The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-09-14
THEY FEAR A GRAND JURY.

THEY FEAR A GRAND JURY.
Our southern Utah contemporary, The
Rlchfeld Reaper. has been much discon
tented by our presentation Of the graft
records of the State Land Board II
, lnrimates the belief that these records
are garbled. Well. that is precisely
what we have been endeavorinC to
show. OF course we think they arc
garbled, The chief difference, however
between us and the Richfield paper is
that that paper seems to think that we
did the garbling. That, of course, is Il
silly bit of nonsense. Whatever gar.
bling has been done has been done of
ficialIy, and right there in the office Of
the Land Board. We have taken the
matter precisely as il appears there,
and have faithfully given it to the pub
lie.
The Reaper infers from our course in
this matter that we arc endeavoring to
force the calling of a grand jury. 1t
IS quite true that we would be glad to
see grand iury called and empa neled
here to inquire into various matters.
VIC had not thought of that. however,
ID this connection. Now that the Reaper
has mentioned it, however, we think
that grand jury would find fruitful
field in which to work in taking notice
or the records and doings Of the State
Land Board. The Reaper seems TO con-
sider that the calling o. grand Jury
would be an extremely deplorable thing.
III evidently lmaglnes that members of
the Land Board and many others of its
trends and of the ring officials in Utah
would suffer if such body were i'm.
paneIed. We are inclined to agree with
the Reaper on this point. In fact. it
might almost he called an evident truth,
There is not the least doubt but that
grand jury would find ample work for
a long session here IN investigating the
dolngs of the political ring and the tools
of that ring that are in official posi-
tions here
But why should the Reaper be so OK.
tremely fearful IN behalf Of its friends.
of the calling of the grand jury? Why
should it consider that The Tribune
would get special advantage from the
work of grand iury1
Evidently the editor of the Reaper
has ~iven away his inner thought in |
this. 1t is clear that he believes The
tribune IS statements to be true, and |
that he considers the showing made
against the Land Board to be such as
would inevitably call for Indictment bv
a grand Jury Of a portion or all of the
Land Board; also, probably, other of
hcials, State and county, put in power
and used corruptly by the bosses of
the church Republican partv of this
State, If the Reaper editor did NOT
so think, whv should he be so desperate.
ly afraid of n grand jurv7 Why should
he conclude, as he evidently does, that
the calling of grand Jury and the
work OF that grand jury would be so
much to the advantage of The Tribune
and TO the disadvantage of the church
Republican party and its officials?
The wall set up by the Reaper on
this point is dead give-away. It's
editor shows that he is convinced that
.IuiD IL NdJItu, WOulu 10QlCtI
along tho line of official.
iom here. and rip of the cover from
vast smount of evil doing. That has
,ecn our idea all along, although as
'aId before. we have not considered that
phase of it in connection with the {
Land Board as our Richficd contempo- i
'ary evidently has done. But since it
las done so, we do not mind confessing {
hat we arc much obliged to it not only
or the agonlzng fear it expresses that (
/ grand Jury would expose the corrupt 7
loings of the Utah political bosses, but :
or the showing that the shadow of =
!rand jury is the frightful nightmare ,
# the church politicians all over the &
State. For that reason, as we'll as be- +
ause we are convinced that there is =
great work for grand jury here to =
10, The Tribune reafirms its decided p
opinion that a grand jury should be +
allied, and urges the calling of it at the I
arlest possible date. 4,