The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-11-27

The verdict in the Farr case was
brilliant victory for the defense. Mr.
Farr is a gentleman whose reputation
for probity is second to that of no gen
tleman in this city or country, and his
many friends especially, and the public
generally, rejoice in his acquittal. Mr..
Farr went to trial with the conscious
ness of innocence, not having violated
the law under which he was prosecuted,
but still with almost every presumption
against him. The theory Of the prose-
cutIon in this class of cases is that a
man, having once been the head of a
polygamous household, must make a
public declaration or the dissolu-
ton Of his former relations before the
law preSumes him 10 be innocent,
Following this theory the prosecution
used every endeavor to convict but
without avail.
The Court in giving his charge to the
jury followed the decision Of the
cohabitation very closely, and other
wise gave a very fair charge.
The jury that tried Mr.. Fairs case
was very fair one. They discussed
the case in all its bearings and no one
can say truthfully that their verdict
was not strictly in accord with the law,
as given them by the court, and the
evidence as produced in the trial.
Judge Henderson has proven himself
to be an upright and conscientious
Judge, interpreting the law as il has
been laid down by the highest courts,
and instructing the juries to find their
Terdicts in accordance with the law and
the facts.
The prosecution was evidently very
anxious to convict Mr.. Farr. They en-
deavored to have their theory in such
cases reduced to practice and make IL
impossible for any Mormon TO escape
punishment except by publicly aban-
doning his plural wives or promising in
open court 10 obey the law. We believe
further that the prosecution was an1i-
Gus to have Mr.. Farr convicted for an
other purpose. They would say to him:
Mr.. Farr, YOU claim to have obeyed
the law in the past, this jury says you
have failed. Now promise the court
that you will observe the law in the
! future and have sentence suspended"
l,Had Mr.. Fsrr refused to give such
promise, the usual howl would have
gone up, while by extracting the
promise they believed others would
have followed his example and repu-
dated their families.
Had the court not been strictly just
under the law, and had the jury not
rendered conscientious verdict in Mr..
| Fairs case, there would have been no
/ hope whatever for any man to escape,
who had at any time, more wives than
one; for the evidence produced on the
/ trial, and with which the readers OF
| The HERALD are familiar, showed con-
/ clusively that he had honestly endea-
| vored to live within the law and at the
same time TO treat the wives OF
| his youth with Difference. He did
| all that a man could reasonably
4 be asked to do in providing
the ladies who had been his
wives with homes, and supporting
them and looking after the interests OF
their families. He did all that any
reasonable official could ask in obeying
the iaw-he did all that any honest and
| conscientious man could do, and the
jury did what was right in acquitting
MIN.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
conscience of the court is clear; despite
the fact that the jurors rendered a YER
dict on their honest judgment and ac-
cording TO their oath, we anticipate
that they will be abused by the organs
of the crusade. They have the salts
faction, however, of knowing that when
they come TO stand before the bar OF
eternal justice; when they render
an account TO Him whose judgment
must be Just, that they have nothing
TO fear from their conduct in the case oil
Lorin Farr. The consciousness of hav
ing done what their calm judgment
tells them is night is the most convinc
ing argument men can have OF theil
own probity and that consciousness
these men must always. have, and it viii
probably sustain them against any at
lacks that may be made upon them by
those who hold that Mormon has nc
rights which a petit jury or court l:
bound to respect.