115 years ago today - Tuesday, Jan 29, 1901

[Rudger Clawson] Pres. Snow stated that a very serious charge had been made by The Salt Lake Tribune against the Presidency of the church to the effect that they had sold out or bargained away for a money consideration the United States senatorship to Thos. Kearns. The purpose of the meeting, therefore, was to consider the wisdom and propriety of starting a suit for libel against the publishers of that paper. By request of Pres. Snow, Elder C. W. Penrose read a number of excerpts from different issues of the Tribune covering the change.

In the opinion of the attorneys present there was good ground for a libel suit and this view was shared by all present. After some discussion it was unanimously decided that it would not be wisdom for President Snow to institute the suit, but that this should be done by Thos. Kearns, who was equally interested in the matter, and that Pres. Snow could bring suit later on, if deemed advisable.

Many, if not all of the brethren present, felt that if by this arrangement Thos. Kearns was vindicated before the courts and the public, the Presidency also would naturally share in said vindication. It is sufficient to say that there is not the least coloring of truth in the charge, but it is a malicious libel on the part of the Tribune. Pres. G. Q. Cannon was delegated to confer with Thos. Kearns relative to the matter.

[Source: Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993, http://bit.ly/rudgerclawson]

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