The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-02-01
GOVERNOR MURRAY AND THE NOR.
MONS.

Governor Eli II. Murray on file In
the Department CT Justice for
several years will, we pre-.
eume, lead to his recall from the
Territory. His history is a curious
one. 1t seems that he was from
1869 to the autumn of 1879 United
States Marshal In Kentucky, an Of
flee requiring for the proper dis
charge of its duties, not great ability
or genius or even knowledge oflaW,
but courage and common honesty,
and little more. One of these
qualifications, il the charges on file
are true, he appears to have sadly
lacked, for his administration of the
Office of Marshal was marked by a
system of petty FRAUDS, which ulti-
mately led to an investigation by
detective, and very damaging re.
port. Tine fee bills OF his district,
| it seems, were Systematically
swollen by charging fictitious and
constructive" expenses, and by
vexatiouss and needless criminal
proceedings set on foot for the pur-
pose. A negro was kept hard at
work on Government pay "working
the racket" as it would be called
here, against the retail liquor deal
ers, at the rate of Sc or 81 a head,
compelling them to appear
and produce their licenses. in
a proceeding in which witnesses
were "charged for" though not
summoned or present. There was also
evidence tending to show that the
Marshal was guilty of a brutal dis
regard Of the rights of those with
whom his duties brought him in
contact, for he is said to have been
In the habit of causing prisoners
arrested in remote parts of the State
to be carried off to Louisville, in
stead of being taken before Com.
missioner in the neighborhood; go
that these poor wretches had to lie
in jail for weeks awaiting trial when
otherwise they might have got bail,
or procured discharge-all for the
purpose of putting more money for
mileage" in his OWE pocket. So
much of all this was conclusiveIy
proved, that Murray was very glad
to have an opportunity of resigning
to save himself from q worse fate.
ALI this took place in 1876;
the papers in the case went
on file in the Department. of Justice,
and Murray, we presume, went "out
of politics." We do not hear eff
him again until 1850, when we de-
tect him first in the form of "pres-
sure" for the removal of Governor
Emery Of Utah. We suppose many
people often wonder how much Of
1.-THE anti Mormon crusade is pure
Virtue and loathing of polygamy,
Hand how much pure politics and the
desire to make places for broken
down politicians. In this case there
seems little room for doubt. A
glance at some OF the Washington
correspondence Of the period is quite
enough. The TribUne's CORE.
spondent sent on a summary of the
charges against Governor Emery
toward the end of December, from
which it appears that Murray's ap-
pointment in his stead was the first
act in the great anti-Mormon
movement in which the country
is now engaged. 1t was represented
to the President that what was
needed In the Territory was some
man who was "more outspoken"
against polygamy and in whom the
people would "have more confid-
ence." The dispatch winds up:
"The administration is in earnest in
its war upon polygamy, and its only
desire is to have man in the Exec.
utive chair Of Utah who will not
falter in his duty" e
To secure this end the admin
istration and those who did not
think Emery good enough for the
work picked out Eli II. Murray,
whose career as marshal was the
only thing from which any infer
ence could be drawn as to his fitness
for the place, and whose ''record" as
marshall consisted Of charges
of fraud and brutal OPP
preston of prisoners, on account
of which he had been obliged to
resign in disgrace, OF course it will
be said that these facts were kept
sdark" by his friends. No doubt
they were; but we must remember
that this was not the appointment
of an ordinary governor of Terri
tory, who is usually mere figure
head, but was part of great moral
movement to reform the govern
ment of a distant dependency which
1.-The United States is much troubled
lby; to convert its inhabitants to our
Views Of the proper relations of the
sexes, and to introduce American
political notions into a community
governed secretly by priests,
and knowing no law except
their word. For this purpose we
select q broken-down sheriff, just
saved from ignominious expulsion
from the service of the government,
and put him at the head of the
work, without troubling ourselves
to inquire who he is.
| Of course Governor Murray Is a
vigorous anti>Mormon. He had a
tremendous article in the North
american Reoie,0 the other day. in
which he described Utah as place
where "fanaticism imposes upon
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