Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-03-14
DEsERET EVENING NEWS. MONDAY MARCH IA, 1904.

A
against Mr.. smoot, Is he guilty In any
such secondary way, By incilement or
coiiusion, that lie MAJ propei,y DC oS-
| cluded? This Is a main question now
under investigation.
ITO prove this II must be shown mat
Mr. smoot, as a ruling officer In his
| Church, encourages other people TO
practice an immortality, In the matter
OF polygamy, OF which he Is not him.
self guilty; and 10 this purpose the evil
denoe is now being presented. The pres
| ent head OF the Mormon Church has
been under long examination by the
committee, and he has admitted nearly
everything which the opponents Of Mr..
smoot have charged. While he denies
| that any new polygamous marriages
have taken place unless II may be In
| very rare cases against the law Of the
| Church he confesses that he has him
| self lived and scores OF other old men
have lived, since the admission OF Utah
as a State. In continuous polygamous
| relations with the plural wives whom
| they took before that time. When ask
| ed II that Is not polygamy he said No;
| that polygamy is the taking Of an addi-
! tonal Wife, which he has not done, but
| that II IL polygamous cohabitatlOn.
| When asked II he does not know that
| this IL against the law of Utah, he says
| Yes, but that he felt he must take that
| risk for the peace OF his families. He
| did not think II right to throw OF his
wives and children, and to avoid jeal-
| ousles and friction he must remain In
| husbandly relations 10 his wives. He
has not taught others, he says, to dis
obey the law, but he chose 10 do so
for what he thought good reasons,
while taking no new wives The vast
majority Of his people, he said, are
mOnogamlsts, and the polygamlsts are
dying of, being now old men, and In
few years there viii be none left
This IL very frank statement. IL
admits pretty much all that Is charged
II Is confession that would exclude
Apostle Smith from the Senate, but not
Apostle Smoot II raises question on
which honest moralists may differ The
question whether polygamy or adultery
or murder Is or Is not right ia one that
must be barred from public discussion;
but the question whether those who,
living In polygamous communities, Nor
mons or Moslems or Pagans, have con-
tracted plural marriages, must, on be-
coming Christians, give up all but one
Of their wives. Is one that good mission
aries have differed about A year or
two ago the family OF one OF our In
dams was converted, The old man was
told that before he was received into
the church he must give up one Of his
wives. II was very hard thing to do;
but the old woman took her blanket,
departed 20 live alone, saying that the
younger wife needed his protection and
care more than she did Good moral
lists differed as to whether the right in
structlon was given them. But the
Utah law forblds living in plural mar
riage, az well as plural marriage itself,
and no pluralist has any place in Wash
ington The testimony OF the head Of
the Mormon Church shows that while
the Church. holds that plural marriage
Is In Itself right, and that II was or
dained by revelation to Joseph Smith,
yet the further taking OF plural wives
Is now forbidden, while the continuance
OF plural relations with those previously
taken Is winked at, but not taught.
so far no evidence mas appeared on
this line to exclude Mr.. Smoot.
But another line OF testimony Is be-
Ing prepared, that which will show, II
possible, that Mormons are under such
bonds to obey their Church that they
are not free to be good citizens Of their
country-that Is, that the authorities
of the Church rule and control the po-
litlcal action Of their members, so that
Al man has no right 10 accept a political
office except By permission OF the Apos-
ties OF the Church. II Is recalled that
Mr.. Thatcher was excluded from the
Mormon Church for acting politically
against the Church irprdeIsf 1t has
been asserted that there are oaths TAX.
en- which are reasonable For this We
await the further evidence. Thus far
nothing has been proved that Is likely
TO show that loyal Mormon may not
also be loyal citizen, unless he be liv.
Ing polygamous life, Practically the
question before the Senate Is whether
any Mormon can be member Of that
body. Must that Mormon State be rep
resented only by a Gentle? Much as
we despise and detest Mormonlsm, we
must wait further evidence that
Mormon cannot be admitted to Con-
gress,"