The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-12
other directorShips which he held.
much is gained
PRESIDENT SMITH IN COLLIER s.

from President Joseph r. oHithi
signed officially as president of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter'day
Saints 1t is even more surprising to
see the contents of that letter; this in
reply to a communication Of Mr. Har'
vey J. O'Higgins in Collior's of June
10th, which was an answer to President
Roosevelt s letter in Golfers of April
18th. Mr.. O'Higgins answer to Col
onel Roosevelt left the ex.President
in a much damaged condition. This
President Smith evidently realizes, for
he rushes to the rescue,
The first portion of President
Smith IS letter is devoted to the incl
dent of the report of his address at
the opening Of the last April conference
here. This matter has been thorough
ly thresbed out here. and the fact
thoroughly established that the quota"
tion which was objected to, and which
was printed in The Tribune. was an
exact reproduction of what purported
to be the official report of a portion
of his conference address as printed
in the Dese.et News of the evening
of April 9Th, that part relating to mar
riages. And STILL President Smith
speaks of distortion, of substituting
"plural' marriages for "civil," and
alleges that the Salt Lake Tribune tel
egraphed changes and perversions to
the Los Angeles Examiner. The truth
= - ho ronnrt
Of President Smith IS remarks precise
ly as that report appeared in the Des"
eret News, the official organ of the
church The Tribune did not tele~
graph anything at all anywhere, and
no one telegraphed anything on any
authority whatever from The Tribune
The Los Angeles Examiner printed the
matter on the same morning that Tho
Tribune did. and what it printed was
the official report made by the Des'
eret Nows. All this has been gone
over time after time here. and the fact
thoroughly established ms The Tribune
states it. To find President Smith
bringing this matter up III a distorted
form at this late day is, indeed, an
amazing thing. Three months after
the incident had been thoroughly
threshed out, and three months after
The Tribune had thoroughly made out
its case Just as here stated, President
Smith recurs to the old false charge,
and presents it anew. He does not
even give The Tribune credit for stat
ing its belief that the President could
reported by the Deseret News. It
was entirely natural that the Los An
geles Examiner men who handled the
report should take the view of it they
did; but they did not get that view
from The Tribune, but from the Off
cial report in the official church OF
gan printed in that organ within quo
tation marks. showing apparently that
it was the stenographic report,
The latter part of President Smith g
letter IN Golfers is devoted TO the
usual attempted vindication of the
church from the responsibility for new
polygamy, and for the continued po-
lygamous relations. We have so recently
gone over all of this matter that it is
hardly worth while at this time to do
more than epitomize few of the lead"
ing facts.
The petition for amnesty pledged
obedience of the Mormon people to the
law. Joseph +. Smith, as an Apostle
of the church, signed that petition.
The amnesty was granted by Presi"
dent Harrison and President Cleveland
on the condition stated, that the laws
were to be fully obeyed.
President Wilfred Woodruff, who put
forth the manifesto, testified that it
meant the cessation of polygamous re
lations already entered into Presi:
dent Lorenzo Snow. who succeeded
Woodruff, testified to the same inter
probation of the manifesto. President
Joseph F. Smith also testified that the
manifesto meant that; that it couldn It
mean anything else.
In the proceedings before Congress
that were entirely in the hands OF the
Mormon church and its representatives
to recover the escheated property, the
showing was made that complete sub
mission had been made TO the laws, and
tHaO WV SoShSosSu PippSi ~ puShb w DS
restored. because the conditions under
which the escheat had been made no
longer existed; that complete subniis'
sion TO the laws had been had. In the
preamble of the resolution making the
restoration of this escheated property
1t was expressly recited that the resto
ration was to be made because all re.
sistance to the laws had ceased; and
that the laws were being fully obeyed
The first State Legislature Of Utah
passed a law lcgitimiziug all children
born of plural marriages up to the date
of January /, 1896, then just preced
ing. This was taken by every one
concerned as the final act in the
breaking off from the old polygamous
relations, and that thenceforth there
should be no issue of polygamous mar
riages,
And yet, in this recent lette,
to Golfers, President Smith says;
HNo matter what vindictive iudivid
uals may assert, there was a genera
understanding when Utah was ad
! mitted as State of the Union, that il
| polygamous marriages were stopped
the old relations would not be inter
fered with; this being q statement
that is absolutely contradictory to the