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Show Words Without Knowledge. The New York Times of last Sunday discusses Mr. Carlisle's speech before the Senate committee and pronounces it "weak." It seeks to make the following points: 1. If polygamy is still practiced in Utah, then Mr. Smoot should be ousted, but after two years of effort there has been a failure to establish any save sporadic cases, and these without sanction of the church. 2. The church has given evidence of its good faith by unfrocking two apostles who had taken polygamous wives since the admission of Utah. 3. Mr. Carlisle cannot be serious in charging that the Mormons-hold a higher allegiance to their church than to tho government, because members of other churches do the same. It adds: "Obviously "Obvi-ously it is only when this theory of superior allegiance al-legiance takes practical shape that it can be properly prop-erly dealt with by excluding from office, not the holders of theoretically treasonable tenets, but the perpetrators of actually treasonable acts." 4. That the compact with Congress was that Utah should abandon polygamy, but that Utah should be admitted and allowed like other States to choose its representatives. And the Times says: "The evidence that Utah has fulfilled in good faith Its part of the compact we may take to be conclusive." The final conclusion of the Times is that to B unseat Mr. Smoot would "be a violation of that fl clause of the Constitution which provides that H Congress shall guarantee Ito every State in this fl Union a republican form of government, and of H that other clause which provides that no State, H without its consent, shall bo deprived of its equal H suffrage in the Senate." H Job on one occasion cried out: "Who is this fl that darkeneth counsel by words without knowl- H edge?" Job at the time was feeling sore over the H business and was evidently disgusted. There are H others. H There has been ample testimony supplied that fl polygamy is being rushed in Utah as it never was I in the old days. As to obtaining evidence, if there I is in some room in New York, at this moment, a H conspiracy being planned to blow up the Times' H office, can the Times prove it? It would be just H as easy as to prove a polygamous marriage in fl Utah. A year ago, at the April conference, when fl probably 9,000 people were in the Tabernacle, the I names of the officers of the church were submit- fl ted for confirmation. Among those officers were fl the two apostles who were dropped from the rolls H this year. Though every person present knew H that they had taken plural wives, there were but fl two hands raised in opposition to their confirma- I tion. By the act the vast congregation in fact H voted to restore polygamy. And when the two H were stricken from tho rolls at the last conference H there was not one word uttered about their fl crimes. The audience were simply Informed that H the two, being out of harmony with the quorum H of apostles, had reslgnod. Instead of being an H evidence of good faith, it was but a fresh illus- H tration of the perfidy of the church chiefs. H Again, does tho Times know of the members fl of any other creed who give their highest alleg- H iance to a temporal kingdom with its own king H and courts and a perfect temporal government. H .And about this superior allegianco taking practi- H cal form, what does the Times want to convince H itself? The claim of this system here is that It Is "a I spiritual kingdom and a kingdom of God on earth," fl and that its chief is tho direct agent of God, the fl only legitimate sovereign on earth; that all other fl governments are usurpations, and that ho has ab- fl solute control of this people, spiritually and tern- B porally. fl That control has been. exercised hero for fifty- B nine years. It has named the candidates for of- B fice, it has passed upon every bill before the leg- B islaturo, it has absolutely controlled the city coun- fl ell of this city whenever tho council has contained fl a Mormon majority, it has made litigants after B their cases have been decided In the Federal fl courts submit to a church court and has reversed fl tho decisions of the Federal Judges it has oxer- fl cised all the functions of a perfect political gov- fl ernment. 'fl Since tho Smoot hearing has been ponding, H Smoot himself has come to this city, named can- fl didates whom no one ever dreamed of, and com- H polled tboir nomination and election, solely fl through his ecclesiastical pull. What form would H H ,1 ! H a. the Times demand to establish the full treason ot H I this system? Has the Times read Smoot's own H testimony about the higher allegiance? B i Does the Tiroes know that if twenty-five more H , States were represented in Congress as Utah is Hi this would cease to be a Republic In twenty min- Hj utes? In the words of Job we ask: "Who is this Hj that darkeneth counsel by words without knowl- i dege?" |