depicting Senator Smoot in the hands of the "Mormon Hierarchy." Within days of his election, controversy brewed as Smoot was charged with being "one of a self-perpetuating body of fifteen men who, constituting the ruling authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or 'Mormon' Church, claim, and by their followers are accorded the right to claim, supreme authority, divinely sanctioned, to shape the belief and control the conduct of those under them in all matters whatsoever, civil and religious, temporal and spiritual." When Senator Smoot arrived in
Washington, DC, in late February 1903, he was met with protests and charges that he was a polygamist, but he could easily disprove them. Unlike
B. H. Roberts, who upon election to the House of Representatives was not allowed to sit while hearings took place, Smoot was allowed to be seated. Among the public, old charges regarding the
Danites, the
Mountain Meadows massacre, and
Brigham Young's plural wives were discussed. In January 1904, Smoot prepared a rebuttal to the criticisms, with the help of several non-Mormon lawyers. The actual hearings began in March. LDS Church President
Joseph F. Smith took the witness stand and was interrogated for three days. Apostles
Matthias F. Cowley and
John W. Taylor did not appear after being subpoenaed. Apostle
Marriner W. Merrill ignored one subpoena and died soon after being subpoenaed a second time. Taylor fled to Canada. Other witnesses included
James E. Talmage;
Francis M. Lyman,
president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles;
Andrew Jenson, church historian;
B. H. Roberts; and
Moses Thatcher, who had been dropped from the Quorum of the Twelve in 1896. According to historian
Kathleen Flake: The four-year Senate proceeding created a 3,500-page record of testimony by 100 witnesses on every peculiarity of Mormonism, especially its polygamous family structure, ritual worship practices, "secret oaths," open canon, economic communalism, and theocratic politics. The public participated actively in the proceedings. In the Capitol, spectators lined the halls, waiting for limited seats in the committee room, and filled the galleries to hear floor debates. For those who could not see for themselves, journalists and cartoonists depicted each day's admission and outrage. At the height of the hearing, some senators were receiving a thousand letters a day from angry constituents. What remains of these public petitions fills 11 feet of shelf space, the largest such collection in the National Archives. After years of hearings, the remaining charges of the opposition included the following: • That church leaders were still practicing plural marriage. Apostles
John W. Taylor and
Matthias F. Cowley were still performing plural marriages in Mexico and Canada, but Taylor was later excommunicated for the practice. • That the church was exerting too much influence on Utah politics. • That members were required to take
oaths of vengeance in the
temples that they would seek revenge on the United States. • That members believed revelation was higher than the laws of the land. The defense included: • "Reed Smoot possesses all the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution to make him eligible to a seat in the Senate, and the regularity of his election by the legislature of the State of Utah is not questioned in any manner." • "Aside from his connection with the Mormon Church, so far as his private character is concerned, it is, according to all witnesses, irreproachable, for all who testify on the subject agree or concede that he has led and is leading an upright life". • "So far as mere belief and membership in the Mormon Church are concerned, he is fully within his rights and privileges under the guaranty of religious freedom given by the Constitution of the United States". • In relation to the oath, the testimony is "thereby shown to be limited in amount, vague and indefinite in character, and utterly unreliable, because of the disreputable and untrustworthy character of the witnesses." Of note, Senator
Fred Dubois of
Idaho fought viciously against Smoot. His intensity caused some to believe that Smoot was as powerful as Dubois claimed. Dubois's ally, Senator
Julius C. Burrows of
Michigan, made the following statement, speaking of the history of Mormon polygamy: One supporter was Senator
Boies Penrose of
Pennsylvania. Addressing the subject of polygamy, Penrose reportedly glared at one or more of his Senate colleagues who had a reputation for philandering and said, "As for me, I would rather have seated beside me in this chamber a polygamist who doesn't polyg than a monogamist who doesn't monag." On February 20, 1907, the issue came to a conclusion as a vote was held in the Senate. Smoot won and remained a senator for 26 more years. ==Aftermath==