The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-23

was secretly aiding and abetting poly gamy. No evidence being unearther that he had ever personally violated the laws against plural marriage the contrary being, in fact, conceded or had advocated or had advocat- ed or countenaneed such violation, the charge against him narrowed down to the assertion that his apostleship was per SC either a constitutional or a personal disqualification for service in the Senate. It was argued that MT. Smoot5s religious belief and religious were a priori inconsistent with and destructive of his pledge to support the federal Constitution. On the ground, therefore, either of putative treason or lack of personal, moral and intellectual independence it was proposed to drive him out of the Sen ate
 The question would have been a simple one to settle, for or against the Senator, had 1t been dealt with in a straightforward manner. The Senate has the undoubted right to rid itself of an objectionable member. It can eject a Senator on any grounds which seem to itself sufficient Its power to expel is plenary, and an action to ex- pei MT. Shoot on purely personal charges would have been open to no technical or constitutional objection. But to expel requires a two-thirds vote. Mir Shoots opponents did not wish to take this direct and open course; so they laid down the principle not that his character conduct and associations made him an undesirable legislator but that an official connec- ton such as he sustained with tha Mormon Church in itself invalidated his election by the Legislature of Utah This connection, it was asserted, made him just as ineligible as if he happen ed to be under thirty years of age had not been citizen of the United States for nine years or had not beer an inhabitant when elected, of the state by which he was chosen.
 Such an attempt to read new ex' stitution was unsound and unwise The Utah Legislature was clearly | within it's constitutional rights Wher it elected Mir. Shoot, and 1t was disin 1 genuous to maintain that in overlook ing the candidates apostleship in thu ! Mormon Church the Legislature haC clashed with any constitutional prohi l bition. As Senator Knox clearly point ed out, most dangerous preceden would have been set if the Senate haC gone on record as declaring that { citizens religious beliefs and attach ments must first be scrutinized ant pronounced innocuous before a stat could be permitted to elect him a Uni ted States Senator.
 As we said at the outset, the agita ton against Mir Shoot was basel ' largely on bis connection with tn
 Mormon Church and that Church
 connection with the illegal practic
 of plural marriage. The Senator iron Utah is a monogamist, and he solemn ly declares that he is using all his in
 fluence to sustain the Church's ney policy of monogramy He reports tha
 polygamy is disappearing among hi
 co-religionists, and that the Church former anagonism to the federal gov ernment is disappearing with it. w
 shall not be suspected of holding
 brief for Mormonlsm, yet we can se the force of Mir Shoots suggestion
 that reform within the Church is tn
 surest method Of combating plura
 marriage and can also see the injustic of trying to saddle the onus of tn Church's past sins on one wtlo seem to be doing his best tc bring it int
 line iwth law and enlightened moderl
 sentiment.-New York Tribune.