Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07

| good forehead. His face is rather broad.
and the features have the ruggedness of
| one who has borne hardships. The eyes are
gray, with an unexpected flash in them
| when he is pleased or angry. One who has
seen him under the stress of strong emo
| tions would call his temperament san
guIne. and perhaps accuse him of a ten
| dency to hasty action in excitement. Even
| his enemies-aud he has many-cuncede his
| leadership IN this state an orator. He
| got the most of his early education at the
| State University, and has supplemented il
since by constant study ard travel He has
written much on the theology Of his church,
and varied it by newspaper work.
A Marked Personality.
In conversation Mr.. Roberts is earnest.
his voice strikingly smooth and well modu-
lated, and he is too serious to appreciate q
joke much. Put him In a dress suit, crop
his hair and introduce him in a Washington
drawing room and ii would be long odds
that he would attract favorable attention.
His voice might betray the boyhoOd spent
in England, for no such smooth, resonant
tone ever had it's early cultivation in the
dry air of the mountains.
One incident Is characteristic enough to
show the mans courage. A mob had MUIR
dered two Mormon missionaries in Tennes-
see. Roberts was in charge of all the
southern missions. with headquarters at
Chattanooga. Disgusting himself as a
tramp he Ventured into the region where
the murder was committed, although he
q
rope and a tree for him. He recovered the
bodies of the murdered men and made his
way back to headquarters in safety.
So much for the personality of the man.
His political rise began when he made
noteworthy speech in opposition to woman
suffrage during the session of the state
constitutional convention. Both the ma
tional parties were committed to suffrage
in their state conventions. and few of the
members of the convention cared to an
tagonize their party declarations. Roberts
position raised storm, but he was backed
by his own constituents. whether they
agreed with him on this one question or
not He was beaten finally I'm the conven-
ton, but accepted the result and now
stands committed to vote for suffrage leglS-
lation in Congress because the state has
adopted it.
His First Nomination.
The next step was nomination for Con-
gress on the democratic ticket in 1898. The
campaign was fierce, and at its height the
leaders of the Mormon church issued
manifesto which in effect was a notice TO
their people that Roberts had ignored his
church obligations when he accepted the
nomination without taking counsel with
his co-laborers. The democratic leaders
Roberts among them, in a reassembled
state convention. charged that this mani
festo ii clear case Of ecclesiastical in
reference in state affars-a violation of
the state and federal constitutions. Wheth-
ct the WIS true OF not, fSODSrIS WAS
defeated. 1t is worth while in this connec-
ton to notice that the question of Roberts
domestic relations was not raised once dur
ing that campaign, although the Utah peo-
pie knew much about those relations
then as they do now.
The attitude taken by Roberts on the re-
lations of church and state, together with
some of his uttCrances, was followed by q
liberal dose of church discipline He was
sent east on a mission. and after two years
was recalled to take charge Of the church
Sunday school organ, called the Juvenile
Instructor. He was still Serving in this ca
pacity when he was nominated last Sep
TENDER.
Charges Against Him.
The campaign had barely opened when
his opponents sprung the charge that he
had more than one wife and was living in
active polygamy. The assertion that one
of his plural wives had recently borne him
twins formed the basis of cartoons cam
paign songs and speeches innumerable. To
all the repetitions of the charge Roberts
made no public reply, not even an allusion
until three days before the campaign clos
ed. when the governor of the state him
self the son of a polygamist, declared pub
licly that Roberts election would be a
calamity. Roberts reply to this declara-
ton was signed interview, which has sell
dom been equaled in this western country
for its classic English and savage inyec-
tive.
The returns on election day showed that
mary Mormon democrats, affected by the
governors suggestion, had voted against
Roberts. On the other hand, in Salt Lake
City and in the mining camps numerous
non Mormons voted for Roberts, and MANY
republicans refused to vote at all because
of the weakness of their candidate
1t has been asserted by some of the most
influential non-Mormons in the community
the ministers association. for example, |
that the election of Roberts forebodes a re- |
turn TO the old system of plural marriages:
that the seating of the representative-elect |
would strengthen the Mormons in their de- |
termination to defy national opinion In this /