The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-02-12
Is POWERS DEMENTING?


talk about intimidating grand juror
who indict Mormons and petit juror
who find verdicts of guilty against per
sons accused of violating the Edmund
law. This talk has been chiefly con,
fined to irresponsible newspapers whose
editors and reporters are notorious fol
the recklessness of their assertions ano
the bitterness of their hatred OF the
Mormons. Some time ago, however
Chief Justice Zane referred to the mat
ter in charging grand jury, and in
structed that body to indict if it could
obtain evidence of such intimi-
dahon. At Ogden, the other day.
Associate Justice Powers, who
seems to be practically without resource
of his own, but who is so good an i'm
itator that he is ever going beyond the
example which he sets out to follow
specially charged the Grand Jury in his
district as to this matter. AS has been
usual with that sensational jurist, who
is just now snd has been tor some time
on the ragged edge of suspense in re-
gard to his confirmation, he went ahead
of his file leader, and became definite
and positive in his allegations. he
charged:
That since the adjournment of court
during the January recess, gentlemen
who have acted upon the petit jurieS in
&c MI
PEELED in the exercise of their functions |
as Jurors to sit in United States |
cases, particularly in the case of the
United States against Lorenzo Snow,
have been subjected to indignities by |
people of this Territory, and to threats !
which, if the communications that l |
have received with regard to it are true, |
will bring the persons guilty clearly |
within the letter and the intent of this |
statute.
Here is the positive declaration that
jurors in the Snow case have
been subjected to indignities by
reason of having been in
that case, and more, that threats
have been made against some
of them. With all due respect for Judge
Powers, we do not believe he has
knowledge of a single threat having
been made against one of those jurors,
nor that he has information that any
of them has been subjected to indigni-
ties on account of his connection with
the trial.
Surveyor-General Dement, want to
Washington the other Cay, and gather
ing the newspaper correspondents
around him, unfoldeG to them a sensa-
tional tale of official corruption and
bribery in Utah. Now, Dement, did not
invent that story. he added to it, IN.
and made much of little, but
that he manufactured the tale Is not
true He had been told much of what
he related in this city, by some of
the very men who are now denouncing
him as humbug; he had seen in the
newspapers allegations that Wholesale
land frauds had been practiced here,
and charges that the Mormons were
expanding large sums of money for
corrupting Congressman; and the poor
man was silly enough to believe what
he heard, and vain enough to imagine
that he could create a sensation and
become famous by booming the bust
ness. Only when he saw the matter in
print did he realize that he had nothing I
beyond idle talk on the streets of Salt
Lake, and groundless allegations in 1
newspapers to sustain {
him. He simply overshot the mark. {
Doubtless Dement, was the most sur 8
prised man in the country when he
found that the newspapers from I
which he had, largely drawn his I
inspiration, were denouncing him un- Z
mercifully. He naturally expected I
they would stand by him, and thew {
certainly would have done so if he had O
confined his false charges to the Nor
mons, but when he included Mormon
haters, it was too much for them to en-.
iorse and swallow.
Now, hasn't Judge Powers been De- Il
menting a little in this matter of cbarr- L
LIZ SAAoN JULIUS nave Oc6u inundated |
and subjected to indignities7 Whenever b
'uch charges have been preferred in the P
)ast they haye been indefinite in n
haracter. and could not be traced to a u
ource; at least no instance of I'm u
disputed intimidation has been proven. u
t should be an easy matter to ascertain \
whether or not any of the Snow jurors II
ave been threatened, and if so by 81
rhom; they are few in number, and u
an all be readily reached. st
A judge should be very careful how IL
e makes such charges from the bench rt
'ntil it is proven that no intimidation VI
as been attempted or practiced. the -
IormOn portion of the Ogden COM -
unity viii lie under the ugly asper- !"