The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-11-12
SUGGESTS INVESTIGATION

influence thht mad operated power
lfuliy against the Democratic vote Ia
the southeastern counties of that state
Doubtless what he referred 10 was
the letter Of President Joseph r.
smith in tho Improvement Era advo
eating the reelection of President Taft
That letter was good for thousands OF
votes for President Taft, both ia this
state aud in Idaho.
But the Boise Capital News under.
takes to draw red herring across
the trail, by suggestion that the in
! tlueuces that hurt the Democratic vote
were the local sugar trust aud the Ore
Con Short Line Railroad. If, however,
the Oregon Short Line Railroad figured
in the election, il would be necessary
10 explain why that influence was cz-
ertcd only in the southeastern counties.
If that road was in the fight against
the Democratic party, why bad il not
appeared so in other parts OF Idaho
where that road runs. AS il did not
so appear, this suggestion with respect
TO it must bo disrcgarded a. baselcss.
News is as follows;
| Tho Mormon church, OF course. never
cared the least Bit whether rait or VIII
| be elected President or whether Huipes
or Huwicy, Martin. Coblantz or Nichols
should be elected governor Of Idaho.
The Oregon Short Line. however. and
| the beet sugar trust, both of which are
| centralized In Utah and both OF which
| control the politics OF that State more
| than ever Quay or Pcnrose controlled
| Pennsylvania or Tammany New York.
did care very greatly.
The interests seriously considered at
| one time throwing twenty odd thousand
Idaho TO hawiey and the Democratic
| ticket in this state this year. Just as
they did last year. They believed IL
| would create q better showing Of indie
pendence uDon the part of their voters II
they did this, But toward the latter
part Of the campaign they became fright
ened st the prospective vote OF Martin
and the Progressive ticket and, qes-
tioning the Intelligence of their voters III
voting q mixed ticket, concluded the only
thing TO do was To direct those voters
TO put q cross at the top of the Re-
publican ticket and vote 1t straight"
There We're more such straight
tickets voted in single southeastern
counties this year than were voted In
the entire state outside those counties
These TWO great special interests were
anxious 10 support the regular Rcpub-
llcan organization because they do not
believe that the defeat that was In
cvttable this year in the nation would
mean the aunlh!lation Of tina: party
but that IL would survive and thus these
special interests, because or their great
power so efiectally demonstrated would
be in position to enjoy stil greater priv
lleee and acquire still greater power in
the nation when the organization should
again come into power, while at the same
time, being able TO enjoy full local i'm
munities by reason OF their control in
Utah and Idaho,
1t took nearly the entire Democratic
vote of the southeast TO turn the trick
but What difference does that make
Have they not made both parties TO rn-
derstand that they are only instruments
10 serve the purposes OF the special in
terests? Besides. only one more election
intervcnos that the Democrats will have
TO lose on account Of a United States
Senatorship being involved, until that
party. in this State. can be conciiiated
and that isn't long for Democrats 10
wait,
It's a great and a happy game that
the special interests play with Idano
politics, but the result of the election
this week shows that the people are more
wide awake than ever before and we
miss our guess ir the next election. with
,ts iull legislative and county tickets
does not throw a surprise into even such
bold special interests as these who can
come out so openly and turn Democrats
INTO Republicans at n time when In the
whole Nation elsewhere such a thing
could not bc done.
Idaho stands to come in for some ad-
vertising within the next few months
that many Of her people will not appre-
clate when the great newspapers and
magazines get TO talking OF that won
derful power which in this one little spot
Democrats and make them RepublIcans
one year and then change them from Re
pubilcans back to Democrats In direct
contraNentIon Of public sentiment else
where
It appears that the Capital News
which was n Roosevelt paper during
the campaign so far as any paper could
be Roosevelt paper in 1dabo-is in
favor Of an investigation of the politi-
cal conditions in that State. II doubt.
less believes that il would be easier TO
get up 4 Democratic investigation of
Idaho politics by describing influences
hostile to the Democratic party as rail
road influence or sugar trust in
Congress has been apt in taking I'D in
ycstIgations against railroads and the
sugar trust Probably the Capital News
thinks that the investigation would
be more certain to be ordered II the
sugar trust could be connected with
the sipister political influences which it |
charges, than IL the charges Of this in
duencc were confined solely TO the Nor
mon church.
The Capital News, in bringing the
Oregon Short Line Railroad into the |
matter, clearly seeks 10 broaden any
that might be had; aud |
when it says that the Mormon church |
was indifferent, it surely cannot say
that President Smith of that |
church WAS Indifferent in view |
of his Improvement Era signed |
editorial The talk OF investigation
has been altogether Of in
ycstigating the Mormon church in.
lucncc on voters. The Capital Nows
wants il 10 include also railroad and |
sugar influences.
b. the time all Of the reasons al.