Salt Lake Tribune | 1910-02-18 | Page 6 | The Prime Lawbreakers

THE PRIME LAWBREAKERS. "Let tho' citizens demand of thoir officials," of-ficials," urges tho Dcscrct News, "that they do their duty in the matter of law enforcement." The citizens have sp demanded, and they arb still so demanding. But their appeals in, this respect fall upon fear-closed fear-closed oars. The matter, however, has boon explained, and the situation clarified, clari-fied, by President Joseph J' Smith of the Mormon church, whose journalistic spokesman is Ihc Dcscrct News. While testifying at: Washington, Mr. Smith saidi "The fact of the matter is, that the most prominent men, tho most influential in-fluential men, the men who have stood highest in business and in social circles in Utah among tho Mormon people, have been men who had more than one wife." (Sec official testimony, volume T, pngc 209). And with respect to the officers of the law and their attitude toward lawbreakers of his own class, he. said: "ft is the law of my Stale to which T am amendable, and if the officers of tho law have not done their duty toward me T enn not blame them. 1 think they have some respect for me." (See same volume, page 33-1). To the individual who knows the situation here, these two utterances by Joseph J' Smith explain voluminously, brief as they are. Joseph F. is credited with being the most influential citizen in the State of Utah, His companion lawbreakers, as he says, arc also influential in-fluential men. They require of public officials that they be let alone in their lawbreaking upon penalty of summary dismissal from the public service through the exercise of ecclesiastical and lawless influence. Tho "respect" for Joseph F. claimed by him to be exhibited by public officials toward him is merely that bred of fear of his political influence as the supremo head of tho dominant church here. And it is recognition of this truth that caused him to say thnt ho did not blamo those officials for not having done their duty ,by him. Not onl- arc the men . represented particularly by Joseph F. Smith breaking break-ing the lav,' day after day, week in and week out, and one year after another, an-other, but there arc hundreds of new polyga mous Mormons who aro doubly guilty, sinco they havo committed their crimes after the question was supposed to havo been settled by the Woodruff manifesto of 1890. And all of these criminals old ami new aro protected by the Smith influence and power. If other officers in this Stale performed per-formed their duty as well as do the municipal officers of Salt Lako City, tho saints would bp compelled to go to tho State prison on Sundays to hoar their chiefs preach.