The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-06-26
That Absurd Report

| on ttlNlleBeS dnQ fJleCtlOllS
we find assertions made therein which
| have not been proven nor can they be
| proven only on the assumption that
whatever the minority" have a mind
to say Is true until the contrary is
established.
| Tho minority affirm that Reed
smoot is not polygamist; has never
had but one wife" They must make
this assertion on the assumption that
as polygamy is q crime a man is al
| ways innocent OF crime until he is
| proven to be guilty. on no other
theory could thoy would they dare to
| ma, such positive statem"lJ. Reed
| Srlotts testimony Is the only evidence
| before the committee that can be
| tnken as pcs tive In that direction, as
Reed &moct Is the only person III the
| world who knows that he Is not u
pclyenmlst II such Is fact
| We are aware that every man Is to
! be presumed innocent until he is
| proved to be guilty" but there are a
number of things in the testimony be-
| fore The committee which taken in
| the light of so many precedents.
| creates a presumption of guilt instead
! OF innocence. a man comes before the
| court and swCarS that he never stole a
horse III his life, and there are no Wit
nesses to testify that they ever knew
| of his having stolen horse, under
| ordinary conditions the man would be
| presumed innocent. But IL II has been
| proved beyond all question that this
same man belongs to an organization
| of fifteen men the majority of whom IL
| has feen proven are guilty OF horse
stealing and all OF whom, the witness
| himself included. believe that horse
| Stealing under certain conditions la
perfectly legitimate, would there not
| be suspicion In the minds of every
| honest thinking man that, II the oppor-
| tunity afforded and the man thought
he needed another horse, he would Just
| as soon go out and steal one as not?
And would not tho fact of this man
belonging to such an organization
| create presumption that the man was
not telling the truth? In this argu-
| ment We arc not comparing polygamy
TO horse stealing as to its crime, but
] the argument in the one holds good
| In tho other.
| Tho minority declare further that
| Reed Smoot has been noted from early
manhood for his opposition to plural
| marriages" But careful reading falls
TO disclose In the testimony Of single
| witness anything that Mr.. Smoot ever
said either publicly or privately against
the plactice Of polygamy. On the con-
| trary. he testifies himself that he
! never said q word to any OF the church
leaders who were living in open polyg-
I any against their practice of 1t. He
admits that he believed Mr.. Cluft
| president of Brigham Young University
| OF Provo, to have taken and married a
| plu.al wife recently, that years since
| tho manifesto, He did not claim, iS HIS
| teFt,T1Cny to have said word to MI
Cluff, nor, as member of the board
| o. trustees, to have ordered an iryESti-
/ ga ion nor to have aiken any part in
| such Investigation, nor that there was
any such investiga tion ever madc; but
| he did say that IL was about a year
| attcr this matter cdmc to his EnoWl-
edge and the knowledge of the boacI
| befoi e Mr.. Cluff was relieved of tho
| presidency by the eicc.ioD OF Mr.. Brlm-
| ho to that position. The fact of
Brutall being a polygamst, and OF
| tn, time living with plural wife,
| would have made no difference in Mr.
| Smoots vote for him as president OF
| of the university or for that matter for
| any State office. Such is Mr.. Shoots
| attitude toward polygamy as far as his
| testimony before the committee at
! Washington is concerned. This does
| not look very much like being noted
| for his opposition to plural marriages,
| does lt2
Further; Reed Smoot belongs to that
| quorum in his church whose duty Il is
| to be special witnesses In all the world,
| holding the keys to open the door by
| proclamation. first unto the Gentiles
| and then unto the Jews. This quorum
| is equal In authority and power to the
| first presidency OF the church. 1t
| stands at the head of all the mission
ary work and has the supervision of
| TIE missionaries, and in this capacity
| sends out missionaries with a copy OF
| the Doctrine and Covenants, one of The
standards OF the church in which VIC
find the revelation on the eternity of
| tie marriage covenant. including plu-
| Ia 'ty OF wives" but which has not q
| word OF the manifesto" In 1t nor any
| thjnG else against the practice Of doc
trine as taught in section 1872 of the
DGctrine and Covenants. And yet the
I1mority have the effrontery to declare
tha. Mi. Smoot has been noted from
early manhood for his opposition TO
plural marriages"
/ This minority state that Reed Smoot
has never more than Silently ac-
Qujesced" In this offense (polygamous
cUhabitation) against the law, and that
there Is no testimony to the contrary.
Yet he (Smoot) voted to place In the
highest office In the church notorious
polye amst and to sustain as one of the
Seven Presidents of the Seventies
Brigham II Roberts, a still moro no
torious polygamist, and that too at a
tirne when II had been acknowledged
chat polygamous relations were a vio-
lGtion of the law of God and the law
Of the land. Then this minority turn
right around and say that the Presi-
dent and the Senate of the United
States gave Recognition and encouc-
agement' to polygamy, which was not
at that time a violation of the law,
by appointing a polygamlst brigham
Youne) to be governor Of the Terri
tory OF Utah. This act Of the PreSi-
dent and the Senate of the United
States was. in the poinon of our ht n
orable minority, recognizing and en-
coura sing" polygamy, but Reed
Shoots voting to place in these high
places of trust convicted law-breakers
was but silently acquiescing" in the
offense.
Mr.. Editor, the whole OF the minor
ity report is on this high (?) level and