The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-19
THOSE BRIBERY CHARGES.
r. w. Sloan Discusses Their Refer
ence to Himself.
To the Editor of The Herald:

To the Editor Oh Inc deudlu.
Despite the fact that l was the only
person who failed of eXOneration be-
fore the recent legislative investigation
committee, l have kept silent until the
session was over, 80 that no one might
suffer because of what l have felt 1T a
duty to say. May l request a little
space to discuss, from a personal point
of view. a subject concerning which SO
much has lately been said? The mem
ber's signing the majority report exon
GRATED Mr.. McCune completely from the
Law charges. That followed OF neces-
sity. That MIR. Mcclure would make
proposition to buy Laws vote. which
proposition was repeated by me three
nights later, at which time meeting
was arranged for between Law and
McCune, and that McCune the fo1loW-
ing morning went to complete bhe ar
rangement to buy Laws vote and TOOK
only $50 with him, is such BALD rub
bish that only an idiot would belleVe
it. Yet that is Laws statement. Fun
Their than Laws word there was ad-
duced no evidence of even an attempted
use of money, yet the majority OF the
committee cast an dispersion upon Mr..
McCune by it's unwaTranted reaiectlon
upon me. The report says approached
MIR. Nebeker improperly, yet that there
was nothing to show. an attempt at
bribery. Then what did l approach him
for? ParadoXical~ as this statement
seems, contradictory as many look
,lpon it. it is nevertheless clear enough
ia carry an asperson, and it has been 80
construed by all who read it, since L
am generally accredited with being the
scapegoat. 1t is trying to believe that
a COMMITTEES numbering among us dlS-
tinguished numbers a lawyer, poet
and professor, could imagine they
were washing Mr.. McCune by throwing
the sudS on me- Yet charity requires
that such a construction be put upon
the report 1t must be confessed that
the first mart of the paragraph relating
to my conversation with Mr.. Nebeker
is sufficiently vague (wherein it declares
| approached him improperly to give
the widest possible scope for rlotouS
imaginings The good Lord Will acqudt
me of any such intent as may be pu5
upon the portion of the report just re-
feirred to, and the committee declares
there was no attempt at bribery.
Strange. indeed, that four intelligent
gentlemen did not perceive that re-
Election on me was reflection on Mr..
McCune. | was not after the senator
shin. But to secure the signature OF
the one decent Republican on that COM
n1itte. thew let him drive them to
point where his demand was accepted,
and because, as was said, we cannot
afford to clear everybody" SO got IT.
Had there been as much courage IN
that committee as there was just and
deserving friendship for Mr.. McCune,
the majority report would have been a
straight bold manly eXonerat1on, Such
as it ought to have BEEN. Had the in
ver.ti CATION been along other lines there
are parties now rejoicing at the con-
spiracy against McCune who would,
believe, be fleeing to a climate and to
conditions vastly more congenlal But
instead of the report that should nave
been made a. faced and questionable
aco,littal came that smirche5 a wor
thy candidate for the senate by a gra-
tuitous and underlined attack ON ONE
who tried to be his friend, and who IS
in a position to know that McCune is
honest and that a cleaner campaign
than his could not have been conducted
It says little for Mr.. McCune's sagac-
ity, that he did not know whom to
select as an intermediary and whom to
approach with corrupting Intentions,
had he desired to win that way Gas win
! he COULD. when no che voting for Mr..
McCune dare be charged with any but
| the highest and most patriotic pur-
! poses in their support of that GENTLE
man. And so to placate an implacable
element it was sought to put upon my
shoulders alone a burden, which, if it
existed, by no possible means could
| carry alone
| AS for the minority report, it ia
| damned by the personality of its sign
ers Ex-senator Shurtliff was nomin-
| sted to perform the duty rendered by
! him. He betrayed his party and COM
passed its defeat in Weber county to
vote for a Republican, ex-senator F.
J. Cannon. He betrayed his pledge ITO
| the fusionists and to Frank j. Cannon
! in order that he might Vote for an
other Republican in the person of
George @. Cannon. Two years ago he
| tried to seduce certain Democratic
members of the Second legislature to
| vote for that stalWart Republican,
| George @. Cannon. / will not say he
| has no mind, but / will say that he
does not own what little sense he does
possess and straight thought is to him
as foreign as loyalty to party or to prln-
ciple.
Senator Howell, the other sfgner OF
| the minority report, is entitled to full
| credit for backing Law, not alone as the
! fitting friend of a self-confessed liar,
| but as a legislator and a member of the
COMMITTEES on investigation. Elected
| by questionable influences Howell he's
! been loyal TO all that his election in
volved. And all righteous people will
readily understand how such man,
signing such a report, could, with vir-
| tuous self-complacency, condemn the
use of money to purchase intoXicants4
when, uplifted by the consciousness that
he himself had spent money freely for
whisky and cigars and tobacco with
which to influence his fellow Saints in
Wellsville and SO gain an election, and
| to this end he is said to have converted
the tithing Office controlled by his
! father-in-law. the bishop of Wealsville.