The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-09-27
THEY DESERVE A SPANKING.


And now that it is all over, let us say
with regret that some of our Salt Lake
people behaved very badly on the occa-
sion Of President Taft's visit to the CITY
Most parents have observed that their
children are fairly good until company
comes, and that then they are perfect
little demons; that they say things and
do things totally unthought of in the
course of ordinary living. That they
pick the times when the whole place is
supposed to be on its good behavior Il
exercise all the demon that humanity
is heir to.
So it was with the preachers-with
few worthy exceptions. So it was with
the secession newspapers, and the ire
concilables of what has been mistaken
" called the American party. From the
time the Presidents proposed route was
published, they have been devoting
themselves with amazing energy to
make trouble for every committee, and
for every one who wanted to help the
committees. They didn't seem to real
ize that it was a worthy and an honor
able thing to have the President of the
United States a guest in Salt Lake for
the better part of three days. They to-
tally overlooked the advantage to Utah
in having a longer period allotted to
this state than to any other of the tour.
They didn't care a whit for the Presi-
dent, nor for the country over which he
presides. They proposed to make trou-
bic; and to some extent they were sue
eessful. They did disarrange a num-
Der of details. They did. by publishing
false programs and constantly confus-
ing announcements. cause some little
confusion
BY utterly boorish attempts at forcing
themselves where they could easily
have gone by making a proper request,
they have laid some basis for the
charge that they were treated discour-
teously.
We hope they have enjoyed it. As it
Is impossible to spank the demoniac
children who cut up while the COM
pany is present, so it has been imDossi-
bic to say of these larger bad boys
quite what should be said Of them-at
the time. And now that the Presidents
visit is a closed incident, there is no
profit in putting the case into the terms
that would properly describe them, But
they have acted in a manner Of which
they should be ashamed.
And why? Because Reed Smoot has
been a factor in the entertainment of
the President. That is all A United
States senator who creditably repre-
sents his state. who has never repaid
abuse with discourtesy. who has never
rewarded their falsehoods with rebuke.
who has twice been elected by his state
to the greatest legislative body in the
woodland who has made good there;
who Is a United States senator by
every right of election, fitness and
achievement-becaus they do not like
that man, they were willing and de-
termined to make the visit of the Pres
ident of the United States just as IN
pleasant as possible.
Surely it was not a worthy labor.
Surely it did not win the approval of
the peopie-of any party, of any church,
of any family.
The incident is closed. And yet we
will all have to remember that the con-
duct of the men who have devoted
themselves to fighting Senator Smoot
has been discreditable in the extreme;
a thing to be ashamed of; a thing, how
ever which exactly establishes the
measure of their manhood and the lin
its of their deserving.
Naughty boys, you will observe,
don't deserve the control Of a state
And you may also notice they do not
have it.