The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-04-17
/ MORMON PLOT DISCOVERED.

a AORmON PLOT DISCOVERED
Early in the present session Of Con
gress. Delegate HALEY asked for an ad
ditionai District Judge for Idaho. HI
undoubtedly only had the interest o
htigants at heart, having seen and ex-
perienced the evils resulting from the
present. system 1t seems. however
that his motive has been miscon-
strued, and he is accused of working in
the interest of the Mormons. The
Idaho papers have suddenly discovered
that the application for a fourth judge
is simply to help the Saints to defeat
the law, and they are madly belaborine
the Delegate; and now comes the San
Francisco Bulletin, with a childish
editorial, undoubtedly based on an ar
ticle in one OF its Idaho exchanges. The
Bulletin exposes the plot as follows:
An election is approaching in Idaho,
and the Aormons are leaving no scheme
untried to turn it to their purposes. The
election law of the Territory denies the
suffrage to members of, Of who aid ,
counsel or abet any society or order
which inculcates crimes or urges law
breaking upon its members. The Nor
mons of Idaho are largely concentrated
in one judicial district. and the judge
has sustained the validity of the law
which disfranchises them. No appeal
has been taken to the Supreme Court.
for fear that the decision would be sus-
tanned there. To change the law the
Saints must get their men into the
Legislature, and to do that their
ballots must be received and counted
Various suggestions have been offered
to that end. One of them proposes
that the Mormon leaders "cut off, their
followers temporarily from their church
affiliations. That plan will not probably
be tried, as it gives an opening for escape
from priestly domination and priestly
disintegration. A more promising
scheme is TO get rid of the obnoxious
Judge Hays. With him of the way,
and judge on the bench in that district
who would admit Mormon votes, their
men will be elected 10 the legislature, 1t
would be hard to get them out, possibly
they might effect the repeal of the law.
Whatever will bring about a reassign-
ment Of the judges offers an opportunity
of diSposing Of Hays, and either the
Of fourth Judge, or the |
transfer of the northern counties TO !
Washington, may effect that.
1t is quite possible that no Mormon
has ever been consulted in the matter,
and it is more than probable that Dele
gate HALEY never thought of the effect
that fourth judge would have upon
the Mormon question in our neighbor-
ing Territory. The truth is, the judi
cial system of the Territories is simply
ridiculous, as has often been demon
Strated in these columns. 1t is based
upon the theory that justice is to be
defeated rather than to be promoted.
that the rights of litigants are to be
denied rather than confirmed. The
Bulletin may not be aware of the fact
that the Supreme Court of the Terri
tory is composed of the three district
Judges, before and by whom all litiga-
ion, civil and criminal, is conducted.
The judge who sits in the case below
also sits in 1t on appeal, reviewing
his own decision. 1t is inconsistent to
ask or expect that q judge will reverse
his own opinion, and declare his ignor-
ance Of the law. The trial judge is one
third of the court of review, hence the |
appellant goes into the upper tribunal
with one Of the three judges against
him; not only does the appellant know |
that one of the three votes will be cast
for his opponent, but he knows also that
the Judges influence with his two as
Eoeiates is greater than that of any
showing that can be made in his own |
behalf, especially rs that influence is
backed by the power to retaliste against |
one Of the other judges when one of his |
cases comes mp for review. The system |
is wrong, and should be abolished. The |
trial Judge has no business to review his |
own opinions. 1t was undoubtedly to |
cure the evil that a fourth Judge was
asked for Idaho just as It has been
asked by the bar and people of every
other Territory. 1t is to be hoped that
the appeal of our northern neighbor
will Se needed. There is a similar re-
quest in behalf of Utah; out nobody ex-
poets anything to come from it. as no
body looks for justice in Utah courts.
The form Of law is all that anybody ex-
poets. and even that is not always re-
garded as necessary.