the people were edifie By be-
ing shown what their kind OF Arsri-8
canisnl, really is.
4 1t consists solely as they demonstrat-
ed by their speeches, in fanat ical Iio-
lftfcal opposition to the people of a GER
4 tain church. But the .AInericanisn o.
Il washington and Jefferson and all
other great and true Alneric cans con
sisted In a stern and adainantine re-
fusal to do tho very thing on which
I the American party is based. They
scorned TO discriminate against the
members Of any church; much less
would they have consented to open u.
bitter warfare, under the coax of poll
tics, upon tho members OF any church,
The essense Of real A1nericanisnl Is
the absolute right Of every one to as
sociate himself with any religious Or
ganization whose views and ideals ap-
peal to him as the hest. The essence
OF all that is un- American is to attempt.
by political organization to punish any
one for his choice Of religion. And this
is precisely all, besides the spells, that
the local american party stands for,
4 For fifty long years be fore the
1 American party came into existence
said one blatant slanderer at the So.
called american meeting, the dead
hand OF Islam WAS on Utah. The
: blight caused by that whitening infiu-
q erlce has been removed from Salt Lake
only through the efforts OF the Amer
{ lean, party. lis blight is still on The
state
Two greater falsehoods were never
uttered. Unless it be the blight OF So
called Americunism. no blight" Of any
kind, much less that of Islam has ever
been on Utah. Foremost in law, order.
and morality of all the earlier western
communities, its sturdy people over
came the most hopeless desert Of Amer
lea and made it fruitful and beautiful
with their industry and safe by their
presence,
The stranger, and even the SANDER
En-, was always as safe from harm in
IllluSLs - NsSiA 80 ~
the speaker who today prostitutes the
very freedom and genius OF American
ism, which he has always enjoyed here
to tho utmost degree, by thus slard-
4 ering his peaceable neighbors with this
unspeakable infamy OF falsehood
.sNyho is there" he asks. who can
deny that the real governor Of Utah
lives in the tthing house? VINO is
there who can deny that the real leg
lslaturc of Utah sits in the tithins
yard ?''
We deny it. Every sane person Of
fair knowledge can deny 1t. The per-
son who utters such trash must be be-
side himself, if he himself believes il
which we gravely doubt.
Did not leading Morn1ons'' and this
paper particularly work with all need
full zeal and industry TO secure the
passa sc OF effective temperance. and
other laws in the recent legislature:
And did not these efforts fail?
The legislators. on this as on all 9th
er questions. did as they pleased; ana
1t happens that what they did pleased
the American party leaders most;
and what they failed to do in the sup
pression7of the liquor traffic was highly
displeasinS to ourselves and to leading
Church officials.
With much more apparent reason, il
might be charged that the real Iegs-
- l;>S.e:c OF Utah sits IN the Tribune
office.
Said The same speaker:
There is an idea prevalent in Utah