--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Smith, Joseph F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 10 number: 4 published: 1907-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Smith, Joseph F., \"Editor's Table—Unjustifiable Denunciation,\" *Improvement Era* 10, no. 4 (February 1907): 305–307." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1004unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1004unse start_page: 305 end_page: 307 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1907-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1004unse publication_year: 1907 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1907, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Editor's Table—Unjustifiable Denunciation EDITOR'S TABLE. UNJUSTIFIABLE DENUNCIATION. The Hon. Julius C. Burrows, of Michigan, delivered a speech in the Senate of the United States, on Tuesday, December 11. The Senate had under consideration the resolution reported from the committee on Privileges and Elections, "That Reed Smoot is not entitled to a seat in the Senate as u Senator of the United States from the State of Utah." The Senator's speech was mo;jtly, if not entirely, directed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its doc- trines, and its leading authorities, from the days of Nauvoo to the present time. His only objection to Senator Smoot was that he is one of the authorities of the Church. His speech is a compila- tion of unfavorable and mostly entirely unjust criticisms from sources antagonistic to the Saints, and gathered principally from revamped tales published in our own state—tales promulgated by a combination of ministers, assisted by a local paper whose chief owners and writer are disgruntled politicians. Scraps of sermons, remarks, and statements by leading Church authorities, are separ- ated from their context and made to show the position of the Church in a false light. Prejudiced reports of former early government officials, are repeated to prove his false contentions. Much that was said and done in the early 50's, in time of frontier excitement and contention, a great deal of it being irresponsible slander of the Latter-day Saints, is carefully woven into the speech of the Honorable Senator, so as to apply to the Latter day Saints then and to-day. Here is an example. Speaking of the Saints he says: 30 ; IMPROVEMENT ERA. Prom the hour they took possession of the territory in 1847 the domination of this Mormon hierarchy in civil as well as in so-called "religious" affairs has been absolute and supreme, and there has been inaugurated and carried on for over forty years a carnival of crime in this Territory unexampled in the history of a civilized state. Then, passing over the more recent history of the state up to this time, he makes this ubterly false charge against the Latter- day Saints: An organization that fosters and encourages crime, tramples upon all law, human and divine, practices polygamy and polygamous cohabitation, desecrates the home, debases man, degrades womanhood, debauches public morals, strikes at the Christian civilization of the age, undermines and shakes the foundations of society and government, destroys the sanctity of the marriage relation, defies the authority of the State and National Government, registers an oath of hostility to the American nation, and brings the name and fame of the good people of Utah into disrepute, and shame and humiliation to the American people—I submit that such an organization is not entitled to have its representative in the Senate of the United States. And I will he'irtily agree as to the last statement. Bat without attempting in this little space to review or answer the Senator's falsehoods, I do declare, what is well kno^n here, that there is no organization of that kind in Utah nor among the Latter-day Saints; and further, the Church neither has, nor seeks to have, a representative in Congress. If one of its members is in Congress, he is no more a representative of the Church than a Meth^idist, or a Catholic, or a Presbyterian who may be in Congress is a repre- sentative of the church to which he belongs. The federal officials elected from Utah were elected by the people of Utah, and by the political parties that chose them, and the parties are composed of all classes. The Church had positively no voice in the matter, and took no action in their election at all. The Church and siate in Utah are separated effectively and completely. Again Senator Burrows says in his effort to show the domina- tion of what he terms the hierarchy in political affairs: There has been no case in which a candidate for high office in Utah has obtained the consent of the Church to run and has been defeated, and there is no case in which one did not receive such consent and has been elected. The consent of the hierarchy is a command of the Church. And yet he declares in the same breath, that in the Legis- EDITORS TABLE. 307 lature of 1899, "the Mormon Church made a determined effort to elect one, McCune, a Gentile," but failed. The truth of the matter is that the Church neither "made a determined effort," in this case, nor failed, for the reason that the Church had no voice in the matter. Neither is there a member of the Church in Utah who believes that the consent of the Church authorities to any of their associates to engage in civil, political, or business, affairs, is a command of the Church. What members do in these lines is their own affair, and the Church and its officers do not command, either by consent or otherwise. Then, as to the character of the people of the Church, he says: I think I am justified in saying in the light of history and the testimony, tha* from the time Brigham Young and his followers entered the Territory of Utah in 1847 until this hour the organization has been a criminal one. On the contrary, all who know the truth will deny vigorously that he is justified in any such conclusion. His own' words deny his own assertions. In further reply to such falsehood it is only necessary to point out that a criminal community could not have done what the Saints have accon-plished in this state, neither could they have exercised the power for good that they have in the earth. Right conduct does not spring from crime; nor good character from evil teachings. Of Senator Smoot, he says: The Senator stands before the senate in personal character and bearing above criticism and beyond reproach. What may be thus tru'y said of Senator Smoot, may be said with equal truthfulness of the great majority of the Latter-day Saints. Their conduct is admirable; in virtue, truthfulness, reli- ability, and in every good thing that makes noble men and women, this people compare favorably with the people of any other state in this Union. They respect womanhood, they love home and family, provide for and educate their children, are patriotic and loyal to our ration; and are trained to, and do respect law and order. They are reliable and conservative. Such fruits, such re- sults, do not ripen or spring from an organization teaching crime and lawlessness. And yet, for political purposes the Senator has denounced this people and its organization with every anathema of