The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-08
BOOTH WANTED To
FIX LEGISLATURE
The Explanation the United
States Attorney Made to
Judge McCarty.
ENTERED DENIAL OF
ONE STATEMENT
What He Said or Says He Did
Not Say Is Equally Dam
natOry.

And now it develops that the inter
view United States District Attorney
Hiram 4. Booth had with Judge w. NJ,
McCarty at the city and county build
ing Monday, anent the latter s attitude
toward William Spry when he was IL
candidate for the clerkship of the Su-
preme court, was quite an elaborate
affair after ALL although unsuccessful
30 far as Hiram is concerned OT
course, the Distict Attorney will not
discuss the matter, and neither will the
Supreme Judge, but the interview WAS
OF semi-public character, being held,
as it was, in the outer Office Of Clerk
Griffith, so that many heard the dis
cussion.
iteration of n statement to the effect
that on Judge McCarty's refusal to
support Spry, he being pledged to Grif-
fifth. Booth said: "Well, four years
from now we II get a man who is In
sympathy with u.s. Attorney Booth
represents the apostle Senator's ma
chine; he owes his appointment to that
agency. but Notwithstanding that and
the evident threat conveyed in the
language, Judge McCarty simply re
piled that if the people Of Utah want
such men they have the opportunity
every two years to make their selec-
tion until the bench is full. But at
the interview Monday, Attorney Booth
aveTred that he did not say what is
attributed to him. Judge McCarty says
he did, and that it depended upon what
construction one placed upon the Ian
guage.
Booth Deals In Legislatures.
Mr.. Booth expressed profound respect
for Judge McCarty personally, and for
all judges in general, and gave as an
explanation of his statement that what
he meant was that they would get the
Legislature to make the office an cleo
tive one, meaning the Supreme court
clerkship, To the layman Attorney
Booth 8 explanation only confuses, for
he wonders how the District Attorney
can foreteIl months before the Legis-
lature convenes what it will OF will not
do. But, of course, the layman is not
on the inside; he is but a mere unit;
he does not realize that the business
of the machine governed and controlled
by the apostle Senator is to traffic in
Legislatures for the election of United
States Senators and such other minor
matters as may come before it, having
always in view the interests Of Smoot
and his cohorts.
Booth certainly would disavow any
such intention or influence on the part
of the machine and himself, but recent
candidacy got so ripe that it spoiled,
Booth went to Judge McCarty to get
him to give his vote to the Republican
chairman. The Justice declined, hav-
ing already given his support to Grif-
fifth, and also because Spry was
chairman Of the party and he did not
desire the office made party headquar
ters, nor did he wish politics associated
with the court,
Gould Square Matters.
Booth, however, could easily square
the Griffith matter If the latter would
only remain where he was as stenogra-
pher, they (the machine) would get
the Legislature TO raise his salary from
$1,000 to $500 a year, and the District
Attorney considered the clerkship po-
litical office and that Spry was entitled
to it. So again United States District
Attorney Booth showed his familiarity
with juggling with Legislatures for po-
ltical and partisan purposes; in fact,
Booth s long experience has evidently
made him past master in the art
Upon Judge McCarty refusing COM
pliance with the suggestion it was then
that Attorney Booth made his famous
statement that Griffith could "only
hold it for two years anyway as they
4nf;eaqy had one man skinned (meaning
fns3GE, Bartch) and that f'four years
from faow we III get another man who
is in sympathy with us.
This is what Attorney Booth denies,
and he's going to keep on denying it
from Logan to the sea or st. George
or some other place, and Judge Nc
Carly will continue complacently to af-
firm 1t. And thus it stands