The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-02-08
CIVIL VS.. MILITARY AUTHORITY.

! "Colonel Morrow says the paper which
alleges that the stories of mormon up
rising" are true, twas the first man that
ever gave this people an idea that there was
a power superior to the Mormon church.
The sheet continues in this style:
When he came it was the habit, if a soldier
came down here from Fort Douglas, to arrest
him for the slightest oTense, like taking cur
too much or using profane language; to throw
him into jail and make him work in the chain
gang In a few days a soldier was ar
rested and thrown into jail Colonel MORROW
sent down order that he be released
no attention was paid to the order. He
then sent Major GORDON with a com
pany OF cavalry down here with or
ders to bring back the soldier. A heavy
pole was found in the jail-yard, half dozer
of the troop were dismounted, and with this pole
as battering ram the Jail door was broken in
the soldier taken out taken to the fort and pun
ished, and from that day to this there has never
| been soldier of the United States worked in
the chain gang of this city.
The foregoing statements are correct ex-
cept that which says soldiers were arrested
on the slightest pretext which is wholly
untrue. The boys at the fort were not al
ways of the same manly type as those of the
present garrison, and in early days often
committed grave offenses against law and
order, for which they were properly ar
rested and punished by the civil courts till
the proceedings above mentioned took
place.
The law on the subject is as follows:
When any officer or soldier IS accused.of a
capital crime, or of any ofense against the per-
son or property OF any citizen Of any of the
United States which is punishable by the laws
of the land, the commanding officer and the
officers of the regiment, troop, battery company
or detachment, to which the person so accused
belongs, are required except in time of war
upon application duly made by or in behalf of
the party injured. to use their utmost endeav-
ors to deliver him over to the civil magistrate,
aud 30 aid the officers of justice in apprehend
ing and securing him. in order to bring him to
jail. If, upon such application, any officer re-
fuses or wilfully neglects, except in time Of
war, to deliver over such accused person to the
civil magistrates, or to aid officers of justice in
experimenting him. he shall be dismissed from
the service.-FOrty-ni'1b AI'tic!e Of Var.
But Judge MCKEAN held, in the case
above mentioned, that the phrase, 1.-The
laws of the land" did not refer to the
municipal ordinances, but to the statutes,
or the general public laws of state or
territory; aud the people here have re-
spected that decision ever since.
1t is worth while to note, nevertheless,
the authoritative words of Judge Advocate
WINTHROP on this very decision:
This case, however, is regarded as going too
far in holding that though soldier may, with
out application to the military authorities, be
arrested and detained by the civil authorities for
the violation of city ordinance, he may not be
tried or PUNISHED by the latter, but for that pur-
pose he must be surrendered to the military
commander.
The judge advocate then states the reason
that MCKEAN's decision went too far:
Unless the offense of such soldier directly
prejudiced military discipline, he could not be
tried for the same at all by military court
and if it did, he would be triable only for the
breach of discipline, leaving him still amenable
to the local law for the civil disorder.
And In the same place the Judge advocate
says:
Where the party is charged with a mere
breach Of the peace other disorder in viola
ton of local ordinance, bylaw, or police
regulation he may legally be forthwith ar