hington
the Presidency's covenant of honor that the Church would never attempt
to interfere in Idaho's political affairs.

Smith sprang to his feet angrily. "I don't care what has been promised
to Dubois or anyone else," he said. "He was the bitterest enemy our
people had in the old days, and I'll never give my countenance to him in
politics while the world stands. He sent many a one of our brethren
to prison when he was marshal of the territory, and I can't forget his
devilish persecutions--even if you can."

I closed the conversation by remarking that not one among us would have
had a vote as a citizen either of Utah or of Idaho if Dubois and men
of his kind had not accepted our pledges of honor; and if we were
determined to remember the persecutions and not the mercy, we ought to
go back to the conditions from which mercy had rescued us.

I left for Washington, soon after, with an unhappy apprehension that
there were evil influences at work in Utah which might prove powerful
enough to involve the whole community in the worst miseries of reaction.
I saw those influences embodied in Joseph F. Smith; and because he was
explosive where others were reflective, he had now more influence
than previously--there being no longer any set resistance to him. The
reverence of the Mormon people for the name of Smith was (as it had
always been) his chief asset of popularity. He had a superlative
physical impressiveness and a passion that seemed to take the place of
magnetism in public address. But he never said anything memorable; he
never showed any compelling ability of mind; he had a personal cunning
without any large intelligence, and he was so many removes from the
First Presidency that it seemed unlikely he would soon attain to
that position of which the power is so great that it only makes the
blundering more dangerous than the astute.

I was going to Washington, before Congress reconvened, to confer with
Senator Redfield Proctor. He wished to see me about the new protective
tariff bill that was proposed by the Republican leaders. I wished to ask
him not to use his political influence in Idaho against Senator Fred.
T. Dubois, who had been Senator Proctor's political protege. I knew that
Senator Proctor had once been given a semi-official promise that the
Mormon Church leaders would not interfere in Idaho against Dubois. I
wished to tell Proctor that this promise was not being kept, and to
plead with him to give Dubois fai