Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 75, Number 2, 2007

ne 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 countr y.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 ofThe 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 for ty-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.

The Reed Smoot Family photographed in front of their Provo Home c.1907

UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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 Jour nal 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 f aith 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 Ag r icultural College in the 1930s whose liberal legacy is unveiled under the provocative title,“Leftward March.”