The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-11-04
UNCLE JESSE EXPOSES sMooT

EVidently there was mismanage-
ment in the Democratic campaign in
this State this year. The most effective
and telling speech of the campaign was
reserved until Just the night before cleo
tion, and was delivered in Provo bv
"Cncle'' Jesse Knight, too late for the
people OF the State at large to know
ABOUT IT. And vet every one in the State
ought 70 have known Of that speech be-
iore election II was The ouaintest, the
most earnest, the most appealing speech
1hat was delivered by any one during
the whole progress Of the fight Mr..
Knight devoted his speech very largely
to matters Of special interest 10 Provo,
and has account of the shutting down
OF the wooleu mills there and the prom
Use to reopen them when wool got down
TO fourteen cents pound. was reaGs-
TIC piece of oratory that was extremely
telling. And Smoot was the central
figure for blame.
In this connection, Mr.. knight told
authoritatively about the first money
that Reed Smoot made. He was moved
10 do this, apparently. by the slurs that
Apostle Smoot had passed upon the way
that ''Uncle" Jesse himself and Jesse IS
son had made their money. Smoot, it
appears, claimed that it took no brains
to make money in mining; all that
man had TO do was to dig the wealth
out of the ground and put it in his
pocket. Replying to this, ''Uncle"
Jesse told how it was that Reed
Smoot got his start. As TO the amount
OF brain power involved in this sort
of money making which he described,
any one can Judge for himself upon
reading the way of it, which is thus
narrated by "Upclc" Jesse:
well cquainted-whom ] have known for
many years. When they were small they
thought when they grew up they would
be super!ntendents OF big Institutions.
have heard some people tell this Until it
rang In my ears like saw, You have
heard this yourself and Reed Smoot tells
! knew him to make Understand know
this) was the giving of orders on the
Coop store so that his workers could not
trade, anywhere else and then once a
month he would go around and draw 10
per cent from the store on account OF
giving the people those store orders.
sent. but IL was the first money ! ever
knew him to make. or that am sure.
! have known him about as long as
and after bought II he wanted me TO
give him 10 per cent for sending customers
to me and ! told him J would not be a
party To that kind Of business. CAD
plause.) He said that he would go to
some other store and give his orders.
aota ninl l old not care; that was not
actlon and take some poor mans wages
You see, he got the commission OF every
man ma S,fs. : order he sent there Now: there
very glad have not raised O son that
mas the depraved brain that wants money
oad enough to get K In that kind OF way
qualification VIII Knight had was bfs
money. but want to tell you that he has
a brain and an honest ono. ! want tS
say To YOU that If YOU vote for him u,iiI IN
guarantee to you that II won't be anv
detrtment to Provo. ''''
There have been some very cpr;ous
stories told from time to time abopt
how Smoot got his start in life and tho
means whereby he added to his store
when he began to get forehanded. This
account of Smoot S financial start
however, as given by Mr., knight is nm
doubtediy the true story: for Mr.
Knight is sure of his facts. And Mr.
Knight IS not a map either to make anv
mistake of that kind or TO tell ANYTHING
that is not absolutely true. The Reed
Smoot fortune, therefore, is built upon
the foundation be laid by skinninr the
workers in the Provo wooden mills. He
forced them to take orders on the Coon
store for their pay, and then got a
rake-off OF ten per cent op those or
ders. No more disreputable way of get
ting start in life can be conceived
than this. The man who fleeces the
lahorers who arc in his employ and at
his mercy in q way like this is to all
lntents and purposes a robber
This revelation which ''Unclep Jesse T,
gave OF Smoot s start towards accumu. /
lating his fortune is about the worst !
thing ever said about Smoot. And il
wns said in self-defense. by reason of
slurs that Snoot had thrown OUT upou /
the successful mining operations of
. Uncle Jesse knight and his son. or
all the ways to get money in this world,
the cleanest, the most praiseworthy, tho
way freest from oppression of infringe.
ment upon anybody else s money or
property, is 70 dig that money out of
the ground. The man who adds 20 The
wealth of the world by digging his
money ont of the ground adds new
money to the accumulations OF the
ages. In most ways of making money,
the one who gets it takes from somebody
else. In ordinary trading one makes
money through the money he gets from
others. In mining, however, the man
adds new money 70 the world. he fur
nishes others with that money, he skins
no one. be robs no one, he is benefited
by nobody else , money Every one