Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-11
THE SHOOT CASE
 REPORT PRESENTED Majority of the Senators Tell Why the Mormon Should Not Be
 Allowed His Seat.
THE MINORITY FAV0RS HIM
The Affair Will Now Be Thra.hed Out Once More and in the
 Meantime Shoot Smiles.

Washington, June 1.-The follow ing abstract of the majority report
 of the senate committee on privileges and elections in the Senator Smoot
 case was presented to the senate to- day:
 The reasons for the action of the senate committee on privileges and elections in declaring, by majority
 vote, that Reed Smoot is not entitled
 to seat in the senate as senator
 from Utah are stated in report sub
 mitted to the senate to-day by Chair man Burrows, and signed by Senators Burrows, Deliver, Dubois, Pettus, Bailey, Overman and Frazier, to be as follows:
 That MT Shoot is one of q self perpetuating body of men, known. as the first presidency and twelve apos- ties of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church; that these men claim divine authority to control the members of said church in all things. temporal as well as spiritual; that this authority is, and has been for sev- eral years past. so exercised by the said first presidency and twelve apos- ties as to encourage the practice of polygamy and polygamous co-habita- ton in the state of Utah and else where. contrary to the constitution and laws of the state of Utah and the. law of the land; that the said first presidency and twelve apostles do now control. and for long time past have controlled. the political affairs of the s'ute of Utah, and have thus brought about in said state a union of church and state. contrary to the constitution of said state of Utah and contrary to the constitution of the United States and the said Reed Shoot comes here. not as the accredited representative of the state of Utah, in the senate Of the United States but as the choice of the hierarchy which controls the church and has usurped the functions of the state in said state of Utah"
 \ sufficient number of specific h. stances of the taking of plural wives among officials of the Mormon church since the manifesto of 1S00 have been shown by the testimony, says the ma jority. 'to demonstrate that the lead CTS. the first presidency and the twelve apostles connive at the prac- tice of taking plural wives. and have done so ever since the manifesto was issued which purported to put an end to the practice.
 Several instances of plural mar riages by church members are cited. The report adds:
 Tt is morally impossible that all these violations of the laws of the state of Utah by contracting plural marriages could have been commit ted without the knowledge of the first and the twelve apostles of the Mormon church."
 One intensely interesting chapter of the report Is devoted to the charge that testimony was suppressed by Mormon leaders, through the sending out of the country of apostles and other officials who were charged with taking plural wives since the manlfes- to.
 Tn the Judgment of the committee Mir Smoot is no more entitled to a seat in the senate than he would he if he were as<ociating In polygamy O. hahitation with plurality of wives.
 That Reed Shoot possesses nll>the qualifications prescribed by the con stitution to make him eligible to q seat in the senate Is the conclusion reached hy tho minority of the com mittee. This renort Is signed by Sen ators Foral:cr. Beveredge. Dillingham;. Honklns and Knox.
 The minority says: We are af the opinion that no ground has been es- on which to predecate finding or belief that Mir Smoot ever took any obligation involving hostil- Ity to tho United States or requiring him to regard his allegiance to the Mormon church as paramount to his allegiance and duty to the United States.
 As to whether Senator Shoot hr virtue cf his official relation to the church as one of it's apostles. has any responsibility for the continuation of nolvgamous co-habitation hy mem- bers of that church. the minority savs:
 Tt will he found hr examination If the testimony inst he hes never at any tine. and parficularlv he has not since the manifesto of lsno. counten- anced or encouraged plural marTisgcs: hut that on the contrary he has uni forrnly urhpli tho policy of the church as announced by inst proclamation. bv actively advocating and exe-ting his influence to effect q complete dis continuance of such marriages and that in tho few instances established hv the testimony where plural nlsr- riagrs sni rolygamou< cc-hsbita.son. as q rr<-lt of them. have o~rurrrf since 1sHo thev have heen without any ccunfenance or ap- provai whatever on his psrt.-