The Washington herald., 1907-02-15
KNOX FAVORS SMOOT
Former Attorney General OPP
poses His Expulsion.
UPHoLDs UTAHs SENATOR
Declares He Has All Constitutional
QuRIifIcations-Sanc of Home
Not acknowledgements States
man Holds that POIygamy II
Fast Dying Oh: in This Country.

In a powerful speech in the Senate yes
terday, Senator Knox. Of Pennsylvania,
announced his opposition TO the resolution
reported from the Committee on Privi-
| leges and Elections, that Reed Smo0t
/ is not entitled 70 a seat as a Senator OF
the United States from the State Of
Utah"
Senator Knox said he did not think ths
Senate would seriously consider that any
question was involved except that Of ex-
pusion, requiring a two-thirds vote MI
Smoot held all of the qualifications as a
| Senator required by the Constitution, and
/ the Senate had no right 70 require other
qualifications, nor 70 deprive a Senator
Of his seat by majority vote.
PoIygamy Dying Out.
The only charge against Mr.. Smoot, he
said, was that he belonged 10 the Nor
mon church.
"PoIygamy," continued the Senator, us
dying out. PolygamOus marriages have
ended in Utah. A few years are as moth
! ing in the life Of State and nation. and
! in a few years persons plurally married
before Ctah's admission viii be rare OBJ
jects Of curiosity. AS practical men.
should we not be content with that2'' he
asked
IF the Mormons,7 he continued, ARE
said to believe in q hierarchy more or less
concerned with mundane affairs. they are
not the only sect whose priesthood med
dies with worldly affairs without the
members being for that reason excluded
| from Federal offices.
And If prayers fer vengeance for vio-
lence against prophets are required or
Mormons. and the history Of the church
| is not unstained with deeds Of blood,
what Christian or Jewish sect has left
out vengeance and has a bloodless his
tory? The crusades and the wars Of the
sixteenth. seventeenth. and eighteenth
centuries, and the old Jewish wars-num-
/ berless massacres and sIaughters OF here
[ tics-these are not held TO require the ex-
pulslon from the Senate Of men who be-
! long to the various Christian churches, or
are Jews.
sanctity of Home Safe.
1T has been frequently said that Sena-
tor Smoot should be expelled from the
/ Senate in order 10 protect the sanctity
Of the American home. I do not see how
the sanctity Of the American home is at
stake in this issue. II the Mormon
church teaches polygamy and encourages
/ its practice. surely the fact that Senator
SmoOt is a monogamist and has from his
youth up set his face and lifted up his
voice against polygamy, is conclusive evil
dence that he is fighting. by precept and
example. for the sanctity OF the AmeTi-
can home against his church. and under
circumstances requiring the greatest NOR
al courage. If, on the other hand, the
Mormon church is not teaching and en-
couraging polygamy, the argument that
the sanctity Of the American home is in
volved here utterly fails. You may take
either position and it viii lead 10 Sena-
tor Shoots complete vindicatiOn
I could not yield TO the opportunities.
/ and in some cases the demands. that 1
/ cast my vote for Senator Shoots eXpUl-
/ sion without deliberately violating my
I oath OF Office; without yielding my judg-
ment 10 others as il is alleged Senator
/ Smoot will yield his TO the Mormon
/ church; and without converting my place
/ here from one Of honor TO one Of shame,