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Show BE VE RIDGE ON SMOOT. Tho fulsome and ridiculous "estimate" "esti-mate" of Smoot carried in the Bcy-eridge Bcy-eridge speech of Monday night in this city makes everybody smile. Tho idea of posting Smoot as "a. real statesman and a leader," and as, "without question, ques-tion, the best equipped man in tho Sen-ato Sen-ato to defend tho President's conservation conser-vation policy," is such trumpery twaddle twad-dle that every ono of honest judgment judg-ment must necessarily hang his head in embarrassment and shame on hearing hear-ing such stuff from the lips of even a mediocre speaker. And when Bev-eridgo Bev-eridgo proceeded to say that ho was not given to flattery and that when ho praises a man for tho service he has done for his country he feels sure that he deserves it, one is inevitably drawn to the conclusion that Bevcridge is infirm in-firm of judgment and speaks from tho one-sideduess of tho partisan rather than from the calm judgment of the man of affairs. Tho idea that a man who has caused the trouble lo his Stato that Smoot has done, who has brought more odium upon his church than any other man living, whose bossism in this Stato has led in- to the dirt and to tho prccipico of do-feat, do-feat, can by any candid use of words be termed "a Teal statesman and a. leader," is such a monstrous perversion of terms that Senator Bcveridgo in order to excuse himself would have to invoke tho Mormon rule .that he is at liberty to put his own interpretation inter-pretation upon vord3, and is not bound bj- the dictionarj. Smoot !s candidacy for tho Senate hero awakened tho liveliest opposition among the wisest and most far-seeing men in the Republican party. His persistence per-sistence in that candidacy developed a situation which showed the supreme command of the church in political affairs af-fairs of this State; for when Smoot announced an-nounced his candidacy there was not oulj- no other Republican candidate in the field, and no possibility of getting any such candidate, but there was no Democratic candidato to succeed the Hon. J. L. Rawlins, whose term was about to expire and who would naturally be supposed to be a candidate for re-election. The "permission" given by his quorum to Smoot to be a candidate carried car-ried with it the endorsement of that quorum and of tho first presidency; and made him, in fact, tho church candidate; candi-date; and his clientage was tho vote that the hiorarchj' could control. And as a member of Congress he represented the Mormon church solely, and not the peoplo of this State. This idea is recognized recog-nized in tho apostolate, a member of which openb' has stated that Apostle Smoot "vindicated the gospel in the halls of Congress," and was exemplified exempli-fied in Smoot 's interferancc, in Boston, against the immigration laws, in behalf of tho elders' European lambs. The church endorsement was still more firm-I3' firm-I3' fixed upon him by President Joseph F. Smith at the recent conference. It necessarily follows when any high church official obtains tho "consent of his quorum" to run for political office, of-fice, that tho prayers and influenco of his quorum are for his success. And if the quorum referred to is the great governing gov-erning bod' of tho church, tho twelve apostles, reinforced I13 the sustaining voice of the first presidency, then there can be 110 question whatever about the one who is so sustained being the church choice. And that is tho reason why there is such determined opposition to the high Mormon ecclcsiast being a candidate for civil office. The genera.! disapproval, by the American people, of high churchmen as candidates for office is iu full force among the independent voters of Utah; and that sentiment is reinforced when we consider what the church endorsement means for a candidate candi-date in this State. It means that the church is committed to his support, and that it is absolutely idle for any other candidate to appear for the office. One of tho most singular phenomena of tho time is tho devotion of President Roosevelt to the Smoot cause. At first President Roosevelt was very firm and outspoken in his advice that it was not well to elect an apostle of the church to be Senator from Utah. And he counseled coun-seled strongl' and wisol- against it. All at once, however, his attitude changed, and ho became not only frieudl to Smoot as Senator, .but his determined supporier and the activo propagandist of his cause in tho Senate. What made this change has never been explained otherwise than in tho public statement made from the rostrum iu this citj- four L3'cars ago that the Mormon church had contributed from its tithing fund an im-mouse im-mouse sum for the Ropublican campaign cam-paign fund of four years ago, to elect Roosevelt. And it is very likel3r that, in consonance with President Roosevelt's Roose-velt's desire, another large contribution has been made from the Mormon tithe fund this year, also, for tho Republican campaign. That Mormon Democratic titho-pa3'ors might oppose this use of the tithe fund has never been considered worth- of an3 attention by the Mormon church leaders. And these leaders still refuse to give any account of what M1C3' do with the tithes. But a full and complete com-plete accounting might show the falsity of tho rumors connecting tho titho fund with tho Republican campaign corruption; corrup-tion; and then again it might not; thero might bo false entries; though it raa3' bo that tho monc" so contributed is too large an amount to bo covered up. and that tho full and true accounting account-ing that ought lo be made of the titho nionc3" "would show that large sums from the tithes had gone for Republican campaign cam-paign uses. But, however that may bo, the ridiculousness ridicu-lousness of Beveridgo's tout for Smoot is apparent. Smoot is merely a sort of commonplace, ordinary sor.t of chap, grabbing everj-thing in sight, keen for the dollar, and activo in catching it. But there are pleut3' of others that are even keener than he in this respect, and who have caught moro dollars than ho has caught. So that he is by no means eminent ovon in that direction; and sureb he is defective in all else. And after all, where a man has tho freo use for his personal and political purposes pur-poses of a two-million-dollar titho fund, ho would have to bo a dolt iudoed if he could not get on. But Smoot, as "a real statesman and a leader," is tho joke of tho time in Utah. |
