Spring 2007 Quarterly Cover
ARTICLES
"...I am not and never have been a polygamist": Reed Smoot's Speech
before the United States Senate, February 19, 1907
By Michael Harold Paulos
The Baron Woolen Mills: A Utah Legend
By Rebecca Andersen
The Beginnings of The Journal of Discourses: A Confrontation Between
George D.Watt and Willard Richards
By Ronald G. Watt
Leo Haefeli, Utah's Chameleon Journalist
By Val Holley
"Leftward March": 1930s Student Liberalism at the Utah State
Agricultural College
By Robert Parson
IN THIS ISSUE
One hundred years ago the Panic of 1907 threatened the well-being of
the United States as bank failures, widespread layoffs, and a severe
dip in industrial production portended a serious economic depression
for the country. On the eve of that crisis the United States Congress
was preoccupied with the controversial seating of Utah's Republican
Senator Reed Smoot.The four year struggle to seat Smoot after his
election to the United States Senate in 1903 was one marked by intense
controversy, religious and political zeal, and a drawn-out debate on
the qualifications, conduct, and beliefs of an individual elected to
the Senate.
Smoot was challenged because of his position as a member of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and unresolved issues regarding the continuation of Mormon
polygamy.The climax of the battle came on February 19, 1907, when
Smoot defended himself in an impassioned speech that addressed the
issues of polygamy, separation of church and state, and states'
rights. Just what impact the speech had on the final vote is unclear,
but in the end the United States Senate voted forty-two to
twenty-eight to permit Smoot to take his seat. He was elected to four
more terms, serving as a senator until 1933. Our first article for the
Spring 2007 issue includes the text of Smoot's 1907 speech and an
overview of the four-year challenge to his seating in the Senate.
Our second article on the Baron Woolen Mills looks at one of Utah's
pioneer industries that began as a component of the nineteenth century
United Order movement launched in Brigham City under the leadership of
Lorenzo Snow in the 1860s. As the cooperative movement came to a
close, the Brigham City Woolen Mill did not cease, but carried on as
part of the emerging Utah economy under the leadership of an English
Mormon convert, James Baron and his descendants. The Baron Woolen
Mills remained a viable part of the economy of the Intermountain West
until near the end of the twentieth century.
One of the most valuable resources for students of Utah in the
nineteenth century and the Utah phase of Mormonism is the Journal of
Discourses published twice a month in Liverpool, England, from 1854 to
1886.The twenty- six volumes contain 1,438 speeches given by
fifty-five people including 390 speeches by Brigham Young. It is
ironic that this valuable
collection grew out of a labor dispute between two Mormon stalwarts—
Willard Richards and George D.Watt. Our third article examines the
circumstances that led to the publication of the Journal of Discourses
while revealing much about the nature of employment and compensation
in pioneer Utah. Leo Haefeli was also a part of Utah's early
publishing history, earning his living as a schoolteacher and as a
writer for local newspapers. Born in Switzerland where he was educated
in a Catholic seminary, Haefeli immigrated to the United States and
worked for a German-language newspaper in New York City. Just how he
found his way to the Swiss settlement in Midway is not clear, but once
there he became a member of the Mormon faith in 1875 and spent the
rest of his life in Utah. Haefeli demonstrated an unusual talent for
languages. His command and use of the English language was unexcelled
by contemporary British or American writers. His skill in
translating German and French writings into English was exceptional.
Haefeli became a warrior in the pro-Mormon/anti-Mormon newspaper
battles of the last decades of the nineteenth century. Haefeli was not
a stalwart but switched sides as circumstances changed and
opportunities arose. As our fourth article for this issue reveals, the
appellation Utah's
chameleon journalist fits the charismatic Haefeli.
Our final article for this issue also deals with the topic of
journalism and writing as it examines the writings and activities of a
group of students at Utah State Agricultural College in the 1930s
whose liberal legacy is unveiled under the provocative title,"Leftward
March."
BOOK REVIEWS
Levi S. Peterson. A Rascal by Nature, A Christian by Yearning: A
Mormon Autobiography
Reviewed by William A. Wilson
John P. Hatch, ed. Danish Apostle:The Diaries of Anthon H. Lund, 1890-1921
Reviewed by Davis Bitton
Melvin C. Johnson. Polygamy on the Pedernales: Lyman Wight's Mormon
Villages in Antebellum,Texas, 1845 to 1858
Reviewed by Newell G. Bringhurst
Kenneth W. Merrell. Scottish Shepherd: The Life and Times of John
Murray Murdoch, Utah Pioneer
Reviewed by Jessie L. Embry
Jeffrey E. Sells, ed. God and Country: Politics in Utah
Reviewed by Douglas D. Alder
Colleen Whitley, ed. From the Ground Up: The History of Mining in Utah
Reviewed by Richard V. Francaviglia
Duane Smith.A Time for Peace: Fort Lewis Colorado, 1878-1891
Reviewed by Edward J. Davies
Tom Rea. Devil's Gate: Owning the Land, Owning the Story
Reviewed by Ann Chambers Noble
No comments:
Post a Comment