Omaha daily bee., 1906-02-09
SMOOT CASE NEAR The END
Protestants Will Finish Introduction Of
Testimony Today.
PROF. WOLFE SEVERELY cRoss.txAslNtD
Three Witnesses Testify to Taking
the Oath of Vengeance
In the Endowment
House.

WASHINGTON, Feb S-The Senator
Smoot case, so far Introduction of testi-
mony by the protestants is concerned prob
| ably will be closed tomorrow. Announce
ment to that effect was made by John G..
carlisle, who has been prosecuting the
| case at the present session of congress,
! at the close of the proceedings today.
The defense has not announced the num-
Der OF witnesses it expects to call nor
when 1t will be ready to proceed.
The hearing today dealt with alleged
Mormon interference in business affairs
and with the endowment house ceremony.
Three witnesses testified that they had
taken the obligation administered and as
they recalled 1t there was a variance in
the form as II related to an agreement to
avenge the blood of the prophets Henry
W. Lawrence OF Salt Lake City said he
had been called upon to promise TO avenge
Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith. David Pat
Ten and Farley p. Pratt. all church lead
ers who met death at the hands of mobs
The witness declared that no Mormon
could go through the endowment house
without taking the oath
Chairman Burrows said today that he
would insist upon concluding the investiga-
'iSh anu hahlnB report TO tne senate
this session
Prof Wolfe Cross-Examined.
In the investigation of protests against
Senator Reed Smoot OF Utah before the
committee on privileges and elections
Prof Walter NJ. Wolfe. who was a teacher
In Mormon schools and member Of the
church until very recently. was today sub
sected to a severe cross-examination by A.
s. Wort hiDntOn for ba
large number Of letters which hAs
been written by Wolfe to members of the
church were put into the record to show
that he had not made complaints of the
conduct of BENJAMIN Cluff on the Mexican.
expedition, as he had testified in direct ex-
animation. He denied charges by counsel
that he had been intoxicated In several pub
TIC places and that he had expressed con-
TRITON because of his refusal to pay tith-
ing Mr.. Worthington will call large
number of witnesses to discredit Wolfe
on redirect examination the names Of
number OF residents OF Provo were read
TO the witness and ten of them, he said.
were living in polygamous cohabitation
He said he knew George Taylor, brother
in-law of Mr.. Smoot and that Taylor had
asked him (Wolfe) to give up his demo-
cratic faith and come in with 1.-The great
majority" This was just previous to the
election of the legislature that elected
Smoot 70 the senate, he said, and further
that Taylor asked him to do all he could
for the election of Smoot
Plural Wives in school.
Il told him." said the witness, that I
would IL 1 thought it to be the will of the
Lord. Mr.. Taylor said he believed it was
the will of God and it seems to have been
He told me then, that Shoots candidacy
had been discussed and endorsed by the
high council of Utah. convened as a prayer
circle" f""
In response to questions by several men,
bers of the committee Wolfe said that in
Brigham Young college. ovena Jorgenson
and Florence Reynolds were the only
students whom he knew to have become
plural wives He thought that children of
polygamous relations looked upon po~
lygamy as divine institution. OF the
Provo citizens whose names were read.
only one. Thomas Chamberlain, had en-
tered polygamy since the manifesto. A
number Of the songs alleged to have been
hostile 10 the government of the United
States were put into the record and Wolfe
said these songs were sung frequently.
William ]. Thomas OF Spanish Fork,
Utah, the next witness, said he had gone
through the endowment house in 1869, and
had taken an oath to "avenge the blood
of the prophet Joseph Smith. upon this
nation and to teach his children to do
40 down to the third and fourth genera
tons" He said he was dropped from the
church I'm the SOS because he had spoken
too openly against plural marriages.
Senator Knox asked If he had ever done
ANYTHING to carry out his obligation TO
"avenge the blood of the prophet upon this
nation
mo. sir. I enlisted twice to defend this
nation said Thomas.
The witness told of NJ. Nicholson, form
erlv an employee of Thomas. going TO
Mexico to take plural wife. Nicholson
told the witness he was going where he
could live his religion"
John p Holugren Of Bear River CITY,
Utah. a member of the Utah legislature
from 1899 to 1903. testified that he voted
against the Evans bill. prohibiting the first
wife from testifying against her husband
in polygamy proceedings. He was de-
feated after this. but said he thought ii
was not his vote that defeated him. He
said he took the endowment house oath in
1889 He repeated the oath of vengeance,
and. as he remembered 1t, he agreed 10
ayenge the blood of both Joseph and Hiram
Smith.
smurthwaite stand.
Charles A. Smurthwaite of Ogden, Utah, ,
testified that he had been communicated