The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-06
HOW OGDEN VIEWS
BREEDEN AND SPRY
Attorneys, Irrespective of Poll
tics, Incensed at Their
Action.
JUDGE MAY CITE THEM
FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT
Tribute Is Paid to Judge
Howell by Judge
Maginnis.
Special TO The Tribune.

| officials In the State OF Utah to inter-
| fere with and interrupt the course OF
| justice. and TO influence the judiciary OF
| tho State for political advantage. Will
| bo boomerang TO the constituencies Of
| fcials who made the attempt TO defeat
the ends Of justice by appealing to Judge
| ]. A. Howell OF the Second District court
| TO have him grant new trial In the
Fred w. Chambers case. when the mo-
| tion in the interest OF that end was
pending before the court. and was at
| that time under adyisement.
! 1t Is humiliatlng to the properly
| minded people of Utah TO know that the
| Attorney General OF the State, NJ. A,
| Breeden, and the United States Marshal
| of Utah, the latter Federal Official.
attempted to influence a judiciary on
| Ger. 1t is also most appalling that they
could think that conditions were such
that the simple authority Of the Gov
| ernor OF Utah could carry weight with
| the Judge OF the Second district. And 1t
| is the qualification of the people OF
! Weber county, and of tho entire State,
that the bench was not vulnerable TO the
| inducements OF political preference that
were held out TO him.
Proposition In Brief.
| Briefly the proposition was that the
| court should be induced to grant new
trial for Fred w. Chambers, the City
| approprlatlng TO himself and other Coun-
| clmen, Illegal fees under the statutes.
| The matter was at that time under ad-
visement by Judge Howell on the motion
| for new trial, which he subsequently
| denied.
The Governor of Utah, however,
| thought he saw n wreck coming for the
Republican party this fall, and assigned
| Bill Spry and NJ A. Breeden to the mis-
| sion Of inducing Judge Howell TO take
| such judicial action as would AFFORD
chance for new trial the cinch being
calculated on that the second trial would
result In an acQuittal, as another Jury.
| In the Craig case, with identlcally the
same evidence as In the Chambers case
! and under the same allegations, had ac-
quilted Craig. And ttls request was
made on the court for the reason that
| 1t would save the disruption of the Re-
publican party In Weber county.
What Record Shows.
OF course, the record itself shows that
| Judge Howell was not susceptible TO such
| inducements, even though they were ad-
yanced by the political agents of the
| Mormon church, Governor Cutler and
Breeder, and Spry. The motion for a new
trial in the Chambers case was denied
| by the court, and the judgment OF the
jury and the court has since been af-
State. The same tribunal has reversed
the verdict OF the jury In the Craig
case, and the evidence is strong and con-
elusive that the dignity Of the judiciary
OF the State was upheld and maintained
by Judge Howell. regardless Of tho semi
ecclesiastical pressure that was brought
| to boar upon him.
AS result of this attempted corruption
OF the judiciary by the Attorney Con
| eral OF the State, and the United States
| Marshal, there is a strong possibility
| that the two Of them will be cited be-
| fore the bar Of Utah for contempt. There
| is already pending In the Second District
| court suit against a local sheet and
| Its manager-a suit for contempt-the
| specific charges being the pointing out
| through the columns Of it's journals the
| course for the jury in the Craig case
to pursue. the articles being printed dur
| ing recess OF the court and at q time
| before the case had gone to the jury.
| There is no question but that the publi-
cation had its effect in the verdict which
is now reversed by the decision OF the
! Supreme court.
May Issue Citation.
The friends of Judge Howell are OF the
| opinion that he will issue the citation
| against Breeden and Spry. Judge Howell
| this afternoon admitted that he was con-
| N.
| ever. with that fine sense OF The dignity
of his judicial Office, declines to permit
himself TO be quoted THE approac ch
| that was made to the court, with the
very apparent intention TO influence the
| Courts decision on a motion then pend
| ing, Is sufficiently lagrant to Justify
| the citation Of the two men who made
the attempt. for contempt. but this is a
matter that has not yet been fully de-
| cided.'
| Some very peculiar comments have
been made on this matter. Abbott r.
| Haywood says: Approaching the judi
ciary In matters that are pending, espe-
cially by high State and United States
| officials is an extremely serious matter.
| or course with man on the bench like
| Judge Howell. who has high apprecla-
ton OF the dignity of his Office. the de-
| sired result was not secured by Judge
Brecden and United States Marshal
spry."
District Attorney Halverson said: "The
! act was entirely improper and especially
coming from high State official and an
| officer Of the United States Government.
They should both have been cited for
contempt at the time they made the pro-
posal to the court"
| j. D. Skeen, the accuscr against the
Councilmen, stated that both men should
be impeached at once, He had nothing
| more 10 say 6S 10 lnS leIllS OF the case,
| but wanted the judiciary 10 be kept as
clean as Judge Howell had made it in
| this instance,
Tribute of Maginnis.
Judge Maginnis. who, as counsel for
both OF the defendants lost out in the
cases. paid the following tribute to Judge
| Howell, and incidentally represented him
In a talk TO The Tribune's representa-
| tive:
MEN OF sufficiently small calibre-I
do not care how high an Office they may
hold in the State. or who have been ac-
cidentally selected for Federal Offices
who believe that Judge Howell can be
induced TO alter his judicial deliberations
because OF supposed political advan-
tage 10 result from the same, are insane.
am politically opposed 10 Judge How
ell. but / am an ardent admirer OF his.
also know that since his occupation of
| the bench IN this district he has abso-
| lutely divorced politics from his Office.
with him politics and the judiciary