The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1904-03-05
MORM0Ns WOULD
DEFEND FAITH
And The Principles of Polyg-
amy if it We're Pab-
liGly Attacked

washington, March 4.-PreSident JOS
f. Smith of the Mormon church was
called to the stand by Senator Hoar at
the opening of today's proceedings be-
fore the senate committee on privileges
and elections in the investigation of
protests against Senator heed Smoot
of Utah.
Senator Hoar desired information on
the subject of the rights of women in
/, the church and whether they hold any
priestly authority.
Mr.. Smith said women are regard
er as equals of the men in all matters
of voting, but that in holding priest
| ly authority" women are not regard
ed on the same plane.
Reading from the Deseret News of
June 23, 1903, regarding a speech By
Mr.. Smith at the Weber Stake reunion,
Mr. Taylor asked Mr.. Smith If he was
correctly reported in saying that the
doctrine of plural marriages was a
revelation by God to Joseph Smith. Jr.,
and to reject that would be equivalent
| to rejection of God Himself.
Mr.. Smith believed he was correct
| ly reported and when a list of names
of those present, including Senator
Smoot, was read, Mr.. Smith said the
list was correct.
He declared that he would not have
had the article published If he had
been consulted.
Pressed for a reason he said that he
was under injunction not to teach the
rightfulness of polygamy and that he
had refrained from so doing in pub
| lie.
| Mr.. Smith said he had avoided teach
ing polygamy but that the manifesto
| had not in any manner changed his
convictions on the questions of plural
marriages.
| Senator Beveridge desired to know
whether the church considered that the
| laws were being obeyed when poly
gamous cohabitation had continued
since the manifesto of $780, and Chair
| man Burrows made the question more
| personal. He said:
! You have said today that you We're
obeying the laws in not teaching poly
mulgated Do you think you were OBJ
eying the law in having eleven children
| from different mothers since that
| timer"
! II obey the law so far as teaching Is
| concerned. have not said that I have
obeyed the law in my practice. A
have said before l preferred to take
/ 49,
! to abandon my plural families. Poly
| gamy has not been taught in the
| church by any of the officials. The
| church has obeyed the laws, even If ]
have not" said Mr.. Smith.
| Mr.. Smith called for a copy of the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and
read a part of the revelation, whic h
he said has been accepted in the ma
ture of permission to take plural wives
and was not mandatory upon the mem
| bers of the church.
| Other passages from the same revel-
alton were read. particularly the por
! tions which prescribe the manner of
taking more than one wife. 1t was set
| forth that If one wanted to espouse
| second virgin he could do so by OBJ
| tanning the consent of the first, but
/ that if that consent of the fist was
withheld he was at liberty to proceed
without 1t. 1t is set forth also that
where the first refuses consent to
share her husband with another wo-
man she would be destroyed"
| Senator Ovelman asked Mr. Smith
If he knew whether any of the six
polygamist apostles had disobeyed the
law in regard to polygamous cohabita
ton since the manifesto of 1S9.
Il do not know" answered Mr.
/ Smith.
Il only know that they were In the
same status of polygamy at the time
of the manifesto as | was myself. !
do not pry into the family affairs.
am happy to say that am not spot
ter or an informer I am not paid
spy"
| "Yet you might without being a paid
! spy" persisted Senator Overman.
| II know nothing about it. AS l have
said before l am not spotter on
words spotter and infromer were hiss
| cd rather than spoken.
| Neither am l a paid spotter or in
| former" retorted Senator Overman.
yet / know that in my town people
have children. | think you might an
swer that question without using the
words "spotter" and "informer" in that
manner
II beg the senator's pardon" the
witness responded.
Senator Dubois asked several ques
tions directed TO determine the cor
rectness of the statements that not
more than three or four per cent OF
the Mormons were polygan1ists. and
said he believed he could show that