The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-08-31
PARSONS REMOVAL
Attorney General Miller Alone
Responsible.
THE TRIBUNE HAS NO HAND IN 1T.
Verbatim Copy Of Portion of the Attorney
Generals lie ter TO the President
asking for the Removal.
HERALD BUREAU.
Cor. 18th and G Sts.. N. W.,
~ .cr,r~--ro,~ n ~ hrrn IN

Office. His resignation was demanded yes
terday by the attorney-general, but he will
perform his present duties until his sue
cessor qualities. VINO his successor will
be AID when he will be appointed it Is yes
impossible to say. The disposition of At
torney- General Miller, however is 10 sue
coed Parsons at the earliest moment, al
though the absence of the president from
the city may delay matters for fortnight
or SO.
/ called al the department of justice to-
day upon receipt OF your telegram to IN
quire the reasons for Mr.. Parsons dis
missal Attorney General Miller. TO whom
! addressed my inquiry, quietly replied:
Mr.. Parsons has not been dismissed,
but bis resignation was demanded yester
day. 1 did not suppose my action in his
matter would become known so speedily,
but just before you came in l learned that
everybody in Salt Lake was familiar wit h
the affair.''
s'Mr. Attorney general said ], "wha t
are your reasons for demanding Mr.. Par
sons resigDationl"
II demanded bis resignatio because Of
the
GROSS AIsMANAGEMENT OF HIS OFFICE
Numerous complaints regarding his con-
dEct OF affairs have been made to me, but
one cause in particular was especially an
uoJ ing, and it was upon that I based my
action. Several years ago. the attorney
general continued, "a man named Groes-
beck was arrested in Salt Lake for having
contracted polygamous marriage. About
eighteenf months ago. when Bishop Wood
ruff issued his celebrated manifesto elm
mating polygarny as article of church
faith, a number of offenders against the
law were pardoned, among them Groes-
beck. Nearly all this people. as l under-
stand, dissolved their polygamous rela-
lions, but Groesbeck contracted them
again. He was q second time arrested and
placed in confinement. On two occasions
recently GroesbecIz hal been taken from
the penitentiary to appear in court, and on
each occasion he was
ALLOWED TO VISIT ONE OF HIS WIVES,
the third one, believe This privilege was
one which the marshal knew ought not to
be permitted. The facts were reported to
me by Chief Justice Zane and other federal
officials in the territory and | had them
looked into. A number of witnesses were
sworn and very voluninous testimony was
taken. 1t all fully sustained the charge
against the marshal. i thereupon addressed
letter to Mr.. Parsons asking him what
reply he had to MAKE. To my surprise he
tried to evade the responsibility in the
matter by saying that the
FAULT LAY WITH HIS DEPUTIES
i l. - l.
BILE for their shortcomings.
'sThis was the substance of letter that
1 recently received from him. l at once
wrote the president explaining the circum-
stances ana asking his permission to de-
mgEd Parsons resignation. / received
This permission from the president yester-
day and Immediately wired Parsons to
that effect''
.'Hnve you decided whom to appoint as
his successor2' inquired.
.'No; the president will make the ap-
pointment and it will not be long delayed.
By the way. the attorney general went
on, looking up at me suddenly, and speak
ing with mo earnestness than he had pre-
viously shown during our conversation,
81 understand that the Salt Lake Tribune
has boosted that it secured the removal of
Parsons over my head Is the Tribune your
paperr
informed the attorney general that /
had the honor to represent the SALT LAKE
HERALD, the only stalwart Democratic
newspaper in that part OF the country, and
asked him how he heard that the Tribune
had made this boast. He replied evasively
that the Information had come to him this
morning, coupled with the fact that the
dismissal of Parsons was a matter of public
notorietJ in Salt Lake.
"Well," said I, did the Tsibune have
anything to do with the matterg''
The acknowledgement looked at srne with
some surprise. Nonsense" be retorted,
with some smpatience IN his TONE s.Of
course II had not. The removal was my
own action, without suggestion from any
one, and based wholly. as have told you,
upon my belief that Mr. Parsons ought no
'longer TO be continued in Office. Perhaps
you would like to see what wrote to the
president about il. / have no objection to
reading you the letter if you desire to hear
tn
replied 1 should be glad to see just what
he had written, whereupon MIR. Miller d.
rected nis messenger 10 step to the chief
clerks ofice and bring him the letter in
question. He then read me the essential
parts of the communication, one paragraph
OF which ! copied verbatim. It is this:
y am tired. the attorney-general wrote. s'of
dealing WITH marshal who is unable 10 pre-
vent continual wrong doing by his deputies. and
without further ado think Parsons should be
displaced. either 5y.demanding his resignation
or by u peremptory removal
THAT doesn't look,'' the attorney-gen-
erai went on. las il any outside influence
could have brought about the dismissal.
does itl''
replied that it did not. and asked the
attorney general if ne had heard from Mr..
Parsons. He said that he had that he had
received a telegram from him this morn
ing asking If he should await the arrival
OF letter which the attorney general sent
Parsons yesterday in connection with the
telegram, or whether he should act upon
the instructions contained in the Attorney
generals dispatch. The attorney general
added that he photographed Mr. Parsons
this morning that there was no reason for
delay In the matter, and that he might for
ward his resignation at once without wait
ing for the letter. which was mere am
plifcation of the terms OF the dispatch.
Associated Press Report
WASHINGTON. Aug. 30.-Attorney gen
eral Miller has recommended to the presi-