The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-05-25
Anti Polygamists Under a
Great Delusion In Think
ing Plurality Of Wives Has
Anything to Do With It
MORMON OATH IN QUESTION
ADMISSION TO OR EXCLUSION
FROM THE SENATE DEPENDS
ON WHETHER ALLEGIANCE TO
THE CHURCH OF UTAH IS
CONSISTENT WITH ALLIE
GLANCE TO THE COUNTRY.

WASHINGTON, May %. 1905
There is growing bedief at the Capitol
that there will be no report or action in
the Smoot case at this session of Con-
gress. This belief has been growing for
several weeks. The numerous adjourn
msnts by the Committee on Privileges
and Elections, which has the Smoot mat
ter in charge, have tended to confirm it,
and when that committee adjourned Mon
day without taking vote or setting
date for another meeting, this belief be-
came almost certainty.
The fact that the Senate is afraid Of
the Smoot case, and the fear isn't cons
fined to Senators of either party. Many
of them realize that the case against the
Mormon Senator is pretty slim one, bur
that popoular sentiment will make it nee
essary for many Senators to vote against
him if the case comes to a climax. Ii
Smoot should be deprived of his seat, it
Is admitted that the result would have
very material bearing upon election re
turns next fall in such States as Utah,
Nevada, Idaho, California and Wyoming.
On the other hand, if the case should
come up and the Utah Senator should
win out, there is just as great danger of
the result affecting even more materially
the election returns in the Eastern States
where the religious societies cannot diff
ferentiate between the Smoot case and
the fight against polygamy.
1t is one of the unfortunate features of
the Smoot case that the churches of the
country have injected the question of
polygamy into the controversy. As mat
ter of fact, the question Of polygamy will
play absolutely no part in the Smoot de-
cision, if decision is ever reached. In
less it is through the indirect influence
upon Senators Of the frenzy of sentiment
and excitement to which some parts of
the country have been worked up by the
anti-polygany crusade and its confusion
with the Smoot case.
1t is perhaps only fair to the good and
misguided people who have for several
years been piling up petitions for con-
stitutional amendment prohibiting polyg-
amy to inform them that their petitions
are not being taken very seriously by any
number of members of Congress, and
that their crusade and the confusion of
issues it has brought about is largely re-
sponsible for the delay in deciding wheth
er or not Senator Smoot is entitled to
his seat. There is no charge of polygamy
against Smoot that has been sustained.
A Methodist minister did make such a
charge few years ago, bpt it has been
shown to have been utterly unfounded.
The question of the attitude of the Nor
mon Church toward polygamy has no
more to do with the question of Smoot's
eligibility as a Senator than the question
of whether the moon is made of green
cheese. 1t is purely and simply a ques-
ton of law; of whether the teachings and
oath of apostleship of the Mormon Church
place allegiance to that church above al
legiance to the Constitution and laws of
the United States. 1t is only upon that
question that the case can be decided.
The only effect the wave of sentiment
and anti-polygamy hysteria that has
swept over the country has had or will
have is in affecting the courage and readi-
ness Of Senators to decide the Smoot case
upon this legal question.
In the Smoot case, as it now stands,
there is involved no question of Senator
Smoot's own character, and on question,
excepting an indirect one, of whether or
not the Mormon Church practices or ap-
proves the practice of polygamy. Utah
has a State law forbidding polygamy, it
must be remembered, and the question of
morality and criminality is one that is
controlled by the States themselves. If
it was simply question of Smoot's per-
sonal actions that made him an immoral
character the Senate would have expelled
him long ago, a sthe House expelled the
nalvgamist Roberts Smant,s rersla1, .