The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-12-17
THE FREE LANCE.

so 1t is over at last, the disgusting farce
! before Commissioner Pratt-disgusting as
much IN its contents as in the methods by
Which 1t was manipulated. 1t is over at
last In the court, though practically it was
over at the moment when the prosecution
rested. Every sensible person, whatever
his or her opinion of the marshal might be,
felt what Mr.. Critchlow subsequently ex-
pressed, that hao the defendant been any
other than Marshal Parsons, the case
would have been dismissed with the dis
mlssal OF the Prindie In other words, it
was the political admiXture that forced it
4 to finish.
And now while we are touching upon the
! pohtical phase we wonder why his excel
lency, the governor, took so much interest
/ IL the case as to interview the Prindle him
sell. he IS not judicial Oft Ger, he is not
responsible for the appointment or the Of
/ nclal acts OF the United States marshal.
He might have acted in the capacity of re-
/ porter, as he often does, bus then we did
not see the interview published in the Irt-
btne. WHAT, then, will explain the often
slve partisanship of the governor in this
scandal!
! Prosecuting Attorney Varian made a
vigorous effort to convict. AS matter OF
TACT he had TO. 1t was personal matter
with him and he felt the weight of disgrace
ne had shouldered upon the public. Ii he
could only persuade the commits
sloner to take the matter under ad-
Vlsement for day or two, so as to give a
semblance of plausoility to the claim that
there was after all something in the charge
which required consideration But the
prompt dismissal of it staggered him, and
the Tribune failed to issue a red headed
Extra. Still, that is none of The HERALD's
| funeral.
In his closing argument MIR Varian re-
Ierred to "the subsidized claquers of the
press" he men toned no names, and as
the Tribune Is the only paper that COM
mented locally and edltorially upon the
5 erlts OF the case while the trial was still
roceeding, We might imagine he had it In
ew; but as he trains with that paper and
returned to the Liberal fold, more rampant
than ever, after he had signed the roster of
Republican membership, In answer to the
Siren tune Come Back,n we imagine the
gentleman from Nevada threw that in sim
ply for efect-sorry effect.
I
John M. Thurston, of Nebraska, is a
bigger man than Varian can ever hope to
I've, but In an unlucky moment during a
sensational trial John forgot himself and
referred contemptuously to the bench .of
reporters as "a lot of beardless cubs"
The beardless cubs never forgave him, and
II he is etfectually barred from a seat in
the United States Senate he may blame
the b. c. for it. This incident happened
over six years ago, and Mr.. Ihurston is
still trying TO explain it away.
OF course Mr.. Varian has no such ambi-
ton at stake. Nothing but his limited
talents and his malicious composition need
be IN the way of MS promotion. Those
are enough. But the habit of scoring the
newspapers In order TO depreciate the
value OF public opinion, which honest Jour-
mails, like The HERALD, Invariably reflect,
does not pay, and we advise the prescott
ing attorney to take the Kelley treatment
TO cure himself OF 1t right away.
And so Oscar Vandercook is a candidate
for the city marshalship! Well, well, what
are we coming to, anyway UnGer the
present police administration the thugs are
about the only people who are safe in this
city; yet when one of them chances to fall
into the meshes of the law we know he
is there. Under Vandercook's rule we
wouldn't know even that. The prisoners
might have false key or go skylarking
after nightfalL. We didn't think it would
be possible to aggravate the condition of
the police department, but in Vandercook
we believe the Liberal party can find man
who could.
T
The Tribune, of course, makes lots of
mistakes, but never when it attacks the in
tegrlty of a public officer. Just so. Now
let Marshal Parsons go 10 join the innu-
meraole caravan that ends with the four
alleged Doodle councilmen. Or maybe it
Is design that the Tribune periodically per
petraies, and then it cannot be charged
with mistakes.
And hereafter when the brethren of the
Liberal Republican, or RepubEcan-Libera
party go to assassinating each others char
acters again, let them prepare the world be-
forehand of the weapons they are going to
use so the.world might lay in a supply of
disinfectants or else get out of the country
If it be necessary.