The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-27
Writer Tells How Party Was Betrayed Into Hands Of Mormon
Leaders and How Religious Communism Became
Financial Hierarchy

n Tow the leaders OF the Mormon
III church allied themselves with
h Wall street and how. somewhat
l. l. later the financial pontiffs" and
the national chiefs of the Republi-
can party leagued themselves TO control
Utah politics for their mutual benefit. is
told by former United States Senator
Cannon, collaborating with Harvey J..
OHiggins. In the April installmcnt OF the
serial Under the Prophet In Utah -
which is being published in Everybody $
magazine.
In the opinion Of the author the old
religious communism Of the Mormon
church presented. aside from polygamy.
an ideal social condition. and he chSon-
icles with regret the trsnsmutatlon OF
system that was Administered for the
common good into a hierarcbical capital
ism by which the Mormon people were
to be exploited while being deprived Of
the industrial freedom they had enjoyed
for half n century.
The changing OF the old order of sace--
dotaI leadership al the death of Pres'-
dent Woodruff and the inception OF the
new order under President Snow are de-
scribe1 with great attention to detail.
A striking Chara ctcr sketch of President
Snow from the viewpoint OF one who was
intimately related with him in church af-
fairs for years is fine piece Of literary
art,
Church Back in Politics.
Under the new order OF religious cap
itallsm the power OF the church over
politics was restored. In this connection
the author says.
Every pledge OF the Mormon leaders
that the church would not interfere In
politics has been broken At every election
In Utah since President Snow that night
pleaded TO me that he had bad many
tl1at II We elected the church candidate
aid would come 90 him. The covenants
by which Utah obtained statehood have
been Violated again and agaln.
Two memorable senatorial contests arc
rccounted and the renewed activity and
overmastcrjng political power OF the
church are luminously set forth. \ touch of
tragedy is added To the narrative when.
in personal strain. the author recalls
the tragic fate of former Sem tor Arthur
T. n. who was slain In a Wash,ngto ton
hotel by Mrs. Anna NJ. Bradley because
Brown refused to marry her and recog-
ulzc her child after her divorce from her
husband,
1t was interesting To watch the en-
counters between the Mormon prophet,
aud some OF these astuiost OF the ma
tons Cnancicrs; for IL WAS as II ono of
the ancient pairjarchs had stepped down
from 'be days OF carly Israel TO discuss
the financial problems of his people with
q modern captain of industry" He
described a condition Of society that WAS
to Wall street, archaic. lie spoke with
n sercn" assurance that the order ot af-
fairs IN Elah was constituted IN the
wisdom of the word OF God He was
listened To. with the interest OF curjos-
fly. as the chief living exponent OF the
Mormon movement, It's processes and
it's aims; and ] was Impressed with the
sense that these men OF the world had
a large and splendid sympathy for our
effort TO abolish poverty and establish
quicker Justice in tho practical affairs
OF our people.
Ideal Social State
Utah. at that time. expressed the only
full bodied social proposition in the
United States. There never had been In
America another community whose flu
turc. I'm the economic aspects offered SO
clear solution Of problems which still
remain generally unsettled. It, was as
II a segment OF the great circle Of mod
crn humanity had been transported TO
another world, otherwise unpopula ted.
and thcre-witn the experience gained
through centuries of human travail--had
attempted the establishment of just,
bcDeficent and satisfying social order.
am here repeating this argument