The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-07-06
A SCATHING LETTER
The Clerk of the District Court
at Ogden
IS SEVERELY REPRIMANDED
By Attorney General Miller for Using His
Office for Personal Gaiu-Judge
Miner in Washington.
HERALD BUREAU.
Cor. 18th aud G Sts., n. w,
WASHINGTON. d. C.. july 5.

Attorney General Miller has written q
scathing letter to Charles Mcclure, the
clerk of the district court at Ogden. 1t
was brought out by the charges made sew
eral months ago by Attorney Thomas
Maloney of Ogden that Mcclure was
making an
IMPROPER USE OF his OFFICE
for personal gain. The substance Of
Maloney's charges, which were made in
writing to Chairman Washington of the
House territories committee were tele-
graphed to THE SALT LAKE HERALD. after
which they were laid before the attorney
general.
The attorney general dispatched Mr..
Crosthwaite, an examiner Of the depart
ment OF justice, to Utah to investigate and
report upon Mr. Maloney's charges. MIR.
Crosthwaite while at Ogden made his re-
port TO the attorney-general and this report
within the past few days has been laid be-
fore Mr.. Washington. l read it today, hnt
it is too voluminous to telegraph in full
even if it were sufficiently specific in its
treatment of the charges, which it is not
Examiner Crosthwaite was evidently in
spired By desire to
LET Mr.. Mcclure DOWN EASY.
Where he finds it necessary to reflect upon
the latter's administration of his Office he
does it IN perfunctory way and unwilling
manner and where 1t is possible white
washes him very cleverly.
The sttorney-ge general, however, has evil
4 ~ fr
Crosthwaite's reports, as his letter, which
is herewith given, will show:
TIE LETTER.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
WASHINGTON, u. c., June IA, 1892
Charles Il. Mcclure, Esq, Clerk First Judicial
District Court, Ogden, Utah:
SRI inclose herewith copy of the re-
port by Examiner F. B. Crosthwaite OF
this department of his examination Of
your office and accounts, which was based
upon certain charges of official misconduct
on your part preferred by Thomas Ma
loney, an attorney at-law at Ogden, in q
communication addressed to Hon. J. E.
Washington, chairman of the committee
on territories in the House of Represents
tives, and by whom they were referred to
ne with . request that the same be
given speedy, thorough and earnest Ia
vestigation, which will be observed FROM
the report Of the examiner that the inves-
tigation did not develop facts which sus-
tain Mr.. Maloney's charges in full; still
that there is a condition of thidgs in the
administration of your Office that indicates
desire on your part to make all the fees
you can out of it without regard to &C
curacy in making your charges. The
charging of per diems for attendance or
court, when the judge 10 absent, is wrong;
no such charges are ever allowed by the
accounting officers of the treasury depart
ment. The use of fee bill. which, under
your construction OF the law, you taxed
fees under either the territorial or the
United States fee bill, whichever woulc
furnish leu the highest revenue, il
unjust and should be continued no longer
Your reduction of fees for keeping dock
cts when your attention is called to then
is no excuse for an error In taxing fees
wrongfully. The practice of requiring re-
ceipts for papers taken from your Office il
commendable. But to charge for films
such receipts when the papers are not re
turned within the time set by rule is il
the nature of q penalty that should not bt
enforced by you. The charges made against
you that you were benefited by the en-
ployment Of the deputy clerk as criel
Of the court would easily have beer
avoided. At best such things are CUES
tionable and lay one open to criticism. The
question of your appointment and retention
being contrary to law am not called upor
to decide. It is matter for which the
Judge is wholly responsible.
"Copies of this letter have been sent u
Hon. ]. E. Washington, chairman of the
House Committee on Territories for hi:
information, to the accounting officers Of
the treasury for their consideration in con
nection with the settlement OF your &C.
counts, and to Judge Miner.
VERY respectfully,
| (Signed) Nv. Fl. MILLER,
s'Attorney Generaln
The concluding paragraph of Judge
Miners letter shows that he has referred
the matter to the first comptroller of The
! ".
various United States courts through tn,
country. 1t will be interesting to see wha
decision Comptroller Matthews will reacl
regarding McClure's case, and it is not i'm
probable that very considerable number
of the latter's acts will be suspended ant
some of them no doubt dissllowed.
Judge Miner arrived in Washington to
day and during the afternoon visited TIT
capitol where he renewed his Acquaintance
of some of his friends in public life ant
also had talk with Representative Wash
ington of Tennessee. Judge Miner sai'
there was no significance in his visit be
yond the fact that he desired that Congress
should establish another judicial district il
Utah, inasmuch as all the United State
Judges there have more business in thei
respective courts than they can dispose OF
A Woman shoots Tresspasser.
ST. PAUL, July 5.-Mrs. A. M. Smith
colored, shot and killed an unknown ma
at Lake Owasso. Mrs. Smith is the house
keeper for Charles Heneige, market gar
dener, on whose place the stranger tres
passed She claims the man threatened |
shoot
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