The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-11-16
GOVERNOR HAwLBY RAMPANT.


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GOVERNOR HAWLEY RAMPANT.
Governor Hawley of Idaho cxplodes
, in righteous indignation over the par
don of Clarence w. Robnctt, former
bookkceper and clerk in the Lewiston
National Bank, who was convicted OF
4 embczZline the bank IS funds, and sen-
fenced 10 ten years imprisonment. Or
course, the Governor has no case direct
Iy against President Taft, since the
i iudicial officers in the ease made the
recommendation for The paIdon and
presented the papers in such form rs
to Justify from them the President s
action IN granting the pardon, Tins
| is evident from the reading of Gov
ernor Hawley's protest. tor his quarrel
plainly and cmphatioally is with the
special, prosecuting Officers who have
been sent TO Idaho. and who have acted
without any regard TO the interests Of
the State. or the real merits of the
! cases involved. He justly points to the
prosecution of Senator Borah and
former Attorney General Frank Mar
tin as offensive results of the presence
Of these special prosecutors, who have
kept the State in q turmoil for years
TO no purpose. His idea, plainly
stated, is that these prosecutors have
not conducted their operations with
view TO the prosecution OF criminals,
but largely for political effect and for
Convinced as he is of the unworthi-
ness of the prosecutions and the unfit
character of the prosecutors who have
brought them. Governor Hawlcy is
clearly justified IN making his protest.
The prosecutions of Senator Borah and
Of the Barber Lumber Company were
clearly for political effect; they were
indeed n part Of the malignant Roose-
welt policy Of furnishing his enemies
in Idaho as he did in Oregon It was
as Roosevelt made of the secret service
when he put the secret service men to
spying upon members Of Congress, SO
that lie could get some hold on them
TO bend them to his wishes for lcglsla
tion and for political support.
Governor Hawlev. we consider. is
completely justified in complaining of
these special prosecutors, lust as the
people Of Oregon were justified in
making the same complaint on the same
grounds Those special prosecutors
were yindictive prosecutors sent from
Washington TO convict certain persons
on a preJudgmcnt of their guilt. The
whole programme was as obnoxious a
piece of political malignity as any of
the other arbitrary acts of the Roose-
Welt administration. II would have
been we'll, indeed, for President Taft
If Attorney General Wickersham had
withdrawn all these special prosccu.
tors III place of continuing them in
their activities to the indignation and
wrath of fair-mindcd people every
where who knew of what was going
on. Their pcrscnce unjustly superseded
the jurisdiction of the regularly ap-
pointed u. S. District Attorney and his
local assistants.
1t VIII not do TO meet This issue by
saying that Governor Hawley is a
Democrat. 1t is true that he is a
Democrat, but 1T is also true that he
has the facts with him; and he presents
them vigorously and in way that
cannot fairly be disputed, To be sure.
the Roosevelt regime had technical
justification in the law in sending these
special prosecutors: but the work that
these special prosecutors did was vim
dictivc and often subversive Of Justice
Their work was complained of so Wig.
orously in Oregon that they were with
drawn: and now Governor Hawlcy has
exploded a bombshelJ that will prob
ably drive them out Of Idaho. lust as
it ought to do, The further President
Taft can steer away from the Roose-
welt policies III all these matters, the
better and stronger he will be before
4 L..