Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-02-10
DEsEREr EVENING NEWS. TUESDAY FEBRUARY 10, 1908

, mnnlsm, and not TO Amerlcanism.
Furthermore, what man has not
thought at times that this or that law
| Ia wrong? Is not that written by the
editor every day In the year, and Is II
not preached from the stump and in
the very temples Of worship? Are not
all OF the great reform movements, the
temperance cause, the woman's suf-
frage cause, and all Of the proposed
laws for the betterment OF humanity
founded upon the absolute statement
that present laws are wrong and VIC
lous? Did the present temperance
worker kill a saloon-keeper the suf-
fragist arm herself and attempt to
shoot her way to the ballot box, she
then would be an anarchist, and did
Reed smoot follow the example or
Roberts and form polygamous alli-
nGces, he then would be an anarchist,
but so long as one believes a thing -
right. though others believe II Is
wrong. and that IL the sole charge
which may be brought against him. he
may take n seat In the senate, or In
sny other assembage Of his fellow cit
i2ens, and find men at either elbow less
worthy than he.
III was In the declaration OF INDIE
pondence that our forefathers declared
that men are endowed by their Gre
ator with certain inalienable rights
and the Constitution calls a halt only
when any one individual insists upon
his rights TO interpret the Divine Mes
sages In his own way. and claim such
rights as may be looked upon with
favor by society in general, for further
along In that same Declaration, the
king is taken TO task for having re-
fused 10 assent 10 laws the most whole
some and necessary for the public
good. II that is all that could be re-
Qulred OF a monarch, could more be
asked Of a plain, and apparently honest
and loyal citizen like Reed Smooth
THE verdict Of all fair-minded men
must be that the charge against Smoot
contains his vindlcation, that the
statement that he is a aw-breaker be-
cause he believes IN things abhOITent to
his felowmen. but that out Of re-
spect for the laws, he has refralned
from exercising those privileges which
b., believes are granted to him by MS
God, marks him not as n laW-breaker.
nor az dlsloyal subject. but as q man
whose respect for the laws and the
opinions OF his fellow-cltizens Is most
commendable."
The New York Evening Sun quotes
Mr.. W. p. o'Meara OF this city, and
briefly comments rs follows;
ION the one hand we have Cardinal
Gibbons declaring that the present free
dom OF divorce Is worse than polygamy,
on the other we find lot Of enthusiasts
insisting that the Constitution De
amended so that the president may not
be embarrassed by the seating OF the
duly elected new Senator from Utah.
Yet the Hon. Reed smoot, while a Nor
mon Apostle, has not and never has had
more than one wife. Mr.. w. r. O'Meara,
a substantial Gentle OF Salt Lake city
says OF Mr. Smoot: He Is an earnest
ohurchman, I'll admit, but he Is honest,
intelligent and Industrious As an Apos-
tie OF the Mormon Church he lives his
religion as an Apostle should, but he is
not an advocate OF polygamy and never
has been No public man IN all Utah
has more friends among the Gentiles
than he. From my point of view Reed
SmOot win acqult himself with credit
In the United States Senate. He has
lived an upright, moral life. His word
Is better than the bonds OF most OF his
detrac,ors would be In business trans
action. am a Gentle and a believer
in fair play Reed smoot is Mormon
and believer in fair play He Is not
a radical In anything, and all the hue
and cry raised In Utah comes from few
disappointed Office seekers and from
men who are never happy unless they
are exercising their hammers on the
regulations OF men who outclass them
IN everything that goes to make q good
citizen. such as Reed Smoot IS so
that. quite apart from the difficulty OF
amending the Constitution, the defend
crs of sound morality might find a bet
ter use for their energy than by trying
10 interfere with the right of a state
TO choose a man 70 represent It In the
Senate"