The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-19
AN INSANE ORGAN.

sultriness But, If it is so conspicuous
Iv out of its head thus early In the
sultrv season, what will it do IN the
doedavs7 A few instances of its insane
alterations may he mentioned.
II insisted that the word of con-
victed murderer and all'around tough
and criminal must be taken as against
the word OF the officers who arrested
him and had hlm in charge, that he
had $4,000 worth of diamonds, first III
his pocket, and then sewn in his vest.
The organ took up this statement Oh
the convicted felon. and undertook TO
create a sensation out of it. Its anlmus
was against the police force, but the
charges might just as we'll lie against
the sheriff s Office as the police force,
That organ kept up a din about this,
trying 10 stir up public interest and
demonstration over it, until the thing
got absolutely stale, nobody paying the
slightest attention to 1T any OF the
time.
But il did not cease its insane raw
ings against the police force for all
that. 1t has kept up continuous,
monotonous, wolf-howl against the po-
lice force right along, discrediting the
city and misrepresenting the force on
every possible occasion, and even Great
ing occasions to do it,
There has been nothing in the police
activity for a long time that did not
call forth the sneers and falsehoods of
that paper; so that the public of Salt
Lake have come to the settled bellef
that the Smoot organ is absolutely
crazed in its ferocious animus against
the police from first TO last. Its newest
occasion for riotous yelling against the
police has arisen over the raid on a
notorious Chinese opium den, haunt
OF criminals, rendezvous of thieves and
felons. 1t charged that that raid was
made, not in the interests of law and
order, but merely to punish the keeper
of the den because he refused or
failed to pay tribute to the red light
management, charge so vicious and
atrocious that the organ would be glad
now if the people would try TO forget
it. In that raid a Chinaman known to
be a notorious tough and lawless char
acter, trying to escape and being
called upon to stop and surrender, re-
fused, and was fatally shot. There
does not appear TO be any reason why
the officer should not have shot, since
the fugitive was well known as a
criminal, and it was his duty to sur
render on being called on to do so, If
the police force are to be armed at
all, it is for the purpose of compelling
fleeing criminals TO stop, or If they do
not stop, to force them to stop through
the use Of their weapon. A good many
Instances have been known IN this city
where the police have done consider
able shooting at fleeing criminals
without effect. When this occurs the
whole town sets up a jeer, and the
police are invited to practice so that
they can shoot with effect In this
case the shooting was with effect, just
as il ought to have been If shooting
Is done at all; for it is exceedingly
dangerous to innocent persons to have
random shooting, If the police are to
shoot at all, they should shoot straight,
and shoot the man they want.
The only question that remains so
far as this particular case is concerned,
is whether the officer was justified in
shooting at all. If he was SO justified
and IL seems to US that he was, then
there can be no reasonable ground for
assaihng him. At any rate, due and
vigorous investigation will be made,
and it is in the highest degree i'm
proper and indecent to pronounce judg.
ment against a police officer before the
law has determined the rights of his
case. But the Smoot organ is evident
~ bringing TO bear every possible
influence it can muster, SO as to get "a
political case against the officer, and
thereby besmirch the police if possible,
That IS the great aim and purpose of
the organ, to dscredit the police. In
his ease, if the detective had not hit
the fugitive, the organ would have
been wild III it's contempt for police
craftsmanship. IT would have danced
frantic war dance, demanding to
know why the police could not bring
IL notorious tough and criminal Tn a
stop when he undertakes to run. AS il
is, the organ has called in the aid of
the highbinders of California, and is
eudeavorlng to stir up an international
| complication because the Chinese tough
and lawless character was shot while
hccing from Just arrest 1t may, by
The aid of Smoot, be able to make an
international ease out of this to the
dannse Of Salt Lake and the injury OF
the fair name of The city. The end,
however, can hardly fail To yindicate
the policeman. and to show the dis.