Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-12-16
LEX EST sCRIPTA.
A Lucid, Learned and Latter-day Saint
Exposition of the Law of
Criminal Libel.
Now Comes Charles w. Hemenway,
Editor of the Ogden "Herald,"
and Demurs.
He Meant to Praise the Chief Justice,
But to the Wicked His Praise
Was as Damnati0n

The public have manifested some in
terest in the case of the People of Utal
VS.. Charles W. Hemenway, charged will
libel on Judge Zane, more PARTICULAR.
because Hemenway is to conduct his Owl
case. In the Ogden Herald of yesterda,
is a lengthy editorial explaining the Law
of libel. The article itself is libel OF
the law itself We will endeavor to make
a few extracts to show the drift of the
argument. This is part of the article
upon which the Indictment is found:
"Lewdness, then Murder. Scarcely had
! the news of the decision of Chief Justice
Zane (meaning him, the Charles S. Zane) in
the Vandercook habeas corpus case been
disseminated last Saturday, when the tele-
graph announced that another Deputy
United States Marshal in Utah, named Col
| lin had surrendered himself on the charge
Lake City, about seven o'clock p. m. of the
| same day. A full account of the foul deed
appears in this issue of the Ogden Herald.
The charge of lewdness against Deputy
Marshal Vandercook has just been success
fully evaded through the agency of Fed
eral Judge (meaning him, the said Charles
S. Zane) in such a way that it became reas-
onably evident to anti Mormon villains that
the average Utah Federal Justice would
permit no atrocity committed by an anti
Mormon to be speedily and condignly pun
lshed according to the demands of Justice"
Following this came these expositions
as to the law and the facts:
Now, the first three words of the above
extract from the alleged libelous article had
self-evldently no reference to the worthy
Chief Justice. The next sentence commend
ing with the word Scarcely and ending
with the word "day" contains nothing upon
its face that could be construed as being
even disrespectful of His Honor, the Chief
Justice. And the following sentence is
upon the face thereof blameless. Then
comes the sentence averring that: "The
charge of lewdness preferred against Deputy
Marshal Vandercook had just been success
fully evaded through the agency of Fed
eral judge" and this sentence neither di-
rectly nor by implication charges corruption
upon any one, nor is there in it any intima-
ton that in acting as the agency through
which Deputy Vandercook evaded in
vestigation, His Honor acted otherwise
than in his best Judgment accord
ing to the law of which he was the
agent, justly enforcing justice according to
its mandates. H-as the balance of the last
sentence seems to aver-the alleged evasion
of Vandercook through the agency of
Federal judge. acting honorably and fairly,
presumably no other sort of action is
"anti- Mormon villains to !
think it reasonably evident that "the aver
age Federal justice would allow no atrocity |
committed by an anti-Mormon to be |
speedily and condignly punished according |
to law" the fault self-evidently lay |
In the law in its admission of technical |
evasion, and there is no imputation, direct
or indirect in this fact to reflect in the least
upon the impartiality, honor and integrity
OF the Chief Justice in administering the
law honestly according to the best of his
knowledge and ability. The last portion of
the last sentence in the above alleged libel
BUS article upon its face shows nothing even
lisrespectful much less ibelous' of the said
Chief Justice, Charles S. Zane.
Then comes some more excerpts from
he Indictment. followed by this COM
nent:
The statement which the defendant is here
harged with publishing ibelously in the
lrst OF this paragraph is: Son Saturday
orenoon last. Chief Justice Zane rendered
states Marshal Vandercook from even legal
Investigation on the charge of lewd and
ascivious conduct" Now, self-evidently
his meant nothing more than that
be Chief Justice honestly and
alrly probably, or as far as we
new, rendered crooked decision-that is
D say, a decision that did not bear straight
lscly1ous conduct pending against Deputy
undertook, and that the technicality of the
Nv under which the Chief Justice rendered
is properly crooked decision, not bearing
lrectly upon or reaching straightly the adj
of the pending charge, legally
'reened the Deputy in question from fur f
Ter legal investigation of the accusations C
5a1nst him, by the penal code denomi- t
ated 'lewd Sand lascivious conduct
therefore,, if it was fact, as the alleged
belons article goes on to say, that 'sstfmu-
ted by the aid which was thus extended
" the law and not by the Chief Justice) to a
10 alleged offender, and probably nerved by b
prospect OF like immunity, Deputy United
ates Marshal Collin spilled the blood of =,
ormon; and who can say that the Chief JUS Il
,e IS gqlltless?" Where is the alleged libel
nee quoted is merely question. Itneither n
ers nor lnslnuates anything but asks who
say or assure US that the Chief Justice
gulltless because it was impossible for us
tell. who can say that the Chief Justice
gWltlessV Guiltless of what? Guiltless
nothlng but of being the innocent agency -,
the legal rendition of properly "a "a
ooked decision, as hereinbefore explained, +.
der blamable law, which encouraged III
IT, Mormon villains to think Overlooking IL
3 law and attributing the blame to the :.
dge) that the average Federal Justice ID
'uld permit no atrocity perpetrated by an ct
against Mormon to be speed Ill
and condignly punished according to the h.
mands of justice-not Justice under the ~,
fectiye laws, but intrinsic and supreme &.
'tice. "a
The article closed with this: W;
t appears to us that the prosecution in M
S case is an unjust and altogether inex hi