The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-12-13
THE FREE LANCE.

Saouiu oil De SICK from the Stencn lnaU the
Parsons investigation engenders. While
the case is still on trial it would be wrong
to PREJUDICE it. This much, however, may
be said just now as well as at any other
time "A The HERALD had knowledge of some
of the charges preferred against the mar
shall long before they were published in the
Tribune. Of course THE HERALD did not
Jump at them with avidity. In the first
place they were too nasty, and in the sec
ond place they emanated from too nasty a
source. Whatever we might think of a
public officer we would not be guilty of as
sassinating his character with such
weapons
The grand jury was evidently of the same
view, Tor 1t refused to present an indict>
ment even upon the one-sided evidence to
which it is won't to listen. But right here
remarkable thing happened. The United
States district attorney, not satisfied with
the action of the grand jury, appended a
statement of his own to its report, urging
the Judge to cause the prosecution of the
marshal. Upon this presentation Judge
Zane could do no less than he did. What
the motives of the prosecuting attorney
might have been, we don't know, nor do
we know why at this particular iuncture
have bobbed up serenely and poked his stub
nose into the mess
For several days before it published the
tell-tale afidavits, the Tribune kept
up an incessant rattle and when
it found out that nobody paid the
least attention to it the paper waxed abus-
i've and charged all the other papers with
being in some way in the pay of the mar
shall. But that is the way OF the Tribune
and indicates nothing except an aggravated
case Of distemper.
Strange as it may seem there was hui
morous reverse side to the case. On Sun
day, when of all days, man should commune
with his better self, the Tribune said:
We make lots of mistakes; we are not in the
habit OF making mistakes when we call in
question the integrity of a public officer, and
we believe we can demonstrate the truth OF
that fact so far as Marshal Parsons is con-
cerned If he ever gives US chance.
Now that Is funny; none the less so be-
cause the fun is involuntary. How long
ago is it, to cite just one example of many,
when our contemporary charged four
Liberal councilmen with boodlerism? 1t
never makes mistakes when it calls the in
tegrity of public officer in question, Ell
Well, if it did not make mistake in that
| case why did it or does it not give the
| names of the boodlers, in conformity with
its oft-repeated declaration that 1t is here
to guard the public interest, may the chips
fall where they will! In the classic Ian
guage of young America: Rats
Not the least delectable piece of humor
was perpetrated in an editorial of our con :
temporary on Thursday. Referring to
Annie Prindle, it says:
There was not breath against the good name
OF the witness, but the inQuisitors treated her
! from the first as though she was notorious
woman the feelings of whom no attorney was
| called upon to respect
| Aside from the bad grammar, the most
striking thing in the sentence quoted is the
| eulogy of woman who pleaded guilty to
shooting a man with murderous intent
rather than have her past history disclosed
II that is the TTibune'S standard of charac-
ter we can account for many things in its
columns that otherwise would seem mex
plicable.
One morning the Tribune published, BY
courtesy of MIR. Devine, a half column OF
alarm heads and three lines OF report in a
red headed Extra announcing the indict
ment of the marshal on a charge not ger
name TO the main question. Other gentle
|
for which he was indicted, were left un-
molested. And Immediately the telegraph
was burdened with the news until the at
torney general in Washington could MOI
help seeing it,
Now, judging the whole thids
from these premises, The HERALf
does not think it's fair play. It wants tt
see the brethren Highland fight hard
| but not foul. That is all the interest it ha.
in the matter outside of that involving tn,
question of morality.
The investigation of the scandalous tale!
of Prindle- Forkner and the others, who
ever they may be who have collaborateC
in the affair, have now been ventilated az
nauseum. And now in the name of de
cency we call on the marshal TO close hi
case and put an end to this flood of nasti
ness. No good end can now be subserved
Everyone who was prepared to accept evi
dence on the subject has made up his mind
ANY others would not be convinced shoult
the proof be pied mountain high. And fo
decency's sake and in the name of thu
people whom he represents let Mr.. Varial
refuse to prosecute further a case g.
maladorous. Indeed we are surprised tina
his own sense of honor and pride of offic
does not lead him to join with the at
torneys for the marshal in crying quits.
One thing the investigation has certainl,
disclosed, and that is the utter lack of dis
! cipline in the penitentiary. Marshal Par
sons is guilty of gross derelictiou of duty
in failing to GUST his warden who, we be
lieve, is directly responsible to him for th
conduct of the penitentiary, the day afte
he appointed hiD. Upon reading of lh
o%l,o
to indulge the wonder is that any of then
should have applied for pardons. Next Il
a hold-up in Salt Lake the striped inmate
of the Utah penitentiary seem to live tn
most elysian life in the world.
And now word with you, Mr.. Arthu
Pratt, Esq Is it true, dear sir, that yol
are soliciting, while the investigation i
still in progress before your own brother
the influence of prominent gentlemen 70
your appointment to the q. S. marshal
ship! If the soft impeachment is true, a
we understand it is, it is mighty unseen
ly thing in you to do. We believe we re
marked before, we ache to see the brethre
fight among themselves, but let's have fai
play; that's all. We want to see even
political enemy display some decency.
DIR. Hall, local health officer, is very con
siderate in giving to the public tn
monthly mortuary report for the city, es
pecially at this time when the prevalence
of diphtheria, for which he has discovere
a new preventive in the street sprinkler
alarms so many people. In his last repor
we find that during November one perso
died of Covalgia, one of Cirrhosis of som
kind, one of Syncope, one of Thesis pull
monalio, and so forth. Now that is inter
esting news, only we do not understand il
If DR.. Hall means to keep up this kind @
information it might be well for him t
furnish, with the rest of literature in tn
health Office, Latin dictionaries. The cit
council will make the appropriation. .
| .iharal citv cnuncil will do ANYTHING