Arizona republican., 1902-12-01
PHOENIx, ARIZONA DEC. 1, 1902.
A Clear Road For Apostle Shoot.

The clamor which has been raised all over the country against the election of Apostle Reed Smoot of the Mormon church to the United States senate from Utah, is not likely to have any practical result The apostles election appears to be as certain as anything can be. The Salt Lake Herald, which opposes MT. Smoot, says:
 A good working majority of the in coming legislature is pledged to Apostle Shoot for United States senator. The men composing that majority were Smoot men before they were elected, their constituents voted them into of flee with the distinct understanding that they would support the apostle, and they will not be true to their pledges, actual and implied, unless they do vote for Apostle Shoot.
 'The ministerial alliance may pass resolutions every day from now until the legislature gathers in biennial ses- sion; it may make each resolution hot ter than the preceding one and all hot ter than the exceedingly sultry ebulli- tion published in the Herald yester- day, but we do not believe the predes- tined and fore-ordained result will be affected thereby"
 It is not claimed we believe, that the apostle is now a polygamist; the con tentfon being, merely, that he approves it as one of the tenets of his religion. This being the case, efforts to unseat him in the senate will be just as fruit less as the efforts now making 10 pre- vent his selection by the Utah legisla- ture. The probable attitude of the senate is thus outlined by the Wash ington correspondent of the Chicago Record Herald:
 If the clergymen of Utah prevent Mormon Apostle Smoot from taking ! seat in the United States senate it must be done in the legislature of that state. because if he is fairly elected his certificate will be recognized, no matter whether he is a Mormon or a Hindu or MOhammedan. The United States senate does not go behind the returns. except to ascertain whether men who apply for d seat in that body are lawfully elected. Their morals, re- ligion and other personal traits and IeDuLdIlOnS are never QueSIlOHeQ- II a red Indian or a Chinaman should come to the door with certificate of election he would be admitted. Moth ing a man has done before his election is ever considered as a disqualifica- tion. and if the evangelical churches think they can keep Apostle SmoOt out of the body as they drove Elder Rob- erts out of the house of representatives they are very much mistaken. How ever cOmmendable the action of the house in the Roberts case may have been. it was entirely illegal, and 90 per cent of the men who voted to turn him out realized that they were doing wrong. It was a recognition of the moral sentiment of the country, which one of the most vigorous opponents or Roberts declared was higher than the constitution of the United States. But the senate is not affected by clamOr and if Shoot is fairly elected ali peti- tiOns for his expulsion will be sent to the storeroom unnOticed.
 Not long ago a seat in the senate was occupied by the defaulting teller of q Washington bank, who was born and brought up in this city, and whose family lived here. The people he had robbed protested against his admission but the committee of privileges and elections reported that his election was regular, and his certificate was in proper form, and that was the end of it."