Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-06-12

senate. would owe TO the nation. 1t Is
ulfticult 70 conceive how one r eeuIu MOI, non
every senator to so perform ms oinclal 1u-
ties as 10 promote the Wetafe OF we
pcople OF, the United States and at the
same tiheybe calling down the vengeance
% HEAVIER on the nation because OF the
killing uf the founders of the Mormon
church sixty years ago.
Minority Report.
The minority report, signed by Senators
Foraker, Beveridge. Dillingham;, Hopkins
and Knox, declares Mr. Smoot TO BE fully
qualified as senator. and continues:
Aside from his connection with the Nor
mon church so far as his private character
is concerned, 1t Is. according TO AT the
witnessed irreproaC liable, for all who tes-
tify on the subject agree or concede that he
has led and Is leading an upright life, en-
tirely free from immoral practices Of every
kind He is not a polygan1ist, has never
had but one wife, and has been noted from
early manhood for his opposition to plural
marriages and probably DID as much as
any Other member of the Mormon Church
TO bring about the prohibition of further
plural marriages.
So far as mere belief and membership
i'm the Mormon church are concerned. Reed
Smoot Is within his rights and privileges
under the guaranty of religious freedom
given by the constitution OF the United
States, Tor there Is no statutory provision,
and could not he, prohibiting either such
belief OF such membership.
AEtO Endowment oath.
The minority says there remain but two
grounds on which the right OF title of
Reed suloat TO his seat Is contested, and
these are:
That he is shown to have taken what Is
spoken of in the record as 1.-THE endowment
oath" by which he obligated himself to
make his allegiance to tho church para
st9tes and nj that bs REASON Of his ocai
relation to the church, as one of its apos-
ties, he Is responsible for polygamous CO.
Mormons, notwithstanding 1t is prohibited
by. law. ., -
Client IN this. summary 20 say, that tn
Testimony is ,collated. .an6. snalyzed AZ,
thereby shown to be limited in amount
vague and indefinite In character and Ut.
terry unreliable, because OF the disreputabls
and Enthusiastically character OF the wit
pesses.
made any preteuse of testlfying about any
such obligation. One of these was. shown
by the testimony OF two nncOntradicted
witnesses to be mentally unsOund; another
TO have committed perjury In the testimony
given. before the committee on another
point; the third was shOwn-by. the uncon-
nesses to have a bad reputation for truth
and Neracity and TO be thoroughly unre-
liable; fourth admitted that he had been
for years Incorporate and was shown by
indlsputable testimony to have lost his po-
sition on that account and thereupOn aud
for that reason 70 have Withdrawn from
hostile and tevcngeful attitude as to en-
trely ,disGredit him as a reliable witness
The other three witnesses were so indefinite
az TO their statements that their testimony
amounted, at most, to nothing more thar
an attempt 10 state an imperfect and con.
fessedly uneertain recollection.
All that II is attempted TO show as tc
the character of this oath is positively
contfadicted by Reed Smoot and n greal
number OF Witnesses. whose standing and
character and whose reputation for truti
and verReity are unduestioned. except only
insofar as they credibly may be affected
by the fact that they are or have beer
members Of the Mormon church.
smOOt and POIyEamy.
The report declares that the evidenc,
shows that AIR. smoot has dlscountenaneeC
olygamy ftsince the manifesto. and con
ludes: sf. -l.'~
The conditions in Utah since Reed Smoo
ecame an ofhcial of the Mormon churcl
n 1900 have been such that non-Mormon
nd Morrzens alike have acquiesced in po
ygamous eohabitation on the part of thos