The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-05-25
symptom Of a bilious stomach ana an

a symptom of a bilious stomach and an
overlooking gall.
When the train stealing common
wealers were convicted on their own
admissions before Chief Justice Merritt.
His Honor administered gentle ad-
monition to the culprits in imposing
the mild punishment inflicted as a
warning to them. Here is what he is
reported to have said. by the Tribune:
''You have all pleaded guilty to the
charge of contempt of an order of this
court in Selling and taking possession
of train on the Union Pacific system
in the Territory of Utah, which was in
the hands of a receiver appointed by
this court You have been guilty of
a gross contempt, but do not want to
be severe with you because you have
probably been misled in going east
to demand something you will
never get. If you reached Washington
you wouldn't do any good, for it is
not within the power of Congress to
grant your demands. / appreciate your
unfortunate condition, and will there
fore sentence you TO three days in the
penitentiary."
This is repeatedly referred to by the
Tribune in contemptuous manner and
in a way to encourage the lawless. 1t
is dubbed 1.-THE worst kind of plutocratic
rot" Its logic is called Strained 1t
is intimated that it was simply because
they were poor men, that they were
deprived of the ordinary privileges of
untrammeled locomotion" The fact
that their mission to Washington can
not eliminate in the fruition of their
hopes" is contended to be hardly a
reason why they should keep away"
Also that:
at must be admitted that the hope
lessness of their mission is hardly a
valid reason why they should refrain
from going"
Speaking of the duty of the courts
to punish persons guilty of train steal
ing, the Tribune says:
!'But in that punishment there is no
occasion to give out from the bench
lectures that apply to them only be-
cause they are poor, or because in the
opinion of the Judge their purpose
cannot be accomplished"
1t is customary for Judges to offer ad-
vice from the Bench and to endeavor
to dissuade offenders from further vio-
lation of law. This is what Judge Mer-
rift did. Compare his language, as re-
ported by the Tribune. with the edito-
rial utterances of that paper in refer
ence to it. They are utterly unwarrant-
ed by the text Their object
is to cast contempt on the
court, and apparently to encourage the
hordes of commonwealers to continue
on their mission" They convey an
entirely different meaning from that
contained in the spoken words. No
honest or commonly decent person or
paper would so distort the remarks of
a judge on the bench. and the mingled
malice and stupidity thus displayed
stamp their author with ineffa6eable
disgrace.
Now make another comparison. In
one Tribune editorial in its first column
on Tuesday. after trying to ridicule
Judge Merritt for intimating that those
poor men may not have ''the privileges
of untrammeled locomotion." it said:
1T will be sorry day for the coun-
try when the doctrine is recognized,
especially from the bench, that rich men
are free to go and come a their pleasure
but that moor men a re not -
In the second editorial column, paral-
leling that, it berates Judge Blair and
the County Court for not enforcing it's
order warning vagrant industrials to
keep away, and says further:
The situation is not one for indiffer-
ence or imbecility. If the County Court
can't do anything toward keeping out
these hordes it should repeal its order
forbidding their entrance. If it is
forced to let them come in it should do
something toward moving them along.
These diverse utterances are not
made under different conditions and
times. They are on the same page on
the same day. Judge Merritt is as
sailed and lampooned for simply ad-
vising those mistaken law-breakars
against their course. and Judge Blair
is scolded for not barring them out of
the county. The doctrine that such
persons cannot be interfered with in
the right to go and come as they please,
is promulged side by side with the de-
claration that something must be done
to stop them from coming here or to
'prevent their staying here. There is
enough evidence in the columns of the
Tribune for the past few days, if Of
fered before the proper commission, to
send the author of these rawlings to
Provo for safe keeping.
THE MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL.
The Manchester ship canal does not
seem to give as much satisfaction as