The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-02
"GET GOOD LEGAL ADVICE.

County Attorney Hanson has now got
his instructions. Under the head, "Get
Good Advice" the Deseret News on
Friday evening instructed Mr. Hanson
what to do. It confessed his incompe-
tence TO manage the Sheets case him
self, and proclaimed that the only thing
for the County Attorney to do was to
get the aid of ''the best legal talent
obtainable'' and get on with the prose
cution. The church organ is tired Of
the success of the attorneys for the de.
fense IN beating the prosecution s ef-
forts owing to circumstances and in
Auonces that need not be pointed out
now. - Evidently the chief Of these
circumstances, - in the opinion of the
Deseret News, is the incompetence Of
the County Attorney. This is what in
its judgment accounts for the continual
beating by the attorneys for the de-
fense of any move the prosecution may
make. The continual gloating" over
the failure of the County Attorney and
the technical blunders of the prosecu-
ton" are gell and wormwood to the
News. 1t wants that sort Of thing pre-
vented, and n stop made in this "circu-
lar performance like that of dog chas
ing his own tail. - and declares that the
spectacle is "not edifying if it lasts
too long
Evidently the News considers that
this "circular performance has al
ready lasted too long, and it sends out
loud cry for competent advice to help
the prosecution. This declaration of
lack Of confidence iu the County Attor~
ney and confession of his defeat all
along the line, made by the News, must
be gall and wormwood to County At
torney Hanson. AT the same time, be
has no redress, the News has the whip
hand over him, and can insult and brow.
beat him all that it wishes to and he is
bound to stand it. 1t is plain case
that County Attorney Hanson has fallen
from grace and that the church has lost
confidence IN him as a prosecuting Off
Ger. Nothing else can account for the
.contemptuous attitude of the News to.
ward the County Attorney at this time.
But 1T is less than year since the
public OF this county were assured that
Mr.. Hanson was just the man for Coun-
ty Attorney. that ne was able, compe-
tent, dihgent, honest, and would make
an officer of the very first class-high in
ability, strong in practical force before
the courts, To have him thus discred-
tied in the first five months of his nd,
ministration must be bitter pill to
him.
There is another view of this case to
take, however, which we commend to
the News IN its unhappy state Of mind
over the incompetence Of the County
Attorney TO manage this prosecution.
That is that there is no case to ran
age. There may have been a Sheets
case at some time or other but now
there is none. 1t was one of the com.
plants Of the Israelites against the
Egyptians that they were compelled
TO make bricks without straw. II is
just as difficult to make a case in court
whore there is nothing to go on as it
is TO do what the Israelites complained
of. County Attorney Hanson is there
fore confronted with the alternative of
either confessing incompetence and call
ing in ''the best legal talent obtain
able to help him or confessing that
there is no case to go on with 1t
would be much moro to his credit TO
make the latter confession, and to say
fairly and squarely that the whole
matter has been a political dodge from
first TO last, without legal merit, incit-
cd by partisan plotters and carried Oh
by malignant partisan ingenuity which
had for its base the defamation Of
character, falsity. and low-down polit-