THE SALT LAIC HERALD COLUMBIAN EDITION 21
I
I REA Y FOR TATEHOOD t
The Opinions of Prominent Salt
Lake People
I
NO REASON FOB DELAY t
Thc People Have the Value of the Lib
erty of Statehood
Ti i Puerile Objections Diet and Over
ruled h J y Truthful Statements
of Hard Cold
Fact
Utah is ready statehood It is her
bjrthright and the number of her in
habitants and the intelligence of her peo
ple her position and resources entitle her
to every privilege and liberty and right
d
due to a free people She is entitled to I
statehood because she has outgrown that
relict of colonial bondage under which i
+ petty underlings have ruled over and
judged her inhabitants without their con
sent
Utah is ready for statehood because her
people are loyal brave and independent
and though in the past mistrusted and
0 thrust into bondage now wears the sig
net ring of conscious sovereign power
yet to shine as the brightest gem in the
galaxy of national statehood
Utah is ready for statehood because her
sons have no further use for the absolute
veto of the oneman power nor for com
missioners to gerrymander her districts
and supervise her elections
Utah is ready for statehood because she
demands lepresentation being willing
and able to submit to taxation Her grand
old mountains with their ribs of iron
hearts of silver and veins of gold
are ready for statehood Her happy
unencumbered homes farms and fields
are ready for statehood Her flocks and
herds upon a thousand hills are ready
for statehood Her mills and factories
her merchants and bankers are ready for
statehood Her schools academies col 1
leges and university are ready for state
hood Her students professors and
statesmen are ready for statehood The
brain and brawn and heart of her people
are ready for statehood Her honor in
n tegrity and truth her purity virtue and
health the courage of her boys the
beauty of her girls the devotion of her
mothers the manhood of her fathers all
proclaim that Utah is ready for state
hood
Division on national party lines has
brought harmony out of confusion and
fraternal feeling out of bitter discords
The hatreds of the past are buried we
have become homogeneous the church
does not dominate the state the state does
not trench the upon rights of the church
With her feet planted firmly upon the
constitution and laws the bride awaits
the groom Utah is ready for state
hood
MOSES THATCHER
Yes why The territorial form of
government as part of our system is temporary
orary in character established to main
tain order and to aid young and weak
communities in their early struggle to
acquire and develop strength for the
maintenance of free and independent
states It was never contemplated as a
permanency Justice alike to the gen
eral government and to a people under
territorial rule requires the admisson of a
territory to the union of states so soon
as it has an intelligent and patriotic popu
lation sufficiently numerous and stable in
character with developed resources and
accumulated wealth to successfully con
duct all of its own domestic affairs and
contribute its due share to the adminis
tration of the general government It
I
cannot be truthfully denied that all of
the ends of territorial government for
Utah have been attained and that
the territory today has every requisite for
admission
The permanent settlement of Utah be
gan with the incoming of the Mormon
pioneers in 1847 nearly fortysix years
ago and from that time until now there
has been a steady growth in population
active development of resources large
accumulation of wealth and the establish
ment of the manifold industries and en
terprises public and private charitable
and educational which give life and
character to the state and prosperity and
happiness to its people
The federal census of 1890 gives to the
territory a population of 207905 and it
has an area of 84970 square miles Its I
assessed valuation of property for 1891 I
i exclusive of mines not taxed was 121
14301837 i The incorporated cities and
i towns having an assessable valuation of
53556198127 We have more than one
thousand miles of railroad three thous
and miles of irrigating canals and from
I ten to fifteen thousand mile3 of wagon
road The prescribed limits to this arti
cle precludes the statistics in detail which
I show that all the various and diversified
I occupations that furnish employment and
a means of livelihood to the citizens of our
I common country thrive and flourish in
Utah viz Agricultural and stock rais
ing mining and smelting r
I ing merchandising banking etc and
that any energetic and industrious pop
ulation following their chosen avococa
tions secure a rich return for their en
I terprise and labor
Certain of our citizens while conceding
I that we have the necessary number of in
habitants of stable habits and character
ample wealth and development and every
I material resource to assume the responsi
bilities of statehood yet contend it would j
j be unsafe to admit Utah into the union I i
because a majority of its citizens are mem i j
I bers of and communicants of the church
i I I
of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints They i
urge that in times past the church taught 1
I and practiced polygamy in defiance of >
law That it ruled its membership with j Ian i i
an absolute sway claimed and exercised I i
the right to dictate to and control their
j action in all temporal matters as well as
j in spiritual affairs In a word they
claim that the causes of contention which
divided the Mormon and nonMormon
people for so many years still exist In
support of their claim they continually I
recur to the past They ignore the
I brightness and promise of the present and
with gloomy forebodings darken the
I future We invite all to a contemplation
I of the truth
The authorities of the Mormon church
I in the most solemn manner have authori
i tatively forbid the practice ot polygamy
and have been sustained by the Mormon
j i people in their action It is now an of
fense against the church which subjects
the offender to excommunication to enter
I into or practice polygamy The chief
authorities of the church from the rostrum
1
trum and by publication over their signa
tures have disclaimed all right or desire
I to interfere or control in any manner the
I political action of the people The Peo
I pies or church party under the old con
t tention composed almost entirely of the
Mormon people has been formally dis
j i solved by its authorities The Mormon
I people including many holding high
I i church positions have allied themselves
with and are active participants in the
Democratic and Republican parties It is
here as elsewhere in the country that
I those of the same religious conviction
find themselves opposed to each other in
I political belief and action
Is Utah ready for statehood was
I answered affirmatively by the unanimous
vote of the Democratic members of the
committee on territories of the present
House of representatives After a full
I
I and fair hearing upon the home rule bill
i the Democratic and Republican parties in
convention have declared for statehood
11
The struggles and triumphs of the past
in reclaiming the desert opening the
I mines building cities and towns and the
establishment of permanent and prosper
i ous communities proclaim the readiness
of the territory for admission to the
union of states
Utah with her great population and
vast interests is not only ready for but
needs two United States senators and rep I
resentation in the lower house of Con
gress With past animosities forever
buried more than two hundred thousand
I souls with a common interest and destiny
gnitedly await the deserved boon of state
hood CALEB W WEST
Utah is ready for statehood She pos
seses all the essential qualifications This
is a fact recognized nationally It was
declared in a report by the House com
mittee on territories of the Fiftysecond
Congress in the following terms Your
committee is thoroughly satisfied of
Utahs entire qualification for admission
to the Union with all the powers of full
statehood
She has a population of nearly a quarter
of a million her wealth is equal to w200
000000 but 5 per cent of her people are
illiterate her citizens are renowned for
their industry frugality and honesty
they are not only familiar with the con
stitution of our country and the laws en
acted under it but they acknowledge the
supremacy of the law and yield obedience
to it
Our territory is conceded to be the home
of a typical American people endowed
with the energy and possessing the enter
prise which have made her beautiful
mountainous country the habitation of
industry refinement wealth
In my judgment there has been for
years no constitutional reason for with
holding statehood from Utah But there
have been objections which have proved
more potent than all the constitutional
requirements and these have received
such ready belief that all appeals have
hitherto been ineffectual Will it be con
tended that these objections still remain I
Not even the hardiest opponent of self
1 government for Utah will say that condi
tions have not changed while large per
centage of the men of influence and char
acter who formerly opposed admission
to the Union are today foremost in con
tending that there no longer remains any
valid reason for withholding the great
i i i boan that statehood will give to this ter
i i ritory
It does not seem possible that any per
son who has had to meet the dictation of
a governor possessing the absolute veto
i power which has time and again been
I i exercised to nullify the proper and legiti
mate desires of the people or who has
felt the humility of having elections con
ducted by an imported commission a
j j body of men wholly irresponsible to the
I people can discover a reason that will
I justify honest and intelligent opposition
to self government
I To a people that have suffered through
irresponsible tyrrany the promise of state
I hood is filled to the brim with all that lib
erty loving hearts hold dear and sacred i
j in the name of freedom That we should
I keep steadfastly before us the high des
i tiny which it implies seems to me as nec
essary as that we should believe in the
needfulness of truth and the necessity of
right
By bitter experience and the tears
of decades the people of Utah have learned
ter xi tl + 1
ilj d t I l
fir
rite7rr v
ry r iiI i
s117
G yr4 irrr
I r
2 r
t
DELEGATEELECT JOSEPH L RAWLINS
the value of that higher liberty which
statehood signifies and if after all that
has been endured we ae still unprepared
for admission to the nnion when may we
hope to possess the requisite qualifica
tions F S RICHARDS
It seems needless to multiply statistics
to prove that Utah has the intelligence
the wealth the population and the diver
sity of resources which entitle her people
to statehood
I therefore proceed to the objectors to
Utahs admission The first objection
viz that the population of Utah is un
American is to say the least very un
satisfactorily indefinite If by this
beautifully vague word unAmerican
you mean that a large part of Utahs
f
population are only naturalized citizens i
and that this is an objection to statehood
then I pray you why do you not ask that
Wisconsin Minnesota and other north
ern states or even New York City be
expelled from the Union I insist that
the right of local selfgovernment in any
community cannot be made to depend
upon the accident of its inhabitants
birthplace The right of participation in
the affairs of the government under which
a man makes his home is one inherent in
man and not belonging to points of com
pass orto climate I
When the people of any territory apply i
for admission into the Union three ques
tions and only three should be asked
viz Have the people the intelligence to
appreciate the liberty which belongs to
them SecondHave they the morality
to prevent the wanton abuse of the liber
ty they demand And thirdHas the
I community within itself the means of
I protecting each citizen in his inalienable
t rights of life liberty and property
Applied to Utah these questions must
I be answered in the affirmative and local
i selfgovernment is a matter of right To
deny the existence of this right is to deny
I the equality of the rights of man to
withhold it as a matter of discretion is an
i I act of unwarranted tyranny
i If by unAmericanism you mean
i that the people of Utah have not in your
estimation the right ideas as to the func
i i tions or duties of citizens in a republic
I and that this is an objection to statehood
then I reply that your objection is un
worthy the consideration of broad guaged
statesmen Your objection is a denial of
the equality of man before the law and is
the establishment of a governing class
whom you give the power to withhold
that right from others To say that a
man shall have no voice in government
only because he has or does not have a
particular mental conviction is to muzzle
truth to shut out progress to embrace
tyranny You cannot indict a whole
community as unAmerican
The people of Utah individually and
collectively are better qualified to as
sume the responsibility and perform the
duties of self government than the people
of most new states
The second objection urged to Utahs
statehood is the possible reestablishment
of polygamy In my judgment this is as
improbable as is the reestablishment of
slavery Both found their justification in
the supposed words of God both found
their extinction in the light of rational
men all rejoice in the dawn of this new I
eraThe
The Mormon church has renounced
polygamy in the only way in which any
church ever changed its creed and I can
conceive no motive wnich would encour
age its reestablishment In the last
twenty years experience of the Mormon
people I find many a heartrending scene
which would make them dread a return to
the old conditions I therefore give it as
my unqualified opinion that polygamy
will not be and cannot be reestablished
in Utah either with or without siatehood
The third objection to Utahs statehood
is the supposed danger of a union of
church and state As an opponent to this
union I yield second place to none but I
have both as much and as little use for the
Mormon church as any other When I
remember that only a short time ago the
Mormons might have carried that union
almost to the full extent with hardly a
dissenting voice and then compare their
record during that period with the record I
of other churches in other states I am I
forced to believe that there is less danger I
of a union of church and state here than I
there
Some states of this Union have sup
pressed liberty of speech and freedom of
thought by making it a crime to deny the
divine origin of the Bible the Mormons
on the other hand have not only refrained
from a similar denial of the right of con
science but have opened their meeting
houses to others for the purpose of I
permitting them to discuss and deny
the divine origin of their faith
In Minnesota nuns in the garb of their
religious order have been employed as
teachers in the public schools The par
allel of this offense cannot be found in
Utah
The Methodist church of Utah in reli
gious convention assembled adopted a
resolution endorsing a political party
while the Mormon church through its
officials and in general conference even
in its worst days always had a sufficient
sense of decency left to deny the existence
of or desire for church influence in pol
itics
The Presbyterian church of Utah has
been sufficiently thoughtless of the rights
of others to demand the use of the Bible
in the public schools of Utah Many
churches in many states are making sim
ilar demands I have never known that
I even a hint was made by tho Mormons
suggesting such use of the Book of Mor
mon
Pope Leo XIII said that when it fs law
ful in the eyes of the church to take part
in public affairs men who promise to
merit well of Catholicism should be sup
ported and there can arise no case in
which it would be permissible to prefer
to them men who are hostile to religion
The Mormon people have just elected to
Congress a man who may well be classed
as hostile to their religion and that in I
spite of damnable appeals that were made
to their religious prejudices by unscrupu I
lous opponents
In 1S70 a Mormon legislature provided
for the making of affirmation by wit
nesses This abolished that relic of
bigotry which even today obtains in some
states and which requires a man to believe
in an incomprehensible God or an un
known future state before he could be
permitted to tell truth in courts of justice
A recent convention of Catholics in
Europe adopted resolutions demanding
the restoration of temporal power of the
pope in all world Yet the Mormon
church has never gone farther than to ex
press a belief that ultimately the kingdom
of God should be establishedupon earth
but have persistently denied that this I
meant that the leaders of the Mormon
church were by reason of that leader j
ship to be the governing power of the
stateWhen I I
When X remember these things to I
gether with the constant and persistent
attack that is being made upon the con
stitution of the United States and the
liberty of Americans by such organiza
tions as the the National Reform club
the Womens Christian Temperance
union and the Christian clergy generally
when they demand congressional Sunday
legislation and an amendment to the con
stitution by which Congress will compel
the use of the Bible in the public schools
of a state irrespective of the wishes of
the people in that state I cannot be but
profoundly impressed with the fact that
my liberties would be at least as safe
and probably far safer in the hands of a
Mormon state than in the hands of a
Christian state
It does not lie in the mouth of the
Christian masses in other states to play
the Pharisee and say I am holier than
thou to the people of Utah
Statehood belongs to Utah as a matter
of right and no just man appreciating his
own liberty will deny us statehood as a
matter of discretion
A SCHROEDER
A people that will not fight for their
liberties if necessary is unworthy of
them The worst thing that could be
said of the people of Utah is that they are
indifferent to statehood No people have
suffered more from a similar form of gov
ernment than the people of this territory
In many ways they have been forced into
familiarity with the constitution of the
United States and the forms of govern
ment existing under it
So far as the bill of rights is concerned
they have tested it through the courts
and brought about many legal interpreta
tions of its lines It has been a custom
among a majority of the people of Utah
to send abroad yearly large numbers of
young men to different parts
of the earth They have become
familiar with the conditions in other na
tions and the forms of government over
the civilized globe If there is any value
in experience they should know by this
time how liberal a form of government I
the United States offers those that bring
themselves in subjection to itslaws That
they are appreciative of this fact cannot
be denied by those having mingled with
them and heard the expression of their
views after they have returned from their
foreign trips The ideas imbibed by con
tact with other people and other forms of
government have oeen generally dissem
inated among their friends thus enlarjr
ing the views of the young people of this
territory as to the conditions outside of the
United States and begetting in them a
love of the liberties guaranteed under the
constitution of this country
To say that a people reared as have been
the young Mormons of Utah are unqual
ified for the responsibilities of the duties
of statehood is to make an exceedingly
bold declaration and one which the condi
tions of today unqualifiedly contradict
Whatever honest doubt may have existed
in the minds of many opposed to Utahs
admission to statehood and who based
that opposition in the fear that tho rights
of suffrage and of statehood would not be
exercised by the people of the territory
untrammeled by religious influences
must have been dissipated by the results
of the recent election in Utah That there
will always be opposition to statehood
must be an accepted fact as long as there
are offices that can be held by its oppo
nents so long as statehood is withheld
notwithstanding the fact that the general
tendency of the race is towards honesty
in expression as well as in purpose
There undoubtedly exists everywhere a
class which subordinates all purpose to
their selfish designs and Utah is not
wanting in this class If the people of
Utah are to patiently wait the consent of
men who would lose their offices by tho
amission of Utah to statehood we need
never look for the full liberty which is
guaranteed them under the constitution
Is it not the duty of every man who be
lieves the people of Utah to be honest and
capable of government to contend for
statehood manfully and at all times If it
is right that the people should have this
higher liberty it is certainly right that
they should contend for itI and contend
for it until the great triumph is se
cured No genuine friend of Utah who
thinks more of his principle and Jove of
right than of personal conveniences or
selfish designs will withhold his support
from a statehood movement or in any
way seek to lull the people into the belief
that it will come in time and that there
is no hurry for it Certainly none can
base any rational opposition to
it who favored it at a timo
when opposition to the statehood
was allpowerful and when the con
ditions were less favorablea time when
the mind of the people of the United
States was in a much more antagonistic
frame than it is today The question of
expense should not be considered What
we want is the right and I believe it is
right that all the people of Utah whom I
know to be honest as a class and loyal to
their convictions should be granted the
fullest measure of liberty which the con
stitution of the United States provides
Let us have statehood R W SLOAN
A IDEAL WESTERNER
The lush and Enterprise Characteristic of
K 31 Jones
Among the practical inventions of the
age and second to none in importance
are thoso known as electric lighting and
electric railways which stand side by
side among scientific improvements such
as the electric telegraph electric tele
phone and other great trophies which
have been wrested from natures store
house To R M Jones Salt Lake city is
largely indebted for the splendid system
of passenger traffic she now enjoys
though Mr Jones has not confined his
efforts to Salt Lake alone Laramie and
Evanston in Wyoming and Park City
Utah also bear evidence of his push and
enterprise Mr Jones though living in
Salt Lake but a few years is recognized
as of superior ability and a practical me
chanic the many successful plants now
in operation being sufficient evidence to
the truth of this statement He is con
stantly extending his business and it
onlv remains for us to wait but a short
time when Utah and this city particu
larly will be the gainers by his genius
The evergrowing demand for applica
tions of electricity in every branch of our
industries will mark Mr Jones supply
house as one among the leading enter
prises of Salt Lake city His patents
covering many suggestions in the suc
cessful prosecution ot his electrical work
and which have never been furnished hy
other inventors in this particular branch
of the service is too many to enumerate in
detail we only trust that it will be many
years that Salt Lake may take advantage
of his push and pluck He is now turn
ing his attention to electricity as applied
to mining improvements and his success
in this field will be watched with interest
by all in this section He is an ideal
western man and as such comes to us
with all that lays in the memory of that
term The spacious premises the firm
now occupies in the Hooper block 25 E
First South street is well worthy of a
visit to those interested in this particular
branch of industry
A dozen different beers are made in Bor
neo
Coffee grows wild in Arabia and in the
Soudan
The best Roman wines grew on the
Campania
Mead was made from honey and water
fermented
Fiftyvearold Tokay costs Xi5 to 50 a
bottle
Greek wines nearly all turn to vinegar
in summer
Port wine is famous for its goutpro
ducing qualities
II I
JOHN TIERXAN President J H WOODMAN Secretary SAIL H HILL Manager
1 I 1 SaltLakoGity Cunnington Co SaltLako City C t I
II II I I
Dealers in I
I
II I Family Groceries Hardware and Miners Supplies
Always on hand of the first quality a full line of Staple and Fancy Groceries Pro and Snaths Scythe Stones Grind Stones Oil Stones Mrs Potts Sad Irons Granite
I visions Tobacco and Cigars and Tinware the Popular ne and AVestcrn AVasliing Machines lVinmg ers AVasli
II Agents for HoolccrGarrct Steam Pumps AVashingtoii Steam Pumps E K Hayes I i Boards Etc in fact a full and complete assortment of everything usually sold in our I
I Force Pumps Eureka Five Hose Company Howe AVagon and Trade Scales Crescent line We buy our goods direct from first hands for Cash and consequently buy at the II
I
II Steel company Giant Powdor company Clipper Powder company leery Lowest Prices AVe make our customers interests our own AVe can and do sell
I AVe make Builders Hardware a specialty also have a full lino of Rubber Hose pet the Best Goods for the Least Money and are confident we can convince everybody of I 1
I rtl7 iJjtl r I
Lawn Mowers Garden and Hay Rakes Garden Hose Digging and Hay Forks Scythes r w that fact who will give us a trial I
NO 21 EAST FIRST SOUTH STREET HOOPER BUILDING I i
TELEPHONE P O BOX 1466 NO 278 j L y Air C rrNNIN GTO N 00 I
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