Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-22

..s ANTHON H. LUND,
< First Presidency of the Church OF Jesus
Christ OF Latter-daY Saints.
& CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE IS WRONG.
Methodist ministers back east have
FOR some time waged war upon Uncle
Joe Cannon.' speaker or the House of
Representatives, on account of his at
titude on the temperance question,
Ii They have assailed him, especially, for
having suppressed the Littleileld liquor
K bill
& Mr.. Cannon, in a speech at DanNille,
Ill, Sept. 10, replied to the charge. he.
stated that the bill as presented was
considered unconstitutional by the law.
Yers, and that he would support q sub
stitute bill which would remedy the
svilscomplaincd OF and at the same time
be constitutional During the course
Of his address the speaker stated that
he made3no attack upon the bishops or
II the Methodist church. 1T is a good
4 church, he said, ''and they are good
men,, But this did not prevent them
4 from making mistakes, at times.
AS an Illustration of the fallibility of
Z the judgment Of the; best of men
Speaker Cannon referred to the case OF
Senator Smoot. He said:
5 'tFor instance Reed Smoot was sent
5to8the Senate from Utah. There was
hysterical cry against him on account
pf polygamy. An investigation was Or
lered. 1t was proven that Smoot never
had more than one wife, yet the cry
arose against him that he believed that
God had ordained polygamy.
Now no two men ever Worshipped
God alike. We cannot change God. We
worship our convention Of him.
"a number OF the bishops OF this
church made It a matter Of earnest .ap-.
peal to see to it that the Senate took
action to turn Smoot out. That was
not good for the church. 1t was not
right or godllle.
aln morals the church is all right,
4 but when you run it to denouncs things
/ mistakes are made. am throwing no
stones. Us Methodists have no monopo-
N Iy5 on mistakes. The talk or these bish-
s. ops on my attitude toward the rum
question and about my czarlilse power.
4 is nonsense,
The Northwestern Christian Advocate.
Z of Sept. l6, undertakes to refute this.
That journal maintain that it is no
business of the Speaker, nor of the
House, whether a proposed measure Is.
constitutional, or not; 1t maintains
9thatithe House cannot oppose 8 bill be-
cause Of its unconstitutionality; to DO
so would be to usurp the functions of
i the courts. And then it takes UP the
Speakers reference to Senator Smoot,
as follows:
"Those Lbishopsl who expressed an
opinion upon 1t were better informed
regarding tho Smoot ease than Mr..
Cannon seems to be. Mr.. Smoot was
not opposed because he was a polyga-
mist, but because he was member
OF the hierarchy, the majority of which
had brosen their sacred pledge to the
nation to abandon polygalny and poly
gamous practices, and because he had
taken a secret oath which a federal
court hftl decided no one could take
and be a loyal citizen of the United
States. Mr.. Cannon evidently has not
investigated the Smoot case. The
charges upon which the protest against
the seating of Reed Snoot We're based
were fully proved. If Smoot had been
"a a Democrat We have no doubt he would
have been unseated.
The Northwestern Christian Advocate
4 IS very much opposed to church inter-
ference in politics; as a matter Of fact.
Z In the somewhat dim moral light of
VI that light bearer one of the chief
crimes of the Church here is its alleged
political activity. which, however has
no real existence. 1t is, therefore, some-
what strange to find it defending the
concerted Methodist attacks upon sena-
tors and congressman. We are remind
ed OF the moral rule OF the man who
warned his son against the allure
ments of the convivial glass, and, when
the object of his solicitude made re-
4 mark about the habits of his mentor
promptly replied: when drink it is
. all right" We have a strong suspicion
that the Advocate stands on Il similar
high level as regards church interfer-
once in politics.
But, etlthat pass. We are not among
those who have hysteria each time a
Methodist bishop, or a number OF
bishops, express political preferences
and opinions as long as they do so as
American citizens. But II their po-
lttical activity is. to escape condemns
ton II must be honest and straight
forward, as becomes Christian gentle
men. The preachers of truth anc
righteousness cannot afford TO lie an6
faIsify in the Interests of party poll
tics, OF any other Interests. And in
this respect the advocate is particu-
larry weak. In the lines quoted, few
though they be, we find no less than
five notorious misstatenents of fact
nor ro iyae an ugler$ term.
senator snoot was opposed be-
cause he WAS represented to be poiyg--