The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-07-08
A RABID FAULT-FINDER.

The Portland Oregonian seems to
have gone stark, staring mad in its
fauIt.6pding with everything and every
body A short while back it cited the
discharge of the Chief of Police in
this city by the court, s. a cruel outra &c
on Justice. When we pointed out to it
that Chief of Police Sheets was brought
into court ou a charge classed as a
misdemeanor, and upon that charge the
prosecution undertook to convict him
of a felony, and that therefore the case
had TO be dismissed in that form, the
Oregonian still protested that it was
an outrage. That ls to say, it is an
outrage for a court to discharge man
charged with a misdemeanor when the
prosecution undertakes to convict him
OF a felony. In other words, you may
bring a man into court on a charge
of assault and battery and proceed to
try him on a charge for homicide. Any
court In any State which would in
dulgc IN the practice which the Ore.
gonian urges in this respect; that is to
say, baling an accused into court on
one charge and proceeding to try him
on another, would be subversive of
natural rights everywhere; and no such
practice conld be sustained by the high,
CT courts cf any State.
Again we note a crazy sort OF an ed
itorial in the Oregonian calling an inn
aginary roll of Undesirable Citizens
in Plenty" Among these, after nam
ing lot Of the labor leaders, it in
cludes in general terms, City Councils,
without reserve, and Legislatures, with
out exception. 1t proceeds to call
roll of such criminals as Schmitz, Ruef,
Tweed aud others. And it includes
Hill, Odell, Hearst, Platt, and Depew
of New York in the same criminal list;
in Pennsylvania it names Quay and
Penrose; in Rhode Island, Aldrich; in
Colorado, Patterson; in Idaho, Du-
bois; in Washington, Turner; in Kan
sas, Burton; in Cincinnati, Cox; in st,
Louis, Butler; and so on.
The noticeable feature in this is the
indiscriminate massing together of
criminals with men who are entirely
guiltless of any criminal act, or Of
even any criminal charge. They sim
ply have done things which the Ore
gonian does not approve; therefore,
they are TO be classed as criminals and
seoundrels Such classifcations as
these defeat all purposes Of fair re.
view or of reform tactics 1t is alb
surd, for instance, to class Hill, in New
York, with Tweed. It is nonsense to
class Quay and Penrose with Schmitz
and Ruef. Tt is infamous to class Du-
bois with Butler of st. Louis. who was
convicted Of the grossest election
crimes. The publication of such an
article as that in the columns Of the
dignity Of that paper and diminish the
esteem In which it has been held
throughout the Northwest. The indis-
criminate abuse Of persons guilty of
no crime and the ranking of public
men with notorious criminals certainly
can effect no good purpose. There is
not bit Of excuse for any such dirty
work.
Senator Dubois certainly has com.
mitted no crime; on the contrary, he
has made 1t his special mission to fight
law-breakers and criminals, and espe-
clally those who make their boast and
their practice public nuisance and
scandal. 1t would be much more TO the
purpose if the Oregonian classed the
leaders and priests which Senator Du-
bois seeks to bring within decency and
law among the criminals, than to class