The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-01-02
year itself, with abundance of promise
for the years to come.
THE UTAH OF CIVICS.

| and Investments, TO building and realty
deals, and to everything that is con
nccted with the growth and advance
ment of the community. Unquestion
ably American supremacy is what has
brought about the splendid advance IN
Salt Lake City. Up to the fall OF 1905
when the American party won It's first
triumph, the city was dead-absolutely
retrograding. With that splendid tri
umph the city took on the vitality and
energy of growth that has continued
with accelerated strength ever since.
AS The Tribune has frequently e1
planned, there is no such thing In Utah
as politics in the general sense. There
was, it is true, prior TO Statehood, an
apparent division on party lines; but
il was soon found that there was no
actual division Tho church maintained
control enough of both parties, Repub.
lican and Democratic, SO called, to be
able 10 sway the elections in its own
interests, 1t sent Brigham Roberts, a
polygamisi. TO tho lower house of Con.
press to vindicate revelation and
''thrust polygamy down the throats of
the American people That failed.
Then it elected Reed Smoot to the Sen.
ate, it being openly confessed to the
Jury before which his case was con
tested, that he had to obtain permis-
sion from the high church officials TO
become candidates; and after having
gained that privilege. of course he was
the only candidate. To have opposed
him when he had obtained the endorse
ment OF the church would have been
an approach to apostasy. And no one
announced his candidacy against Smoot.
either Democratic or Republican. 1t
would have been useless effort 10 do
so. After long hearing the real case
against Smoot was obscured, Flctl-
tious issues were injected into the hear
ing, in his interest, such as that Smoot
WAS d polygamist, which had not been
charged in the complaint against him,
and which formed no part Of the rec
ord; and vet he was given an advantage
by the very fact that he himself had
dragged polygamy into the hearing and
took the benefits OF acquittal of polyg-
smist relations which had not been
charged. And finally the case was de-
cided, not in the least on its merits
but on partisan lines. The vote di-
vided almost squarely on tho count as
between Democrats and Republicans,
the Democrats opposing him and the
Republicans approving him because he
posed rs Republican and voted with
the Republican Senators.
When in the spring of 1904 President
Joseph f. Smith revealed on the wit
ness stand that Smoot was in the Sen
ate simply by his permission. and when
Smith disclosed his own shocking polyg-
amous relations in defiance OF law and
scorn Of the law both of God and of
man, body of patriotic Americans met
in mass meeting and resolved TO form
n new party to combat the evil coudi-
tions, civil and political. that were
shown to exist, That party was or
ganized in the September following, and
at the ensuing November election cast
vote of close upon seven thousand 1t
east in this city alone at the Novem.
ber election of this year total of 10.
713, upwards of thousand majority
over both Democratic and Republican
tickets combined, on the vote for May
or. 1t won the election of 1907 by n
vote almost as great as the combined
vote Of both parties. The gain in the
American vote was of the new voters
who had come into the city. Upon ar
rlvlng here these new voters at once
find that the political conditions dis.
connect them from the parties they for,
merly acted with, so far as local poll.
ties are concerned. They find that re.
sIstance TO the political and temporal
dominion of the priesthood is the vital
issue in Utah. and naturally as Ameri-
can citizens they align themselves
against the church temporal power.
Besides the continued hold of the
American party upon the support and
confidence Of the people Of Salt Lake
American influences are more and more
prevalent throughout the State. More
and more do the people criticise the
lawlessness, the greed and the usur.
pations of the church leaders in politics.
More and more do they condemn the
gathering of two million dollars in
tithcs every year and the refusal to
make any accountig of the money
More and more do they resent the in
trusion Of the priesthood into politics
and its attempt to control the people
in their civic affairs. The election af
Provo during the past year on the qucs
tion of a depot site. showed that Amer.
icanism is triumphant even in that
church-coptroled city when a real is
sue vital to the people is concerned. and
they feel themselves free to vote their
| own convictions as they would not have
dared to do prior to the organization of
The American party here II is tribute
| to the triumph of the American party
that the existence Of that party hero
gives the people throughout the State
| an opportunity 10 assert themselves az