The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-31
Smoot Should be Unse ated

The Constitution Of the United
States guarantees to every State and
the citizens thereof republican form
of government 1t has been clearly
established by the evidence taken in
the smoot investigation that Utah
has not free republican government.
apostles. of whom Reed Smoot is one,
are practically a religious ohgarchy
and rule Utah Their will is law not
only as 10 the government of the
church of which they are the chiefs.
but as to The government of the
state. with which. in their eccleslasti
eel capacity, they have no business
TO meddle, The testimony in the Smoot
case, as Senator Burrows showed, fully
sustains the charge that the Mormon
priesthood is vested with supreme au
thority in all things, temporal and
spiritual public and private, to the de-
gree that the members of the Mormon
church are bound, at the peril of their
eternal salvation, tn obey the mandates
of the first president-that is. Presi-
dent Smith and the twelve apostles,
including Smoot
Further, the testimony shows that
this authority is exercised as we'll as as.
serted, AS result of these claims
the Mormon chiefs have dominated
both the political and spiritual affairs
of Utah ever since it was admitted into
the Union as State, as they did while
it was q Territory No Mormon can
become candidate for or accept Office
without the consent of the hierarchy.
Smoot, himself, had TO obtain such
consent from his associated apostles
and President Smith before be could
secure an election TO the Senate This
intermeddling with political affairs in
Utah by Smith and the apostles is con-
elusive in that State for the reason
that Mormons are in majority
there. and. as we have seen, they
are absolutely under the control and
in subJection to their priests. More
than that, there are large settlements
of Mormons in other States near Utah,
and the authority of the apostles is
exercised over them also to the extent
Of swinging their vote for or against
candidates and measures as the
hierarchy may determine shall favor or
| antagonize the welfare of Mormonism
Respecting, polygamy, the testi.-
himself in practice is q monogamist, he
is In the closest church and official re-
lations with polygamists. Eight of the
twelve apostles have plural wives
President Smith has Ave wives and
forty.three children. one of the latter.
an illegitimate child under the laws,
haVlng Deen born within the past few
months. Polygamy is openly taught
and openly practiced by the men who
constitute tho ruling body of both the
Mormon church and the State of Utah
These facts being established, the
question, as stated by Senator Burrows.
is this: "Can one become a member
and identify himself with a band of
lawbreakers. knowing them to be
such, participate in their counsels and
! sustain them in their conferences. and
| yet escape all responsibility for their
unlawful acts''' Ii not, is that man,
guilty of such Affiliations, morally
civilly and politically fit TO occupy a
seat in the United States Senate and be
| regarded as legislative representative
of the American peopleS''
The logical and inevitable answer
to that question is that Reed Smoot,
one of the twelve apostles Of Mormon
ism and n party to the secret plot,
tings and usurpations OF that
oligarchy, aware Of their open and de.
6ant ]awlessness and sharing in their
responsibility for an odious tyranny
over the hearts. minds. conduct and
votes Of the Mormon people, is not fit
to occupy seat in the Senate Of the
United States.-Rochester Democrat
and Chronicle.