The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-06-19
THE SHOOT CASE.
prietorS.


sions. Based on exactly the same tesu-
mony they arrive at opposite verdicts
bv the simple process of believing or
disbelieving the witnesses.
The majority says that Smoot is one
| of a self-perpetuating body of men
known as the First Presidency and
| Twelve Apostles of the Mormon church,
which claims divine authority to con-
! troll the members of that church in
| things both temporal and spiritual, and
that this body has exercised its author
| ity in such a way as to encourage
polygamy. Smoot is not charged with
; being a polygamist. but as member
of the first presidency he is one Of a
band which does practice it in it's men,
bership and encourages it in others;
that therefore, he is no more entitled
to sit in the senate than if he were
himself a polygamist
The minority finds from the same
testimony that Smoot has always dis
couraged polygamy; that he has never
practiced it himself nor encouraged it
in others; that there is no reason why
he should be disqualified because he has
not made open war on polygamy since
he has pursued the course of Opposi-
ton which even nom MormOns consider
the wisest and most likely to produce
satisfactory results.
The majority report says in regard
to the endowment ceremonies that
there can be no doubt that Smoot took
the oath of vengeance against the
United States. The minority says the
testimony upon which this charge is
based is utterly unreliable because of
the disreputable character Of the wit
nesses," and that there is no ground
on which to predicate a charge that
Mr.. Smoot ever took an obligation of
which would make his allegiance to
the Mormon church paramount to his
duty to the government.
This does not seem a very large grist
for the swarm of witnesses the COM
mittee heard at an expense of $4,000.
1t leaves the senators about where they
were when the proceedings began-free
to vote as they choose on the general
policy of taking a Mormon into the
senate
While it is quite evident the senate
would be glad to be rid of the Nor
mon members and to have it settled
that no Mormons need hereafter apply,
yet it cannot set the precedent of ex-
clusion on the fact that the Utah sena-
tor is a Mormon. 1t must have grounds
more relevant. The endowment oath
and the violation of the -polygamy
proclamation were expected to furnish
those grounds. So far as the endow-
ment oath is concerned, whatever it is,
it is we'll covered up. The senate did
not get any decent, clean testimony in
regard to it, and the minority says
the testimony which was offered is ut
terly unreliable because of the charac-
ter of the Witnesses.
AS to polygamy, all efforts to trace
it to Smoot himself appear to have
60;
reason why he was chosen senator by
the church. 1t would not do, after the
Roberts case, to send up polygamist,
and so the smooth young Smoot, who
had contented himself with one wife,
was selected The majority of the COM
mittee falls back upon the conclusion
that some of the other apostles are po-
lygamists, and Smoot has sat with
them and never protested therefore, he
is just as bad as a polygamist This
would look to the. ordinary man like
stretching point He could hardly
order the private lives of his associates.
He might have resigned This course
was open to him, but it is the course
which is not recommended by nom Nor
| mons. They have pretty generally ac-
cepted the policy of not making war
on the old polygamists. but of letting
| them gradually die off in peace The
aim of the gentle has been to see that
no new polygamous marriages were
celebrated. On this ground Smoot
might reasonably claim immunity from
punishment, since he has done as much
against polygamy as those who are free
to fight it. He has kept clear of it
| himself and he has waited for the old
polygamists in the first presidency to
die off.