of the Smoot case
from the Senators of its state. Every political and business interest
that could be reached was moved to protect the threatened Apostle. The
sugar trust magnates and their Senators were enlisted. The mercantile
correspondents of the Church were urged to write letters to their
Congressmen and to their Senators, and to use their power at home to
check the anti-Mormon newspapers. The Utah representative of a powerful
mercantile institution, that had vital business relations with the
Church, confessed to me that he had been called East to consult with the
head of his company, who had been asked to use his influence for Smoot.
"I could not advise our president," he said, "to send the letter that
was demanded of him. And yet I couldn't take the responsibility of
injuring the company by advising him to refuse the Church request. You
know, if we had refused it, point-blank, they would have destroyed every
interest we had within the domain of their power. I should have been
ruined financially. All our stockholders would have suffered. They would
never have forgiven me."

The president of the company failed to send the letter. His failure
became known, through Church espionage and the report of the Church's
friends in the Senate. Pressure was brought to bear upon him; and, with
the aid of his Utah representative, he compromised on a letter that did
partial violence to his conscience and partially endangered his business
relations with the Church.

Both these men were aware that the Church had broken its covenants to
the country, and that Apostle Smoot could not be either a loyal citizen
of the nation or a free representative of the people of his state.
"I did not like the compromise we made," my friend told me. "I feel
humiliated whenever I think of it. But I tried to do the best I could
under the circumstances."

The results of this pressure of political and business interests upon
Washington showed gradually in the tone of the political newspapers
throughout the whole country. It showed in the growing confidence
expressed by the organs of the Church authorities in Utah. It showed in
the cheerful predictions of the Prophets that the Lord would overrule in
Apostle Smoot's behalf. It showed in Smoot's exercise of an autocratic
leadership in the political affairs of the State.

He was allowed to take his oath of office as Senator on March 5, 1903;
the protests against him were referred to the Senate Committee