The Smoot Case and Roman Catholicism
The seating of the Mormon Church official, Reed Smoot, in the United States Senate, which seems to be assured by the vote of the Utah Legislature, will be contested by several religious organizations, upon the same grounds as those upon which Brigham Roberts was excluded from the House of Representatives, excepting the charge of polygamy. The principal contention of “apostle” Smoot’s opponents is that he recognizes a higher power than the federal government, and cannot consistently take the test oath. This objection against “apostle” Smoot is no doubt valid, but is it not equally valid in the case of every Roman Catholic who believes that the pope is by right a temporal sovereign? The country certainly has much more to fear from the interference of the papacy in its politics than from any influence that can be exerted by the relatively small following of the Mormon Church.