The San Francisco call., 1905-03-01
NOR MON CHIEF
LIKE MONARCH
Senator Kearns Describes
the Power and Surround
ings of President Smith
HIS INCOME ENORMOUS
One-Tenth of All the Earn
ings of His People Are
Placed at His Disposal
HIS INCOME ENORMOUS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2S.-When the
Dubois anti-poIygamy resolution came
up for discussion in the Senate to-day
Senator Kearns of Utah, in a speech
which was in the nature of his farewell
address to the Senate, bitterly de-
nounced the Mormon church, to which
ne owes his retirement to private life.
His remarks bristled with accusations
of broken faith upon the part of the
Mormon leaders in their failure to OBJ
serve the terms of their compact with
the Federal Government.
Utah secured her statehood by
solemn compact made by the Mormon
leaders in behalf of themselves and
their people. That compact has been
broken willfully and frequently. No
apostle of the Mormon church has pub
licly protested against that violation, ;"
said Kearns.
II know the gravity of the utterances
that I have just made. 1 know what
are the probable consequences to my
self. But l have pondered long and
earnestly upon this subject, and have
come to the conclusion that duty to
the innocent people of my State and
obligation to the Senate and the coun-
i
my attitude"
Kearns described the surroundings
and the powers of President Smith,
who, he said, affected a regal state and
had established himself with the dig
nifty of a monarch. He continued:
In all this social system each apostle has
his great part. He is inseparable from it.
He wields now such part of the power as the
monarch may permit him to enjoy. and 1t is
his hope and expectation that he will outlve
those who are his seniors in rank, in order
that he may become the ruler.
Taking up the business policy of the
church, Kearns charged that it
amounted to a monopoly. He recited
the holdings Of President Smith, by
virtue of his office, as well as his pri-
vate holdings, and said that when
Smith became president he boasted of
his property, while now he lis in
receipt of an income like unto that
which a royal family derives from a
national treasury. One-t ath of all
the annual earnings of all the Nor
mons in all the world flows to him.
These funds amount to $1,600000 an
nually."
Speaking Of the tithing system,
Kearns said that no account was made
of this vast sum of one-tenth of all
the incomes of the Mormons, and that
the PRESIDENT of the church expended
1t according to his own will He said
the hopelessness of conteEding In
business Wax with this autocrat was
perfectly apparent, and continued:
It will astound youo to know that every
dollar Of United States money paid to any
servant Of the Government who is Mormon
Is tithed for the benefit of this monarch. Out
of every thousand dollars thus paid he gets
500 to swell his grandeur. This. is also true
of money paid out of the public' treasury of
bat of all he pfon ms nj In
sacred public school funds and extracts from
every Mormon teacher. one tenth of his
her earnings and uses IL for his unaccounted
purposes; and by means of these purposes
and the power which they constitute he de-
fes the laws of his State, the sentiment of
his country and is waging war of nullifca-
ton on the public school system so dear to
the American people. No right thinking man
will oppose any person as a servant of the
nation or the State or as a teacher in the
public schools account of religious faith:
As have before remarked this is no war:
upon the religion of the Mormons; and 4
am only calling attention to the monstrous.
manner In which this monarch invades all the
provinces of. human life and endeavore TO se-:
cure his:@rapacious ends.
The election Of Senator Rawlins was.
charged by Kearns TO have been due,
entirely to the Mormon church, in orr
der to huniliate a deposed apostle
Speaking Of the marriage. relation,
Kearns said: si #ss @...<
Plural marriage relations have been con s
5t1nueu ade1laHt accOrnlngs to the will and
pleasure Of those who had formerly violated.
the law .and: for whose obedience: to law the:
church monarchy pledged the faith and honor
3of It's leaders a nd flowers alike in order to
obtain statehood. > :55 Z s4.sI
Kearns charged that not more than
three of the four Of the luorun1s OF
the apostles have refraiEed from py:,e-
sticing poly Ygamy and that special rea-
sons may exist in some particular case
wfly=a nan IN i his class has not en-
tered into such relation; 1; 5i:s1 Z s.