Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-20
CLOSING THE DEBATE
Vote on Smoot to Be Taken This
Afternoon.
SENATE GALLERIES FULL
Short CHirmich 0uor %ha ,,ac{.on ~
Short Skirmish Over the Question Of
Procedure.
DUBOIS AGAINST UTAH SENATOR
Intimates Chat the Presidents Posi-
ton Influences the View of
His Associates.

In anticipation of the closing debate and
the final vote on the resolution declaring
Reed Smoot to be not entitled to his seat
as a senator from Utah, fixed for o'clock
today, the galleries were well filled at the
beginning of the session at II o'clock. The
resolution was Immediately laid before the
Senate, but before the discussion on it's
merits was permitted to proceed there was
a short skirmish TO secure a division of
time among those desiring to speak for and
against the resolution.
When Senator Hopkins suggested divi-
sion of time there were many negative OBJ
servations among. senators.
That is procedure of the House where
they have no parliamentary law, ana | OBJ
ject," asserted Senator Money.
Fifteen minutes were occupied in dis
cussing the question of procedure when
all further efforts in that direction were
abandoned and Senator Dubois took the
floor in opposition to Mr.. Smoot. He
charged that senators supporting the Utah
senator had taken advantage of all the
tactics of special pleading. When he de-
clared with emphasis that Senator Hopkins
had put the Mormon church above all other
Christian organizations. Mr.. Hopkins
sought to interrupt
Il will not yield declared Mr.. Dubois.
with some heat, you would not permit me
to interrupt you
Accused of disappearing.
But the senator is making an absolute
misrepresentation" shouted Mr.. Hopkins,
while the Vice President was endeavoring
to restore order.
Continuing, Mr.. Dubois said the only fair
speech that had been made for Mr.. Smoot
had been by the junior senator from Utah,
Mr.. Sutherland.
He would not have dared utter on this
floor what other senators uttered" he
added, because he knows better the actual
conditions iir Utah"
, Knox's recent statement that "peygamy
in Utah has ended Five out of the
| twelve apostles have gone into it since the
manifesto," asserted Mr.. Dubois THE
president of the church performed the
ceremony between an apostle and his
fourth wife" he added.
Turning his attention to Senator Smoot,
Mr. Dubois remarked: Senator Smoot is
the son of polygamist. His father had
four wives. Which, he reached the age of
manhood he married polygamst child,
wife of her father. l would not say this il
it hurt the feelings of the senator. 1t does
not. No one in Utah will blame him for
it. Many will honor him..
Closing Mr.. Dubois declared there were
not ten senators who would vote for Reed
Smoot if they had read the testimony. But
l know that strong influences are at work
here. The President of the United States
is the open friend of the senator from
Utah. You all know it. The country
knows it,. He wants him seated. You have
got the Mormon vote. You have every one
OF them, my friends, on the republican side.
But it has cost you the moral support of
the Christian women and men of the
United States"
Beverage Pleads for Smoot
Senator Beveridge followed with plea
for Mr.. Shoots retention. He believed the
greatest wrong that could be done any
man was the ruin of his reputation when
his life had been stainless, and this was
what was being done in the case of the
senator from Utah. The millions of petit
ton signers against Mr.. Smoot he said,
expressed the sentiments of misinformed
public. The Senate, which was IN this
case acting as judge, should no more re-
gard these petitions than would any other
court regard petitions to influence its YER
dict.
Mr.sBeveridge devoted much of his speech
to illustrating the general prevalent opin-
ion that Senator Smoot was polysamist
He had talked to more than 300 men and
women as to their belief in the matter
and had found an almost universal opinion
that Mr.. Smoot was a polygamist. As an
illustration of the mis-statements of the
press of the country, Mr. Beverage pre-
sented half a dozen clipping books, which.
he said. were full of the statements of Mr.
Shoots polygamy.
Since the speech of Senator Burrows a
few days ago he said a newspaper clipping
from middle northwestern paper had
come to his notice. 1t stated that Sem
ator Burrows had shown that Mr.. Smoot
had five wives and forty-seven children,
three of whom were born during the pres
ent year. Another illustration was clipped
literally from a Washington newspaper
bulletin board the day following Senator
Knox's recent speech, which read: Senator
Knox defends Polygamist Smoot."
All OF this transformation. he said. was
in the face of the absolute and undsputed
testimony that Mr.. Smoot never had but
one wife.
Senator Burrows Accused.
Senator Beverage charged that Mr..
Smoot has been made the victim of misrep-
resentation. He referred to the recent
speech of Senator Burrows, saying:
THE senator from Michigan quoted from
an address of Mr.. Smoot before a Mormon
congregation in Salt Lake City, made i'm
1903, since he has been a senator. This was
to show the Senate that Reed Smoot is now
the upholder of crime and the advocates of
all the practices of his church in the past.
Yet, Of this quotation, set out as q single
passage, its five sentences are selected from
five different portions of the address, carry
ing from six hundred to fifteen hundred
words apart, isolated from their context and
re-arranged. Worse than that, two of them
were altered. Worse than that, the address
was not on the subject of polygamy at all
or any other violation of the law. but ex-
on the expenditures of church
funds, wnlcn the church authorities had
been charged with spending corruptly. Yet
this alleged quotation is used to blacken
this senator. and so effectively that the
senator from Arkansas based most of his
speech upon It."
Mr.. Beveridge disposed of what he re-
garded as the charge of treason against
Mr.. Smoot In that he had taken church
oath against his country by giving the rec
ord of Mormons in the recent war. They
had fought and died for the country.
Expulsion Proposed.
Senator Carniack offered a substitute res-
olution providing that Reed Smoot. sem
ator from Utah, be expelled from the Sem
ate 1t would, he said. require two
thirds vote of the Senate to adopt his SUBJ
stitute. Prior TO the recent speech of Sena-
tor Knox, Mr.. Carmack said, 1t had been