Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-01-28

bois are the only, what may be called
regular attendants, and often Burrows
has it all to himself For three or four
days Knox, Beverage and Bailey
were not seen at all, while Overman
strolled in for few minutes occasion
ally. When it became known last
Friday mornig that Senator Smoot was
about to take the stand, Chairman
Burrows caused the absent members
of the committee to be specially noti-
fed and cessation of proceedings oc-
Cured until they arrived. There was
an influx of loungers from the corri-
doris and for the first time in many
days the room was crowded. Senator
Smoot made an excellent witness. He
was candid, lucid and precise in his
answers, and as the Washington Post
put it, "withstood admirably the cross
examination of Mr.. Tayler and the in
sidious questions Of nearly every mem
Der of the committee"
AS a rule the proceedings are of
go as you please kind, with no more
dignity than is found in the court of
the average justice of the peace. The
witnesses and Attorney Tayler often
get into heated arguments and the
rules of evidence as applied in courts
of justice are conspicuous by their alb
sence. There is, moreover, studied,
planned and well maintained effort to
prevent the real facts in the case from
being brought out, that is, the facts as
to the why and the wherefore of the
entire proceedings Neither the COM
mittee nor the attorneys on either side
want it to be brought out that Senator
Kearns bought his senatorship four
years ago; that he obtained the &C.
clesiastical influence of the late Presi-
dent Snow; that he and Perry Heath
sought the ecclesiastical influence of
President Smith and were denied it;
that they begged for it, licked the
boots of the present president of the
church, cajoled, and finally threatened
that unless they got the church infiu-
ence they sought Senator Kearns, with
his money and his newspapers, would
bring such trouble on the president
and the Mormon people as they never
had experienced BEFORE that they ut
terly failed to get the church into pol
itics, and that 1t was because the
church would not get into politics that
the fight on Senator Smoot and the
Mormon church was instituted and is
being waged. The members of the
committee are fully informed of all
those facts, but the desire is to keep
the facts from the knowledge of the
public.
Chairman Burrows and Dubois are
hostile to Smoot and the Mormons
generally. Burrows is a much more
virulent prosecutor than Mr.. Tayler
the paid attorney for the prosecution
Dubois is as virulent as Burrows, but
he lacks the acument and acuteness Of
Burrows. Knox. Beverage, Overmar
and the others are very fair to Smoot
The questions they ask the witnesses
demonstrate that clearly, while the in
, terrogations Of Burrows and Dubois
demonstrate with equal celarness thai
they want to put the worst appearance
} possible on 1t for Smoot.
There is little interest taken in the
affair by the members of the commit
tee. Their minds are made up and the
! proceedings are now farce being en-
acted to satisfy the public clamor en-
gendered by false Impressions created
her of the committee present, some
: Burrows, when he is the only mem
Der of teh committee present. some
times lights a cigar. strolls to the win
dow or into the next room. and tn,
taking of Testimony DrOceeds withou