The Idaho scimitar. [volume] (Boise, Idaho) 1907-1908, 1908-01-11
Apostle SmoOt a Falsifier.

There would be nothing to complain of in that if
the magazine had held the apostle to the truth Civ
ing him the privilege of addressing untruths to the
audience of The Review is much of an attack
National morality would have been his defense
of the institution of polygamy in that publication.
Having recently emerged with flying colors from
a trial before the United States Senate thanks to
the prostituted partisanshp of that body Mr. Smoot
has acquired reputation for probty that will in
cline many listening to him as he discourses
upon the topic of po1ygamy. 1t will not be known
to those far away from the of his apostolic
labors that he dealt in the Misrepresentation that IS
the common stock in trade of Mormondom in as
sorting that po1ygamy had become thing of the
past in Utah and the surrounding States.
But The Review could have ascertained that Mr.
Smoot was contumaciously untruthful when he said:
The Senate inquiry established clearly that polyg-
amous marriages in Utah became thing OF the
past more than sixteen years ago and no poygamouS
relations assumed since 1890 have received the sane
ton of the church
The evidence taken before the Senate committee
on privileges and elections during the inquiry into
the right of Mr.. Smoot to seat in the Senate re-
cites many specific instances of polygamous mar
riages since 1890 and all the evidence was printed
for public information That the church has not
sanctioned these violations of law and morals is an
mpossibilty, for all such marriages must be per-
formed by representatives of the church-elders and
other officers of the church.
After reciting a list of ten prominent Mormons
poygamously married after the issuance of the mani
festo of $780, the majority report of the Senate
committee privileges and elections says;
1t is morally impossible that all these violations
of the laws of the State of Utah by the contracting
of plural marriages could have been committed with
out the knowledge of the first presidency and the
twelve apostles of the Mormon church. In two OF
Al e o1a nd That
of Benjamin Cuff, Jr, the fact of plural marriage
was directly communicated to the president of the
church, Joseph F. Smith, and in the other cases, with
the possible exception of James Francis Johnson, the
fact of plural marriage having been celebrated
so we'll known throughout the community that it is
not conceivable that such marriages would not have
been called to the attention of the leaders of the
church Indeed there denial on the part of
the first president any of the twelve apostles that
they learned of the fact that plural marriages
being contracted by officials OF the Mormon church
and that attention was paid to the matter.
When it became known that Mr.. Smoot was to
be investigated by the Senate it was also conveyed
to the hierarchy at Salt Lake, through under
ground passageway of information, that the
mttee proposed to prove the recent plural marriages
Of four of the apostles and two other high officials
IF the church The persons by which such marriages
could have been established sent out of the
country and the committee unable to procure
service upon them
These circumstances were commented by the
committee in its report and the magazine editor
Who accepted Mr. Shoots article could have
ured himself that his contributor placing mis-
Information before the public
AS an apostle Mr.. Smoot knows that polygany is
till one of the cherished institutions of his religion
nd that it is now under concea1ment through fear
f the penalties that law and sentiment might n1ict
Mr. Smoot understands that Joseph F. Smith,
resident of the church, testified before the Senate