The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-06-16
UNFORTUNATE. AT LEAST.

As all intelligent people knew would be
the case, the removal of Chief Justice
SANFORD is making stir in the country,
the newspapers which have the courage
and honesty to be fair speaking of the
proceeding in very plain language. Yes
terday morning we reproduced an editorial
from the New York Times. Below is the
leading editorial in the New York EUening
Post of the 10th inst. 1t will be borne in
mind that these journals are not only Re
publican in politics. but are in the very first
rank of American newspapers. Other
journals of less power and influence are
talking of the politicalsoutrage of removing
a Judge because he looked to the law for his
direction instead of taking orders from the
President as to the policy to be pursued.
After the press has ventilated the matter,
the United States Senate will be very apt
to take the subject up and let the President
and his attorney general know that it will
not do for the executive to dictate policy
to the judiciary. Here is what the EUening
Post says:
The Presidents encouragement was unfor
tunate to say the least, in stating the reasons
for the removal of ELLIOTT SANFORD, chief
justice OF the supreme court OF Utah. Judge
SANFORD was informed on May 10 by the at
torney-general that the President would be
pleased TO receive his resignation, since In Ihe
Presidents opinion the public interest would
be subseryed by u change i'll the ONCE" the
Judge replied asking whether he had been &C
cused Of misconduct or maIYersatlon IN once;
and saying that if charges had been preferred
against him it would be unwise, unbecoming
and improper for him to resign until they were
proved or disproved. In response TO this IN
eral letter of which the following is the main
portion. We quote from the Times, which re-
produces the full correspondence this morning:
i beg to say that there are on tile IN this de-
partment some papers complaining of the man
ner in which your judicial duties are discharged.
Independently Of these particular complaints,
however the President has become satisfied that
YOUR administration of the office not az mar
NOM yith tie pOcyhe deemed proper to be pursued
1CiH reference to Utah AFFAIRS and for this reason
he desired to make change and out Of courtesy
gave you an opportunity to resign"
This is an extraordinary letter 10 come from
such source. In the first place, it contains
reflection upon the judges judicial character
which either ought not to have been made at all,
or ought to have been stated more Speclhcaliy
m 5act il is no sooner stated than il is aban-
doned as not being the real cause for removal
and that cause is then said TO be that the judges
administration was not in harmony with the
policy which the President wishes to have pur-
sued in Utah. The judge was quick 10 see the
weak spot in this statement, and used IL with
telling force, as follows:
In reply 1 have the honor TO say that my
earnest purpose while on the bench as chief
justice of this territory has been to administer
Justice and the laws honestly and impaTtlaly TO
all men. under the obligations OF my oath OF
office. II the President of the United States
has any policy which he desires q judge Of the
supreme court to carry out in reference to Titan
affairs. other than the one have pursued, you
may say to him that he has done very well to
remove me-
If the encouragement cannot do better than
this whenhe is pressed for an excuse for making
a removal without cause he will be much wiser
to attempt no excuse whatever, but say simply,
what was obviously the truth in this instance,
that the removal was ordered because the