The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-23
THAT CONSTRUCTION.

In Its feverish anxiety to find some
| thing TO feed 10 the people of its church
| who hunger after some comfort In the
| Smoot case, tho Deseret News approv-
| ingly quotes in its editorial columns
| the following utteTance concerning the
| apostle Senator, which appeared in the
! Boston Transcript
| The somewhat questionable foundation
| or the committees finding Is that his
| oath OF allegiance to the Mormon
| church prevents his giving fun allegiance
| to the United States But the manner IN
to the latter hardly affords ground Tor
| criticism. Who can tell how he construes
his oath. and whether In his construction
| IL ts at all III conflict with his loyaity
| and full duty to his country?
TIE transcripts reasoning Is some
what peculiar emanating from cultured
Boston. Who can tell how an anarchist
may construe his oath to destroy all
| government? II a man is appointed by
a nihilist organization to assassinate
the President of the United States, who
can tell whether the appointed aven-
| gers" construction Of his obligation Is
in conflict with his loyalty and his full
duty to this country? Those questions
are almost as nonsenslcal as the In
quiry OF the Boston Transcript.
| Apostle Reed Smoot is under ii bind
ing covenant to obey the priesthood
OF the Mormon church. While he Is an
apostle he cannot be out Of harmony
with the presiding authorities of the
| polygamous cult, 1t Is not a matter of
construction, II is a matter OF absolut-
ism. Under his covenant Reed Smoot
has no Individual right TO construe-he
has committed his personal judgment
in all things. spiritual and temporal,
into the keeping OF his presiding au-
thority. The moment he should con-
strue his obligation 10 mean anything
but implicit obedience he would cease
TO be an apostle.
Suppose Reed Smoot does not mean
what nc says In his covenant To the
| priesthood, suppose that he is a traitor
in the hierarchy. 1t does not make his
case any better. 1t only proves that he
Is naturally disloyal.
II a covenant" (Which means an
oath) may be construed by the giver 10
mean exactly the opposite of what the
covenant states and implies, why
should not the Transcript deny that al,
naturallzed citizens are loyal to the
country? Who can tell how they con-
strue their oaths?
There have been many vepid things
said In defense OF Reed Smoot; but
| perhaps the most absurd I'm any repu-
table Journal is the argument OF the
| Boston Transcript made I'm the inter
rogatory: Who can tell how he con-
strues his oath2"
The answer in Utah is that no one
cares how he conStrues his oath. Every
one here whose opinion is OF any I'M
portance knows that Reed Smoot has
made covenant 10 the priesthood OF
his church. that his covenant implies
"unquestioning obedience" that it COM
prises his highest obligation In this
world TO support the Mormon hierarchy
| 6s the representative of the Kingdom OF
God; and that il holds all other gov
ernments than that of the Mormon
may construe. and construe until the
crack OF doom; but so long as he re-
mains an apostle OF the Mormon church
he cannot BE- a loyal citizen of this
country In whose Senate he sits 10
make laws which other people must
obey without any private "construc-
ton