The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-18
THE ToRTURING OF casio.


When the confession Of George
d. Casio of Preston, Idaho, appeared,
The Tribune promptly said that he had
been coerccd into making it. He had
written to The Tribune some letters
exposing the villainies of George c..
Parkinson. president Of the Oneida
stake. For some time, Parkinson did
not know who wrote these letters, but
fnd out. While Parkinson was thus
working to ascertain the author of the
letters, Mr.. Casio visited The Tribune
office, showing evidence Of fear that
Parkinson would iniure him severely If
he found that he (Casto) had written
son to know that he had written them,
and asked the editor of The Tribune
for God g sake not to tell anyone who
was the writer. He affirmed positively
and earnestly that he had written moth
ing but the truth, but expressed great
fear of Parkinson, who he said already
suspected him of writing the letters.
Mr.. Caste was reassured; no one should
know from this end of the line who
had written the letters. He went away
satisfied. so far as the protection of
his identity here was conccrneds but
still full of fear that Parkinson would
find him out in some way, and wreak
vengeance upon him.
His fear was only too we'll founded,
Parkinson did find out, and forced
Casio to admit that he wrote the letters.
And then Parkinson set his crafty,
cowardly, cruel mind to work to Offset
the publication of the letters. He lured
Casio to safe place, and there, helped
by another, put HIM through hours of
torture, beating him, choking him into
and infhcting upon him
every form of pain and suffering that
brutal ingenuity could suggest, until
after five or six hours of torture, and
fearing for his very life, Casio made
the confession" "rctraction," and
apology which was printed in the
Mormon paper, and commented on by
the Deseret News as ga Manly Apol
ogy.' The whole procedure by which
this retracrion of the truth, this up,
building Of lie, was obtained, was
as shocking a piece of brutal infamy
as has occurred in a civilized nation
for many a year.
Ito is significant that Mr.. Casio, who
is Mormon in good standing in his
church, did not consider it worth his
while TO appeal to the law for protec
tion and redress. He knew where the
real power rests III such case; and
accordingly he came to Salt Lake City
as soon as he was able to travel, and
laid his case before the first presi.
dency of the Mormon church Presi-
dent Joseph F. Smith was evidently
impressed by Mr.. Casio IS manner and
by his story, for he appointed COM
mission of three apostles of the Nor.
mon church not only to investigate
the Casio story, but to hear any charges
that any one may have to bring against
Parkinson on account of the Oneida ditch
swindles or on any other account. He
evidently considered that "where there
is so much smoke there must be soma
fire. and named high commission
TO look into the whole matter of Par
kinson s doings,
This commission will sit in Preston
today All who have anything to say
pertinent to the hearing, have been in
vited to be present, and to present their
This notice was read in the
houses of the Oneida stake on
Sunday evening last, so that all who
are interested know of the hearing.
Whether the apostolic commission is
to hear and lulse, or sim.
ply to hear and report, does not appear
But whatever its final powers are. there
is no doubt that il is empowered to
hear And ii will hear plenty FOR those
who have been robbed by Parkinson
in his fraudulent ditch operations will
be out in force 1t will be lively day
in Preston today.