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Show COIMENTS OF THE NATIONAL .. J; j j . , - PRESS ON TUB S.V.OOT CASE j ' (Seattle Post-Intelligencer.) . The testimony of President Joseph F, Smith of the Mormon church, before the Senatorial committee, is certainly start-Una start-Una and a-oes far to make out the case of the. protestants against the right of Senator Smoot of Utah to hold his seat. President Smith admitted for one thing that 6mootAhad to secure the consent of Smith and of the other church leaders before he was permitted to stand for election as a United States Senator. Said President Smith: -"He had to get the consent of his associate as-sociate apostles and the first presidency In order to go .before the Legislature. He obtained that consent." . The necessity of Mr. S moot's obedience obedi-ence to the church authorities on matters mat-ters affecting his candidacy for a great public office thus disclosed goes far toward to-ward warranting a belief that Mr. Smoot sits in the Senate as a representative represen-tative of the Mormon church and that he - owes a higher allegiance to that church than to his State or to the Government Gov-ernment of the United Stttes, which Is the main point made iigamst'Wtf'rlght to' his seat. . - v.'.', . Furthes' revelations" made .byPteslri : .dent,mfth,lorvthesubJex:t of, polygamy show the complete disregard': ot ihe pledges.under-whlch UXah ..was admitt ,ted into theLnlon. Mr. Smith calmly: admitted' tHat he was occupytngpolyk-smous occupytngpolyk-smous relations with five women. all of whom had borne him children since 1890, the date when the xhucch : Issued Its 1 manifesto renouncing- polygamy. The number of . his children born since that date he could not recollect, but his Impression was that one of his wives had three children born since that time. Mr. Smith further, explained that he was perfectly willing to take the conse- j quences of his action and was amenable i to the law. What the consequences i .would be. If Mr. gmlth were arrested. It is easy enough to see. Tried by al Mormon Jury, before a Mormon Judge, under a statute made simply for the! purpose, of hoodwinking the people of the United States into a belief that the Mormons Intended to keep their pledge and abandon polygamy, the conse quences of which Mr. Smith Is so cheerfully cheer-fully willing to face, would amount to the imposition of a nominal fine on his own confession of guilt and nothing more. Utah was admitted Into the Union on the positive pledge made by the authorities au-thorities of the Mormon church that the practice of polygamy would be abandoned. aban-doned. The head of the Mormon church, under oath, swears that ever since that time he himself has been living in polygamy with five wives and that he has not the remotest intention of observing ob-serving the pledge. Ought the Mormon church be permitted permit-ted a representative in the United States Senate under such circumstances? There Is only one answer. No! |