The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-13
WILL 1T BE INVESTIGATED?

1t need not be in the least surprising,
from things that VIC hear now and then,
TO End that the Democratic House OF
Representatives may Investigate the po'
liticaI conditions in Utah. Primarily,
the Investigation would be 10 find whero
the Democratic vote Of this State went
at the recent election.
Heretofore the transfer of the Dem
ocratic vote bv tho church to the Re
publican column has affected chiefly the
local elections. This time, however, II
affected the Congressional election. MI.
Erickson, Democratic candidate for Rep
resentative, was deprived of his legItl-
mate party support for membership IN
Cor gress by the church authority and
1ower. It would not he either surPrIs'
ing or unnatural for the Democratic
Congress TO want to find out how and
why this was done.
Nj Erickson was entitled on the
partv strength, and altogether, to some
IL coo votes in Salt Lake county. Oh
this probably 10000 were straight party
votes The other 1000 votes were cast
for the Democratic ticket by friends OF
prohibition. vino voted that ticket III
the hope of getting prohibition and in
the faith that the church would stand
by its promise and profession IN favor
OF prohibition. But the 10000 party
votes smmped into the Republican party
column, save for bare remnant The
fact that this was so is evident, but
the point here suggested is not whether
the church leaders are sincere IN their
professions favorable to prohibition or
not, but the stealing of the Democratic
vote from its legitimate party support
and giving II 10 the Republican party
That this WAS done there is not the
least question in the world. because
the returns speak for themselves; and
the power that did it is quite as well
known.
The country ut large does not fully
understand the political situation IN
Utah. 4 Congressional Investigation
would bring the matter squarely before
the people of the United States, so that
they would understand Just what is be-
iug done in this State. Such an lnvcs"
tigation would not necessarily be par
tisan. In fact. it ought not to be par
tisan. A House committee to investi.
gate this proposition. coming into Utah,
taking testimony, and formulating con-
clusions thereon, would probably be
unanimous in making its report. Such
| committee would Of course have Re
publcans in it, and those Republicans
would necessarily. on the facts and the
evidence, have to agree with the Dem
ocratic members that there arc no politi,
cal parties in Utah in the common un-
dcrstanding Of the term; that the
| church is supreme in politics and civil
affairs and that we have here in fact
priesthood oligarchy that is in su
preme dictatorship; that this oligarchy
shifts the controlled vote of the church
which is alarmingly large-from
one party to the other as il sees fit fol-
its own purposes and advantages. There
cannot be the least question about this
for the election figures tell their OWL
story.
The Democratic House would make
an excellent stroke in the interests oi
purer elections and the better compre
hension by the people generally of the
Utah situation, if it decided to make
this INVESTIGATION, which since the elec
tiou we have heard many times sug
gested. And so, we say. it need not sur
priso the people of Utah if such an in
vestigation is ordered on the assembling
of the new Congress: while it would Ger
tainly shed an Illuminating light upoI
the minds of the people Of the United
States, upon political conditions il
IIfnh