Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1920-09-17
NATION HAS NEED
OF SENATOR SMOOT
An Engineers Personal Estimate
of His Value in the Councils
of the Senate.
SEVENTEEN YEARS OF
WISE CRAFTSMANSHIP
1t is Utah's Duty to the Nation at
This Critical Time to Return
Hon. Reed Smoot to His Field
of Usefulness in u. S. Senate.

The following is letter from M.
o. Leighton, Consulting Engineer,
Washington, ID. c., to the Engineers
of Utah concerning Reed Smoot:
As one engineer to another, want
to talk to you concerning Senator
Smoot.
Being resident Of the District of
Columbia and therefore a disfran-
chised citizen, my talk can have no
political significance. | am ignorant
of the political situation in Utah, and
am without information as to Mr..
Shoots prospects for reelection. /
do not know who will be his opponent
nor whether he will be opposed. This
letter is sent without Senator Shoots
knowledge. The fact that he is a
Republican has no weight in my state
ment. Were he a Democrat my testi-
mony would in no wise be altered. |
am thinking only Of Reed Smoot the
legislator, his service to the country,
and of the loss that the country will
sustain if he is not returned to the
Senate.
have been resident of Washing
ton during all of the II years that Mr..
Smoot has been in the Senate. During
all that time | have been closely OBJ
servant Of the work and accomplish
ments of the men in Congress. / am
under no obligations to Senator Smoot,
nor do expect to be. My acquaint-
ance with him has been confined to
official matters with respect to which
he has disagreed with me more often
than otherwise. My estimate OF him
is an engineers estimate, which am
giving YOU because it is one of the
very few ways by which /, in my
DISTINGUISHED condition, can render
service to my country.
Senator Smoot is one Of the most
faithful, diligent, and valuable men
that have ever seen in public life.
His industry is untiring, and the ex-
tent of his information concerning
and participation in legislative matt
ers is astonishing. II we may be al
lowed to Judge from the number and
Importance of his committee assign
ments, regular and special. it would
seem as though the Senate had fallen
into the habit Of depending on Sena-
tor Smoot whenever matters arise in
which the principal requirements are
brains, industry, good judgement and
devotion TO the public interest.
The u. S. Senate puts the deadly
parallel on all its members. Men &C
quire position and influence there by
virtue of ability. The leading COM
mittee of the Senate is that of FL
nance. Senator Penrose of Pennsyl-
vania is the Chairman, but next to
him Senator Smoot appears to be the
dominating force. The next Senate
committee in Importance is that on
Appropriations Senator Smoot is
the ranking member of that. He is
Chairman of the Committee on Public
Lands and also a member of the inn
portant committees on Pensions, print
ing, and Territories. He also has
many special committee assignments.
This constitutes the best evidence as
to the way in which the Senate itself
regards the qualifications of Mr.. Reed
Smoot.
These are very grave times in the
life of our Nation, so grave that, ir-
respective of political party considera
tions, the ablest and most experienced
men of the country ought to be in
Congress. Our future will largely be
determined by the devotion, industry
and good judgment of our representa-
tives in Congress. It would be a wan
ton sacrifice of the public interest to
fail to send Mr.. Smoot back to the
Senate.
In the conduct Of your engineering
work you look only for results. You
cleave to the man who produces re-
suits, no matter what your individual
opinion may be of his personality, his
politics, or the color of his hair. The
time has come when we must run the
Government along the same lines.
with a serious realization of the fact
that the Government needs proven
men as it never needed them before.
Shall Utah deprive the Nation of
proven man? Would you deprive your
own professional establishment Of such
a man at such time as this? Is it
not obvious that after a service Of II
years in the United States Senate,
during which Mr. Smoot has become
more familiar with Government matt
ers than almost any other man in the
country, he will render better service
to the Nation at this crucial time than
can any other man that Utah can
send?
do not know how well Mr., Smoot
has satisfied his constituents nor what
he has done for the local benefit Of
Utah. Irrespective Of his perfor-
nance in these respects please give
your engineering estimate of the fol-
lowing proposition: At this partic-
ular time the real question is not what
a man may do in Congress for merely
local benefit in Utah, but what that
State NAV contribute to the Nation.