Arizona republican., 1904-05-03
Ii However Called Shoot
 Committee Together
JUST" "JOSHFD" GFNIILES
A Young Mormon Who Told a Story of Plural Marriage by President Smith and Was Summoned to Washington Where He Denied the Truth ofIt.

former president of the Salt Lake | stake of the Mormons in Utah, travelled l from Salt Lake to Washington 70 in- | form the senate committee on privi- leges and elections that he had per ! jured himself in informing prominent Gentiles in Utah thaG President Joseph 1 z. Smith of the Mormon church had | performed plural marriage ceremonies. l ! Cannon, Jr., was a witness iD the | Shoot investigation. He said he had ! told false stories in regard to President ! Smith marrying his cousin, Abram II. | Cannon, to Lillian Ramlin, q fourth wife His only excuse was he had | been drinking and conceived the idea that to tell such a story would be q good joke on the gentiles referred to, "as anything against the Mormons tickled them ali over" The members of the senate commit tee on privileges and elections receiv- ed a communication scverc; days ago from F. B. Critchlow, of Salt Lake. to the effect that Cannon would go on the : stand and testify that Ablam H. Can non and Lillian Hamlin were married or the higl seas between Los Angeles and the Catalina Islands. and that President Joseph F. Smith, of the
 
 mony. Critchiow stated that Angus N. Canron, Jr., had said he was pres ellt and witnessed the ceremony Con- scquently arrangements were made for the meeting today.
 After the witness had been sworn he was questioned by Mir. Taylor. consul \ for the prosecution, in regard to the incident. The witness said that he knew Abram H. Cannon intimately IS they had been associated together in business. He said that Abram had three wives at the time of his death in the fall of 1896, but that there was an other wife he kneV about. He gave the names of the three wives as . Sarah M. Jenkins, Wilhe!:nina Cannon, sister of the witness, and Mary E. Croxalls ARraIA Cannon had children by all Of them.
 Did you know Abram to associate with a woman called Lillian HamIin" "' asked MT, Taylor.
 T knew he took her riding. He used my buggy
 Did you know he was engaged to her?"
 l. He did not say anything about that He said she had been engaged to his brother David, who died on a mis- Sion to Germany. ! never heard him say that he was engaged to her.
 Did you tell E. E. Wilson of Salt Lake that you saw Abram Cannon and Lillian HamIin married?"
 I think I did tell him."
 The witness stated tha. WiisCn is well known in SGlt Lake, is cashier of the Commercial National bank, and a gentleman of high standing. In response to questions, he answered . with the briefest of admissions It was drawn from the witness that he had told Wilson within the last two weeks
 that in 1896 in Los Angeles ten OF twelve people chartered a vessel for , Catalina island and that in the party
 in addition to himself. were Joseph F.
 Smith and one of his wives: Aoram U.
 Cannon and his wife, Wilhelmina, sis . ter Of the witness; a man named Lang | ford and Lillian Hamlin. After the boat had gone some distance from Los l Angeles. the members of the party
 with two or three exceptions, retired to
 the cabin, and there Joseph H. Smith married Cannon and Lillian Ham.in
 The witness said that after his sister,
 Cannon's second wife heard what was
 going on, she "got angry anI left the
 cabin" The witness said that late in the day of which he had told the story
 to Wilson he met Mir Critchlow and MT.
 Wilson ana he repeated substantially the same story.
 When asked how he happened to tell the story in regard to the marriage, the witness said: Well, I had read the
 testimony which Smith gave in Wash ington, and I told Wilson knew Smith did know of polygamous marriages since the manifesto, because he had performed one himself.''
 MT. Taylor also drew from the wit ness the fact that he also telephoned Perry Heath and made an appointment at the office of the Salt Lake Tribune at which he told MT. Heath the same story he had related to Messrs. Critch- ! low and Wilson The witness in reply to questions by 3 Senator McComas, said he i.ad been drinking when he told the story about the marriage on sle boat and he did is as a joke on Critchlow and Wilson, who wanted to see the MorIuons get the worst of it. He said .he had never thought that the story would go far enough to result in his being sub pOenaed to Washington. When the subpoena was served, he said he told his brother-in-Iaw that what he had been telling was hot air. and ha asked him to go to Wilson and Critch- low and have the subpoepaes with drawn.
 Was it all hot air about Laagford
 and the others mentioned being or the
 hoat?" asked Senator McCOn'as. The : witness answered that he thought he
 had given the facts right about the marriage. but that he had not been present. He was asked if he thought
 the joke was a good one on his dead
 cousin and the others he had drawn in
 tc the tale, and with some bitterness
 ke answered: Well. I was thinking
 about Joseph H. Smith more than any