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Show -34between the Church and Saltair Beach some properties of the Company and the railroad running between Salt Lake City and the Great Salt Lake. lowing financiers involving the This rumor was explained by Truth in the fol- terms: It has been openly charged that Church influence was used to elect Tom Kearns to the Senate of the United States; that he bought and paid for this influence; that the support of the Church was demanded by William A. Clark of Montana and R. C. Kerens of Missouri, and that said demand was made in writing. It is charged, and has never been denied, that Kearnelection was a part of a deal between the Church and Clark, Kerens and Kearns, by which Saltair and the road running to it was to pass into the hands of the three men mentioned, and that a large sum of money was put up as an option, which option was an evidence of good faith on the part of the trio alluded to, and which sum of money was forfeited after Kearns was elected [sic] • • • • Joseph F. Smith was a member of the First Presidency at the time the deal was alleged to have been made He is said to have protested against it.18 • • • This mayor may not have been tied in with ment by ember the Improvement Era in which it was an • earlier made known that as announce- of Nov- 21, 1900: The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad Company, capital $25,000,000, with W. A. Clark of Montana as President, was organized. utah di rectors are Thomas Kearns, Reed Smoot and W. S. McCornick.19 Although sible to assume President Snow's the evidence is circumstantial, it is at least that due to dire financial straits of the Church administration, a threat by Clark, plauduring Kerens and Kearns deal in which the Church would make financial gains might to cancel a have been enough pressure to force the Church President to Smoot's withdrawal in favor of Kearns. rangement, however, are cloudy. He was request Clark's motives in such a Democratic U. S. an ar- Senator from |
