Goodwin's weekly : a thinking paper for thinking people. [volume], February 14, 1903, Image 1

About Goodwin's weekly : a thinking paper for thinking people. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1902-1929

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Goodwin's Weekly. 1
Vol- II. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, FEBRUARY 14, 1903. No. 14. ' ipH
C. C. GOODWIN. Editor.
J. T. GOODWIN, - - - - Manager.
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A PARTIAL REVIEW.
The cry of the Latter Day Saints that they
have been followed by persecution from the first,
is and has been a slander upon the generous peo
ple of the United States for sixty years. There has
been no more disposition or desire to persecute
or oppress Mormons than there has been to op
press any other class of people; there has been
the same desire to live in peace with the Mor
mons that there has with all other people. But
from the first there have been two ruling pas
sions with them, one, to be a law unto them
selves without regard to the laws of the Repub
lic, the other a thirst for political power as a
I means to the end of "building up this kingdom,"
with the settled purpose beneath all to eventually
substitute for the free government of this coun
try, a government modeled on Asiatic forms,
where the only liberty granted to the people is
the liberty to obey. Of course there have been
clashings, there always will be clashings until
this determination is relinquished or until all
political power shall be struck from Mormon
hands. It was a dangerous experiment to elect
Reed Smoot a Senator of the United States.
The News foreshadows what he will do when he
reaches Washington. He will declare that he is
an American citizen and that the Mormon church
as a church, is entirely out of politics. Every
one familiar with the facts will know that this is
lot true, because he cannot, while an apostle,
of the Mormon church, give any such fealty to
the government of the United States, as he has
sworn to give to this political government within
the government of the United States called the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. By
this we do not mean a spiritual kingdom beyond
tiie grave, but a temporal, political kingdom in
this world which aims at nothing less than the
eentual overthrow ot the government "of the
Iple by the people, and for the people," framed
hy the immortals of 1787. As to the other state
ment that the Mormon church as a church is out
of Politics, it is enough to say that the absolute
control of the Mormon church is in Its priesthood
heginr.lng with the First Presidency and running
flown through all the lower grades of priests, and
k$t summer all these save the First Presidency,
ere active in the nomination and election of men
ho were bound to vote for Reed Smoot for,
united States Senator. We all know, too, that
tiie inspiration for all the work came from the'
irst Presidency. It was sufficient to make whole
neighborhoods of people vote a ticket which, had
they been left to themselves, they would have
fought up to the hour when the polls closed.
Again, Apostle Smoot will repeat his claim of
a great love for the Constitution of the United
States. We all in Utah know what that means.
It was seized upon in Nauvoo as supplying full
protection to all men to do what they pleased
to do, if they but claimed their act to be a sac
rament commanded by their religion. They nev
er would admit that religious liberty was like
all other forms of liberty in enlightening coun
tries liberty under the law. In clinging to this
and in fear of the priesthood, hundreds of them
suffered terms of imprisonment rather than to
promise to obey the laws of the United States, or,
perhaps more properly speaking, rather than
promise to cease defying those laws, and we sus
pect the adherence would have been clung to yet,
if there had not been a bill introduced into Con
gress to disfranchise all members of the sect.
That brought the qualified manifesto put out by
President Woodruff, which brought the further
promise that henceforth all Mormons should be
absolutely politically free, and that brought state
hood. That was clung to for a little while and
there were no happier people under the flag than
the Mormons in Utah. But the high priests could
not bear to see their ancient power In the least
abridged and the old priestly rule began to be in
sidiously restored.
This year it has culminated in the election of
an apostle to a senatorship. It is right up against
the senate now to say whether this broken faith
shall be rewarded by giving him a seat or not.
We do not believe that Apostle Smoot will be
seated, or if seated in the United States Senate
that he will be able to hold his seat. The debate
in the Senate last week was an indication. What
will thrust him out will be his devotion to some
thing which is a menace to free institutions. The
only place where Mormanism ever had undisputed
sway was in Utah during the first few years of
Mormon occupancy here.
The government then was a pure theocracy.
That is the government was Brigham Young and
no one ever thought of questioning his perfect
right to rule. If only Mormons were here now
the government would be Joseph F. Smith. When
confronted with this in the Senate Apostle Smoot
will be forced to admit that it Is true. When he
does then it will suddenly dawn upon the Sen
ate that there is in Utah an imperi' n,'in imperio,
a government within the government of the Unit
ed States which lacks only the power to push our
republic aside and on its ruins to establish the
despotism of a church which does not mince mat
ters, but which claims that it is the government
of God, through his priesthood, and which, of
course, is the only legitimate of earthly govern
ments. When the Senate of the United States
fully realizes that fact, we do not believe that
it will permit an ambassador of that government
to hold a seat as Senator of the United States.
Then, in considering the case of Smoot, the poly
gamy feature of this centralized government in
Utah will have its effect. Of course no one can
under our laws, be punished for a belief, but
there is much more to this matter. The revela
tion, so-called, of polygamy, is held as a revela
tion from God, it is to all Mormons a fundamental
doctrine. It has been suspended, not recalled. 'VB
Should President Smith declare tomorrow that i!!
the suspension was over, that the doctrine was i I f HH
henceforth to be as binding as ever, Reed Smoot , iH
would have to accept it, and were President '''V'iB
Smith to deliver to him an ultimatum to become t
a polygamist or give up his apostleship, Reed !lj"fH
Smoot would have to obey, which proves that his vVM
first allegiance is not to the country in which he ft jl
was born and which has drawn its protection '''l&S :iM
around him since his cradle was first rocked. ' 'ifH
We pointed out the danger of electing Apostle l$iM
Smoot to the Senate and besought the church rvf'l
chiefs not to do it. We tell them now that his '! :l
demand for a seat in the Senate will imperii the Irfli'B
standing of every Mormon's citizenship, for the K.JH
people of this country are being stirred to the r'Mwfl
depths over this attempt to push Into the Senate ' 1 Jsfl
a man who holds another government as more pjL$B
binding upon him than the government under I VffM
which he was born. tlsMB
Reed Smoot has been brought up from child- f'ffliU
hood to believe that Jesus Christ when on earth &If !1H
was a polygamist. That fact alone will mightily fliifj ill
prejudice his case before the Senate of the Unit- I fli itfl
ed States, and when coupled with it is the fact ffj JH
that, despite his oath as Senator, Reed Smoot S H
holds a command of Joseph F. Smith as more ,P H
binding upon him than any law or all the laws 1 f f1 BH
of the United States, the natural result will be 1 1$ f
that he will be denied a seat. It would be better l J' - lM
for him and for the prestige of his creed, could Vl $
he be ordered away on a mission before the fourth tJl'H
of March. i 1H
With councilmen who could not run a peanut i'.ti'H
stand, and a walking delegate for a fire chief, It 13 N$IIM
a wonder that Providence and bull luck didn't quit ii'SH
long ago, and let the city burn up. LM'I
THE SCHOOLMASTER. il'fl
A series of papers from the pen of Herbert !f
George Wells on "The Man-making Forces of the IUIiIH
Modern State" are running through the Cosmo- UJ H
politan. A strange make-up must be Mr. Wells. LV
There is nothing In. the schools that suits him. ;H
He declares that "the interpretation of art "and l !rjH
literature by schoolmasters is stupid imperil- I'f
nence;" Indeed, he Is not suited with anything. I 'tjjfjM
Neither with the schools, the churches, nor with f'B
the public opinion which, after all, Is the chief ITlil
controlling power of a free nation. SlMH
His remedies for everything will probably be 1PHHI
given later, unless after he has them all prepared, fl&'lH
he may himself fall upon them and rend them. ' I Tlfj H
It is a little cheeky for the average schoolmas- filial
ter to point out what, in his judgment, are defects fi II
either In great paintings, rare sculpture or music; OillM
such teachers would not dare undertake to criti- W j ' H
else a speech written in a language that they flfliH
could not read but they never think that the I Ell I
painting, the sculpture or th music may each ifJH
have a language as well as a spoken oration, a JM
language which they can no more understand ' or If b
comprehend than Ihey could an oration spoken j$ jH
in Chinese. All such a teacher can do Is to (P SHJ
judge by comparison with something he has seen I.4H
or heard and what he says is liable to be a 'bur- f filfl
lesque. IfflKliH
But then there is redemption, nevertheless. BHB
A physician Is called to see a person that is Mi wSIBh
He prescribes his remedies, the 'person Tecoverl sSfflBfH