The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-14
MR.. RUIcK'S BLUNDER.

M n. ROiON = BLU
United States District Attorney
Ruick of Idaho seems to be in a fair
way to discover that the much-vaunted
square deal of the administrati ton is
not intended to apply TO such United
States senators as support the policies
of the powers at Washington, and that
there is such a thing as pernicious ac-
tivity in the prosecution of lana frauds.
Mr.. Ruick, it will be remembered, Sc
cured the indictment Of Senator Borah
of Idaho for participation i'm an alleged
conspiracy to steal government lands.
The conspirators, as alleged included
some millionaires, some ordinary land
pirates and the aforesaid senator from
Idaho. Usually when the department
of justice procuTes indictments of this
sort, the names of the indictees are an
nounced with great flourish as show
ing the zeal of the department and the
determination of the administration to
protect the inheritance of the peepuI
from spoliation. In this particular
event. however, the regular program
was inverted: the indictment against
The Republican senator was suppressed,
he was received in executive conference
at Washington-perhap as p mark of
conference.-the district attorneys rec
concentrations as to the plan of prose-
cation were ignored. Now comes the
announcement that the special counsel
for the government. imported for the
occasion has asked for a special slsud
Jury, and it may indict the district at
torney for tntimidating the grand jury
which was so thOughtless as to irdict
Republican senator. Coincidently.
il is discovered that the district attor-
uey is prejudiced. biased. vindictive.
malicious and otherwise disqualified to
prosecute Republican senator's from
Idaho, although this same district at
torney was regarded competent ana
qualified for the Office until the ir-
dictment was returned.
Evidently, Mr. Ruick has FAILED to
profit by the examples and presidents
in similar cases. FOR instance. he
should have known Of the case in Ne
braska where a district attorney. in
spired more by zeal than party discre-
tor secured the Indictment of a Re-
publican nator in sympathy with the
Roosevelt policies Expecting to be an
plauded for his official zeal. this Ne
braska prosecutor met with nothing
but frowns and scorn. Where he had
been sura of support from the depart
ment of justice he got nothing but rer-
rimands and finally. dismissal. Hav-
ing read the presidents frequent and
sometimes tedious preachments on the
high favor with which impartiality was
regarded in the presidents Office, he
was foolish enough TO believe that the
and Republican senators. He knows
better now: also he is a private citizen.
while another man with more discre-
ton holds the Office of district attorney.
Ruick Of Idaho has either never
heard of the Nebraska case. or else he
thought he was exempt from the sys-
tenn which applied in that instance.
Possibly he begins to suspect by this
time that the gift of interpretation is
needed for a man who woula hold office
under Roosevelt and at the same time
presume TO indict administration sem
ators. II is about a hundred-to-one bet
in advance of the returns that Ruick
is slated 10 retire. and he will be lucky
If The administration. through the de-
partment of justice. does not prosecute
him before he gets through. 1t may be
little Difficult. 30 find grounds for
prosecution. but still any district at
torney who takes tie president at his
word and applies the square deal to
Republican senator's ought to be prose-
cuted for feebleness Of intellect.
II is a great thing to protect the in
hcritance of The peepul from spol1ation:
it is quite another thing TO accuse Re
publican senators Cf the spoliation.
Quite different.