y received an inspired instruction, on this point, from a Prophet
of the Lord, and had given his pledge against Kearns.

The incident became one of the jokes of the campaign, for Howell held to
his promise to Smith (and was subsequently rewarded by Smith with a seat
in Congress), and President Snow was compelled to waive the question of
conflicting "revelations."

Kearns was elected. But he had had a powerful political machine of his
own, and he had been supported by a strong Gentile vote. He immediately
showed his independence by refusing to take orders from the political
Church leaders. He declined, further, for himself and his financial
confreres, to engage with the Church in business affairs. Many charges
were made that he was breaking his agreement of cooperation with the
authorities, but there never has been produced any evidence of such an
agreement, and I do not believe (from my knowledge of Senator Kearns)
that the agreement was ever made.

The railroad into Southern Utah was later built by the Harriman
interests in combination with Clark and Kearns; but there, too, Snow was
disappointed. The expected development of the Church properties proved
far less profitable than had been supposed, and the financial prophecies
of the Seer and Revelator were not fulfilled.

By this time it was abundantly evident that some of the Church leaders
intended to rule their people in politics with an absolutism as supreme
as any that Utah had ever known in the old days. And for these leaders
to maintain their authority--despite the covenant of their amnesty, the
terms of Utah's statehood and the provisions of the constitution--and to
maintain that authority against the robust American sentiment that would
be sure to assert itself--it was necessary that they should have the
most effective political protection afforded by any organization in the
whole country. The ideal arrangement of evil was offered to them by the
men then in temporary leadership of the Republican party. The Prophets
were able to make the Republican party a guilty partner of their perfidy
by making it a recipient of the proceeds of that perfidy, and to assure
themselves protection in every religious tyranny so long as they did not
run counter to Republican purpose.

For the moment, the Church took more benefit from the partnership than
it conferred. The result of the presidential elections of 1900 showed
that the Republicans could have elected their ticket wit