The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-05-19
FA[SEHOOD TOLD
AGAINST SHEETS
Story That He Communicated
With Bell Manufactured
From Whole Cloth.
LOCAL POST0FFICE in
SMO0TITE CONSPIRACY
Soren X. Christensen Declines
to Act as Attorney for
w. w. Bell.

In an effort to blacken the rcputa-
tiou and character of Chief of Police
George A. Sheets, the organ OF the
Smoot machine printed story Friday
morning that the chief was aware of
the whereabouts of ". w. Bell, ac
cused of completely in the alleged Nc"
Whirter bunko case, while the county
officials wero hunting for him; that Bell
had sent Chief Sheets two registered
letters disclosing his whereabouts, and
that Chief Sheets had withheld his in
formation from the county officials
These registered letters, the organ
stated, were signed by Frank Mar
tin" who, it is alleged, was really
Bell,
Sorcn y. Christensen, attorney Tor
Chief Sheets, brands the statement as
deliberate falsebood,
"These Two registered letters pur-
porting to be signed by Martin, said
Mr.. Christensen, "were submitted by
Chief Sheets to myself and to 5. Il.
Thurman. There was nothing in the
letters to indicate that they were from
Bell. They purported, however, TO come
from A man who knew W. II. Parent,
the State 5 star witness. and who de
nounced Parent as dirty rat, and
called him foul names. There was no
request for a reply and no Indica tion
rs to where a reply could be sent. They
were more in the nature OF crank let
1ers than anything else, and when we
read them we had not the remotcst sus-
picion that they were from Bell, [
doubt If they were from Bell
Chief Sheets Denies 1t.
of anybody Will produce a letter
which | have written in any way con
Meeting me with this man Bell +" said
Chief OF Police Sheets Friday afternoon,
~ VIII go INTO court and plead guilty.
That is all / have TO say about this
matter.
The publication in the Smoot paper,
however, dIscloscs the fact that Post
master Arthur l.. Thomas and his sub
ordlnates have been lending their as
ststance TO the conspiracy against Chief
Sheets. and that information concerning
Ch1et Sheets s mail is being furnished
by the Salt Lake postofIice TO the
Sheriff and the County Attorney. The
fact that the antI-Sheets conspirators
knew whose name was signed to the reg
1Stered letter In question is an lndlca
tion, moreover, that Chief Sheets s mail
was tampered with before it reached
HIM, He does not deny signing the re-
ceipts for the Martin letters; he sim
ply says that there was nothing TO in
dicate that they were from Bell, and
he is wondering how the Salt Lake post.
office officials and the Sheriff s Office
know what names were signed to pri-
Vate letters which he received
''Arty'' Thomas Is Brazen
Postmaster Arthur L.. Thomas was
asked Friday afternoon if he or his
subordlnates had disclosed 10 the county
authorities that Chief Sheets had signed
fpr lo4t
tin.
II know nothing personally about
1t, replied the postmaster, "but it is
customary for us 10 aid officers of
the law in such matters, There is moth
ing IN the law or in the postal regula.
tions which forblds us TO do So -
In view of Mr.. Thomas s admission,
therefore, 1t is a fair presumption that
the Sheriff S office and the County At
torney are getting inside information
as TO the character of all the CORE
spondence which Chief Sheets receives.
and if Mr.. Thomas s statement be true,
there is nothing to prevent him from
turning anybody's private correspond
ence over TO The Mormon county au.
thorities for inspection.
Bell Sends for Lawyer.
Bell, accused of completely in the
McWhirter case, sent for Attorney
Soren X. Christensen Friday and want
ed to retain him as his attorney. Mr.,
Christensen, who is attorney for Chief
of Police Sheets also, had an extended
conversation with the prisoner and de.
cliped to act as his counsel. Mr. Chris.
tensen declined last night to disclose
what the conversation between himself
and Bell was.
Sheriff Emery still refuses to permit
newspaper reporters to see Bell. and his
refusal, ne says, is at Bell 8 request.