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Newspaper Page Text
IJMMMlg: i I N win's We e k 1 . j BBf SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, AUGUST 16, 1902. No. 14. IP I HflHmK't" - - Editor. BBKEKBbMB?: - - Manager. KHIBHHbIIP ! ' HSHHJPV SATURDAY. BWMBBBHHBBgggsss::' ,,',;... HHHHHp Months I in Advance. WSSKHKKHHSKKSI to Goodwin's Wkbjcly, BiroiHIHpJIIJWTi and ioao, BSBSHHnV 8JU.T Lax City, Utah. u HHHHhH faneral of th late W. S. BHHBBHSi, under thlwf ing "Ma HhHIMw published as editorial, the fol- JJIIImH HlM when the best people in this KMJMMKltttfliirttM and opinions, desire to unite HHHHHHtomnt of Utah, it is very regrettable HJNHMSJNHPIcious spirit of mlsrepresenta HHHHffiHP tome hearts, and dropping gall Hmow lips. It may be thought HHHBHHHHHttott8 paas without notice and HHHHippk oren that quiet course is mis HHHHHHhPIP hua imbued with strong de H9HH8Rwtt8trued into acquiescence or HKPP charges brought forth. HHHHHpMP come here in recent times BpjBHBffpPtt6ceived by ancient stories, newly BBPiimi'ect that ln tlie earlier years of its Bpttleinwravtah was dominated by an ecclesias ftcal deapotiftm under which literty of speech was iuppremed, men's lives were in danger for dissent tag from astablished views .and customs, and os tracism wa the Inevitable consequence of disput llag tbe dieta of religious authority. The very per ehs who Indulge in accusations of that kind are living Imtinoas of their own falsehoods. Any pun who asserts that in past times there was littya or no patriotism in the hearts of the peo Kpl; ttygK was not taught in the schools here; wat pilfers of the church were cut off for ad Kwc&U&jr the right to carry on their own business Hid WW) persecuted if they undertook to advocate flat fflmy believed io be right; that hate and en Bppy ipilproed any advocate of liberty in thought BplMlpd; that bte business was ruined; that storms BJpfe troiHW auch an advocate of freedom which re jpfred a courage and valor to meet enough to pijiwu him as a martyr, may be Indulging in flights of fancy to let loose poetic sentences, but he is either ignorant of what he prates of, or is so men dacioua and vicious that he is unworthy of respect or recognition among decent men and women. There have been times when the welfare of the people here demanded the adoption of measurs, on which thy agreed themselves, and when efforts to vfeRt them by pretended friends caused them to wj-egarded with anything but friendly eyes. There lave been schemes devised by persons within the church to organize revolution against its order, doctrine and discipline, and they have been de ted by the excommunication of the promoters, after they were given opportunity to reform. But jjo man has been denied the right here to advocate !il? 0Pluon8 to carry on his business, to do any thing that is lawful and right in any peaceful community. I "Mormonism" teaches the highest freedom com Mtible with wholesome law. It does not plot gainst the life or the liberty of any human being. Jt Promotes everything that tends to lift up and unite mankind, and claims for its- adherents no V&ore rights before the law and before the world Wan it cheerfully accords to others, no matter now much they may differ in faith. ft. T take advantage of any occurrence that opens m way for freedom of speech, and prostitute it by "Wiling a church and a people guiltless of wrong, g wmply Jnfamous and cannot be ignored without of self-respect. Such harangues ought not to be held up for public belief, and it is time that all such perversions of truth should be understood in their true light, as ebullitions of deep-rooted spite, and unworthy of credence by enlightened hu manity. Of course, the foregoing was intended to be an arraignment of what was said over the coffin of Mr. Godbe. The purpose, no doubt, was to have the article serve as future history for the Mormon church, cumulative evidence, so to speak, of the "ceaseless persecutions" which followed the intro duction of the creed, and of the "heroic band" wild in those days were "defenders of the faith." It must have been put out with the sanction of the First Presidency, for the News is the church or gan and between the time of the funeral and the publication of the article there was ample time for consideration. Again, there has been no re traction of its infamous falsehoods. This places the responsibility for 'the article, not upon the ed itor of the News, but upon the chiefs who inspired or permitted its publication. So considering it, we first ask the Mormon peo ple, those who are familiar with all that has been going on here for the past thirty-five years, what they think of it? What of the lake where the fires are not quenched and which is supposed to catch ' and hold "all liars"? Or is it true that lies told for the purpose of getting the best of Gentiles do not count? In the articles of faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where is the justification found for that kind of work? And what must be the natures of men who appeal in long prayers to the Master and then go out to in spire such articles as the above? The thought behind what was said over the dust of Mr. Godbe was that while there must be no self-stultification and no stultification of Mr. God be's memory, at the same time that there must be no trace of injustice, that what was to be said must be absolutely truthful and fair. We believe that the thought was carried out. Now let us for a moment review the response which it brought in the News. The opening sentence is a dead give away. When the News speaks of the desire at this time to unite for the advancement of Utah, by indirec tion it refers to a time when there was no such desire. That much is true. There was a time and it extended over two score years, when the dom inant power here had no such desire except that the advance could be made under its dictation. When it refers to the "old malicious spirit of misrepresentation still burning in some hearts and dropping gall and venom from some lips," its words are utterly meaningless, unless they are intended as a confession. Now, when and by whom has there been "mis representation?" In. what spot in America save Utah has a call for obedience to righteous laws and for the disenthrallment of an infatuated peo ple been ascribed to personal "gall and venom?" Its next reference to and denial of the early despotism which ruled here needs a little more ex tended notice. "People who have come here in recent times" can hardly cpmprehend the rule of thirty years ago in Utah. They can read what the News says. Now here is what was really done in the case of W. S. Godbe, and there are still hundreds of living wit nesses to confirm the truth of what we say: A lit- tie magazine was being published here about 1870. ( j II The men most directly interested were Mr. Henry i I I Lawrence, the late Messrs. Godbe and Harrison. ? ,' ' fl They published an article advocating the opening v '' of mines and the right of the people to engage in '& mining if they so desired. There was no question j of religious belief or of church tenets; it was sim- ; ' ' I ply one of business. For this offense against the i f ' ! despotic order of Brigham Young these men were jj I summoned to appear before "The School of the J ! Prophets" to show cause why they should not be i (' ,' H disciplined. They were prosecuted before that as- f ;J sembly before the late George Q. Cannon and the 'j i H late Smith. The latter in his arraignment said jj & H that "these men" had advocated the opening of the ,, mines, the bringing in here of all "hell and dam- pf, , , nation," and declared that their hearts wereW,, fh, U blacker than perdition. WJf -" J ,j J That "School of the Prophets," a body of slav- fe ST ? M ish churchmen, was so wrought up that a single p;( word would have been enough to cause the murder id ' I of those three men right in that hall. ' ! ' But they maintained their integrity and, liter- l;' j'1' fl ally, in the very face of death, refused to recede N! 4JU from their position. For that they were excommu- fA t l 'fl nicated. Then the boycott began; people were f ' ' warned not to trade with those men, and in the $, I I case of Godbe, the day after the excommunication, All ll a stock of drugs was purchased, a store opened to ff','S ' destroy his business and the boycott pressed with ij1f VU all the zeal of extreme fanaticism. With it were w3'mB "the glances of hatred that stab and raise no cry tlf '" of murder," and those "robberies that leave men ;!'M I and women forever beggared of peace and joy." j, j j I r 4 l,M As for the assertion that there was never any J,' ,;fl despotism here, never any abridgement of the lib- Ljtff l-fl erty of speech, the best answer Is found In the lj '.; skeletons that are so frequently unearthed in ex- jl' ! I cavating cellars. No despotism? When men were " (f U assassinated singly and in companies, and when fp! 'fl every member of the church organization was tfj1 1H made to subscribe to horrible oaths of obedience to f ;9 their priests and of vengeance upon their enemies, w. i9 those enemies the people of the United States. HiU, '1 m Bu'ifl Then as to patriotism. Let us see. The same H''tlfl creature is editor of the News who was editor jl' pi then. He has the files of his paper; ho has access f " K'H to the sermons and writings of those days. Will I , j -fl he find and publish one single sentence from the htL I lips or pen of any Mormon of those days which ft ! fl gives the merest hint of love for the Government ,1 ,')jil of the Unltedv States? ,1 rM The Constitution was often applauded because, fh fl as construed b'y Saints In. those days, It supplied f , III full license to practice polygamy and they babbled W T PI about the Constitution with no more conception or ft u l its scope or bearings or commands, as the funda- i'rl l mental law of the Nation, than as though it had . $V 'l been written In the cabalistic characters adopted ;t I by ancient Rabbis and mediaeval Christians. m I But one word of praise of theiGovernment or its Ji!'Hfll officers Is what we would like tosee-Was it when i r -l the flag was trailed In the dust here? Was It when "'rff Apostle Woodruff delivered the prayer at the dedl- !)Hf 4H cation of the St. George Temple? Was it when KlflJIH dead cats were thrown Into the houses of United fiinl States Judges because they had Insisted that the liJJlHH laws should be obeyed? nlH Was it when, in contempt of the Government, - SHI the flag was half-masted on the Nation's birthday? ffflll Up to the time when the manifesto was Issued, HbB