The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-29
WHAT HOPKINS SAID.

that Illinois Senator for reelection.
! Evidently the News had full faith in
Hopkins S reelection which is not
speaking much for It's power of
| prophecy Possibly, even, some
"prophct. seer, and rcvelator'' may
have prophcsed that reelection. and
thus added poignancy to the church or,
gan's grief, while at the same time
discrediting himself AS a prophet
Hence the oyer-column spill of tears.
! But what the church organ quotes Of
Hopkins's speech in behalf Of Smoot is
mostly platitudcs, an attempt to apply
10 this particular case certain general
ities that don t fit At the same time
| there is such mixture of sophistry.
| evasion, deceit, and presumptuous, mis-
Leading stuff in the Ncws's quotations
that one who read nothing else than
these would naturally wonder what ii
was all about, and what was the real
subject or proposition under discus
sion. We have heretofore, however,
quoted the central idea and plth of Hop
kins's speech on this case, and repro
luce the same again, with pleasure, so
that the Mormon people can see what
il really is that the News endorses when
it endorses Hopkins's remarks. After
stating that many things had been done
in the name of the Mormon church IN It's
earlier history which are condemned by
all right thinking men, Mormons as well
as other; that the Mormons have be
come better educated, their spiritual
vision become clearer, so that "they
now condemn as heartily as we do many
acts that were regarded III the days OF
Brigham Young as in accordance with
the word of God -; referring to the
"moral elevation and spiritual improve
ment' which has been manifest in the
Mormon church in the last twenty years,
and stating that ii appears from the
testimony taken in the Smoot case - that
the Mormon church is undergoing a
radical change for the better Hopkins
went on to say:
Reed Smoot is an apostle Of this higher
and better Mormon,sm. He stands LOT
the sacred things in the church ana
against polygamy and all the kindred
vices connected with that loa thsome prac-
ticc. In his position member of the
church. and as an apostle and preacher
OF The doctrines of the church. he has
done more TO stamp out this loul blot
upon the civilization of Utah and the
other Territories where polHgamy has
been praCticcd than any thousand men
outside OF the church.
II must be remembered that the
man who said these things is the
News's man, 1t brings him IN as
worthy of confidence. belief, and re-
gard. And vet it is quite impossible
for the News to follow its own witness
in the things he says. Does the News
hold that there has been the change
in tone, spiritual and moral, that Hop
kins says there has been? Docs it ad
init that the Mormon church is un.
dcrgoing "a radical change for the bet
terri Does it admit that Reed
Smoot is an apostle Of this higher and
better Mormonism.' or that there is
any such thing as that? Docs it claim
that Smoot stands against polyGamy,
"and all the kindred vices connected
with that loathsomc practicc?" Does
it admit that polygamy is 6 loathsomc
practicc,'' and that it has "kindred
vices" connected with it' But Hop
kins says so. and the News quotes him
as delivering speech that was un-
answerable, memorable address,
The News is therefore bound to agree
with Hopkins in his stigmatizing po
lygamy as a loathsomc practice, having
kindred vices connected with it.
Further, Hopkins said that poiyga-
my is ''a foul blot upon the civlIlza
ton of Utah Does the News con
ccde this' 1t is in all logical fairness
obliged to conccde it, since it brings
forward with It's unqualified endorse
mcnt OF his speech, the man who
said so.
Does the News maintain that Smoot
is an apostle Of a higher and better
Mormonism than Brigham Young's was,
and that 'as an apostle and preacher of
the doctrines Of the church he has done
more TO stamp out this foul blot upon
the civilization of Utah and the other
Territories where polygamy has been
lUdH lnOuedHu men OuI-
side the church?'t If the News holds
TO this, as it seems it must do when it
so fulsomely praises Hopkins's IS address,
1T now behooves 1t TO bring forward
some proof Of the assertion. When did
Smoot ever oppose polygamy, or at
tempt TO-. stamp it out9 1t is up to
the News TO give some evidence in sup
port of these hitherto wholly unsup-
ported assertions of Hopkins,
Having now brought this Hopkins
speech approvingly before the public
the News is obliged to conccde its cor
rectness, and TO show the truth Of what
it claimed at the same time confessing
as true all the obloquy cast upon polyg
amy and the former Mormonsm by Hop
kiDs, 1t is bound to do this or confess
its inability TO do so, and deplore its
own rash act in bringing into the public
notice a witness whose uttcranccs it
can neither consent 10 nor defend.