Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-04-23
UNRELIABLE REPORTS.


There Is stlll great interest felt by
many readers OF tho daily papers, In
the case now before the Senate COM
mlttee on privileges and elections The
inquiry seems to have been entirely d.
yerted from the right Of Senator Smoot
TO retain his seat and to be devoted to
an endeavor to convince the Mormon
Church Of certain alleged offences
The press reports on this phase OF
the investigation were, at first, given In
such detail that the reader was able to
form his own opinion as to the re-
levancy and effect OF the testimony
But the latest accounts are more In the
nature Of comments and deductions
than accounts OF the evidence, and so
we will probably have to walt until the
official stenographic report Is published,
before we can decide as to the tenor
and rational result OF the statements
made by witnesses,
Some OF the conclusions arrived at by
the reporters II the testimony are evil
IDENTIFY strained. and the alleged state
ments on which they are predlcated
must have beeen but partially under
stood. Until We know exactly what the
witness stated, we had better reserve
Judgment as TO It's correctness or other
wise. For instance II Is not probable
that Il was shown that the Church
controlled IN civil as well as lecclesiast-
teal AFFAIRS as stated in the dispatches,
nor that two teachers In Mormon
churches and schools were deposed
from their ecclesiastical authority be-
cause their political preferences were
not approved by the Church The "po-
lltical preferences Of teachers or
others In the Church have never been
alleged against them, or acted upon 10
their injury In any way no matter what
anybody MAY assert or imagine, and
such charge certainly could not be
supported by evidence.
The endeayors Of some special cor
RESPONDENTS at Washington to color
their reports to suit the papers they
write for or the popular bias, receives
illustration In q dispatch that appears
in the San Francisco Call OF April 90
Among other misstatements are these:
"Only Gentle witnesses have put In
an appearance and those officers OF the
Mormon Church who are expected 10
give important evidence on the ques-
ton OF the continued practice or po-
lygamy are IN hiding
president Smith OF the Mormon
Church when he appeared before the
committee, said that he would see 10
II that all Mormon officials whose tesu-
mony was desired would be present
when wanted,
There is more In u similar vein, but
this is sufficient to show the value OF
such tel. sraphed Information CD.
Everybody who has followed the pro-
ceedings must have seen that nearly
all the witnesses in the case so far
have been "Mormons.' In the first part
OF the Investigation, out Of twelve Wit
nesses who put in an appearance
and testified, two only were Gentlles;
namely. CrltChlow and Hlles In the
second or present part, only one out Of
four witnesses who have put In an APP
pearance' is a Gentle; the other three
are go well known throughout the ma
ton as prominent "Mormons, that 1t
would seem the statement Of the Can
correspondent is something far worse
than blunder
Now az to che hiding part Of the
Call story The fact that three OF the
gentlemen who were wanted at Wash
ington are seriously IN, has been placed
beyond q doubt and we believe the
committee are fully convinced Of that
There are only two who have been In
formed OF the desire for their appear
ance who have declined to put them-
selves In the way Of n subpoena, But
It Is poor guess that they are I'm
hiding" there IL nothing 10 prove the
assertion They have frankly stated
their dlslncllnuton 10 parade before
the country their marital relations, ana
after the course of the committee In
probing the personal affairs Of Angus
NJ. Cannon, we Judge that the two gem
tlemen referred TO win not be In any
way encouraged to voluntarily put IN
an appearance
II Is equally untrue that President
Smith made any such promise as that
alleged in the CAL story We have pub.
lIshed in full the colloquy between
President Smith and Mr., Tayler on that
matter President Smith was not on the
witness stand when the conversation
occurred, lie had been formally ex-
Cused and discharged Then Mr.. Tay-
Ter asked whether Mr. Smith could get
into communication with any OF these
Apostles who have been subpoenaed
and have not been reached" lie re-.
piled Il presume | could find them IN
time, Mr. Taylcr ! do not know how
soon ] could find them Asked to give
their names Mr., Tayler repled John
W. Taylor George Teasdale, NJ. r..
Cowley John Henry Smith" 1t was
shown that Messrs, Smith and Teasdale
were very I'LL and Mr. Tayler replied.
'of course man who is physically In
capable OF coming or whose health