The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-26
THE CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Upon the point involved in the Smoo
case as to whether he can be elected
| from the Senate by a mere ma ajorit,
vote or only by majority Of two
thirds, The Tribune receives several in
| quiries with requests for answer.
| The case stands thus; At the tim,
Smoot presented himself ms a Senator
elect to take the oath of Office in oper
Senate, that distinguished statesman
and constitutional lawyer, Senator
| Hoar, voiced a reservation which ii
seems was tacitly accepted, and should
therefore be the binding rule in thi.
case. Mr., Smoot had already been pro
tested as being disqualified to hold a
| seat in that body, But upon the prima
facie showing he was admitted, pend
ing investigation, The contention of
Smoot and his friends is that having
once taken the oath he cannot be de.
prived of his seat except by expulsion
and that expulsion, under the Constitu-
tion, requires vote Of two thirds. But
suppose Mr.. Smoot was not native
born citizen of the United States and
had been protested because he had not
been properly naturalized; and suppose
the Senate of the United States had
been advised in advance that such
charge existed against him and that
proof would be adduced TO substantiate
1t, but that he had been permitted TO
take the oath pending an investiga ton
by the Senate Committee on Privileges
and Elections, because of the fact that
his credentials were in due form; would
there be any doubt that A mere ma
jority upon report against him by
that committee would be sufficient to
vacate his seatl
That is the actual fact. Reed Smoot,
although born within the confines of
the United States, is not a citizen of
this country. but citizen of and an
officer in an alien kingdom, set up here
in antagonIsm TO the Government of the
United States-beieving or pretending
to believe, and teaching, that this Gov
ernment will be broken into pieces and
that the kingdom of which Reed Smoot
is high dignitary will rule over all
this land. This objection to Reed Smoot
is as real and as tangible as if he
had been born across the water. and
had never been properly naturalized
In the actual fact the case against him
is the same as it would have been had
his birth been in Turkey and had he
declined TO take the oath renouncing
al S,,1,
allegiance to the Constitution and laws
of this Republic.
And there is a constitutional provi-
sion which directly applies to the
Smoot case and which should be con-
elusive in determining his exclusion
from the United States Senate The
Constitution of the United States pro.
vides that every State shall have a
republican form of government So
long as Smoot remains in the Senate
loyment of this guaranty. This is not
like the ordinary objection raised
against unfit personages or party boss
isms or party unfairness in other
States. This matter stands alone in
the history of this country as this COM
monwealth stands alone in the sister.
hood of States. Utah is not governed
by her own people, but by an ecclesi-
astical tyranny which has usurped all
the authority of government and. which
imposes upon the people of the State
the rule of church in lieu of re-
publican government. Snoot is the liv-
ing exponent Of that unrepublican gov
ernment in Utah. His maintenance in
the Senate is denial Of republican
form of government to the citizens of
this commonwealth. His exclusion is
demanded by that supreme provision Of
the fundamental law. Only in this way
can the Senate of the United States
do its part in upholding this constitu
tional guaranty which, as history
shows, was one of the basic grounds
upon which the federation of States
was accomplished