Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-02-02

abstractly, without qualification. Is ask
ing them 10 do a possible wrong and
injustice, II Smoot Is disqualified for
any reason a seat should be denied
him; II not any senator who votes
against him through political, partisan
or religious prejudice, should himself
be unseated,"
The Spokane Spokesman Review ar
CUES In this way under the heading OF
on Dangerous Ground"
THE senate committee on privileges
and elections determined yesterday TO
enter upon an investigation OF the
charges against Senator Smoot Of Utah.
\ resolution Will be introduced giving
the committee power to send for Wit
nesses and documents and there Is ev-
cry probability that the case Will be as
long drawn out as II is useless
The recent reply Of Senator Smoot
TO the charge made against him
strengthened his position before the
country, and II IL not easy 10 see how
the senate committee Will be able to
discover anything that warrants rec
ommendatl0n for expulsion. Smoot de-
MES that he has more than one wife or
that he ever had more than one wife,
he also denies that there Is anything In
the creed or tenets OF his Church which
require him to acknowledge the author
ity OF the Church as above or In conflict
with the laws of the United States.
The charge Of polygamy having been
abandoned. there Is really nothing more
serious brought against Senator Smoot
than that ne II Mormon, The inyesti-
CATION, therefore, must be one into re.
ligious beliefs, and the senate Is getting
on dangerous ground when Il begins TO
NEEDLE with a mans religion. Smoot
has taken an oath 20 support the Con-
stitutlon and the laws and says there
Is nothing In his creed that will prevent
his respecting that oath. There Is.
therefore, no more lawful reason for de-
prlylng him OF his seat because he Is a
Mormon than there would be for GUST
ing man because he Is q Methodist, q
Jew or a Catholic. Senator SmOot has
broken no laws, he was fairly elected
By the people Of Utah and his religious
belief Is no more the business of the
senate or the American people than Is
the religious belief of Senator Ankeny
or Senator Foster"
The following Is from thoughtful
editorial in the Portland (Oregon) Tele-
gram:
From surface indications II would
appear that so far az the protest
against Reed Smoot serving the State
OF Utah In the United States Senate
has progressed, that gentleman has
rather the best OF the situation. His OPP
ponents have based their case mainly
on two charges, the one that he IL a
polygamlst and the other that as an
Apostle of the Mormon Church he Is
bound In honor and by solemn obllga.
tons which may conflict with his loyal
~ 20 the government and the discharge
OF his duty IS a United States Senator.
AS 20 the establishment OF the latter
charge, there Is the possibility OF sena-
torial investigation that vii. disclose
the actual attitude OF the Mormon
Church toward the federal government,
although Il Is contended by the parti-
sans OF the latter that the Senate has
no right to make inquiry as to the char
acter Of church obligations.
"Mr, Smoot, the main party In inter-
est, has announced, as an Apostle OF
the Church, that In no sense does II en-
courage the violation OF the federal law
and on this as on the charge OF polyg-
amy his challenge to show 20 the con-
trary amounts practically 10 an invita-
ton for investigation, Just what ac-
ton the Senate viii take In the matter
Is difficult TO determine. IL would ap-
pear that unless n case was made
against the Utah senator in this mat
ter Of conflicting allegiance between
church and state there Is little hone for
the success Of his opponents, from the
fact that on the charge OF polygamy he
enters a most direct and positive de-
NAL. and the further fact that the in
vestigation so far has failed TO adduce
evidence that he has lived other than n
blameless life from a moral and legal
standpoint"
Under the title OF why the Eggs
Would not Hatch humorous item
from the New York Tribune IL being
copied into Northwestern journals we
give place 10 1t here for what II il
worth"
Senator Reed Smoot is the manager
OF the Provo Wooden Mills Of Utah,
and in the town Of Provo there lives an
aged vegetarian with whom Mr.. Smoot
often argues vegetarlanlsm warmly
THE old man one day attacked Mr.,
Smoot with more than usual yehe-
mence.
81 don't merely tell you he ex-
planned, that you should not eat meat.
/ go so far as to tell YOU, sir, that you
should not eat eggs.
"'Oh come the other said, you are
growing fanatical now. Not eat eggs?
What harm Is there I'm eggs?
""rhis harm cried the old vcgetar-
lam eggs change into meat, hatch into
meat, and therefore they are meat
1.-THE kind OF eggs ! eat wouldn't
hatch into meat said Mr.. Smoot,
"'0h yes, they would, said the vege-
tartan.
81 say they wouldn't, insisted the
other.
Why wouldn't they? Tell me why
they wouldn't" said the old man,
Because, said Mr. Smoot I eat
them boiled, not raw "