The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-06-17
HARD ON THE ORGAN.

The report made by Mayor Park
upon the allegations of mlstreatment
Of the burglar who goes bV the name
Of Dicl; Merrill is extremely severe on
the Smoot organ The Mayor says
that he found nothing whatever to
Justify the charges made by that pa
per. and quotes Sheriff Sharp as say
ing that there was nothing in the In
terview which the Smoot organ 3 re-
porter had with Merrill to Justify the
matter that appeared in that paper.
Merrill said nothing whatever to re
porter about "third degree or other
persecution by or under the direction
Of the Chief of Police. The Sheriff
also told the Mayor that he had pro-
tested against the publication of what
little the prisoner did say during the
four or five minutes conversation with
the reporter, and the reporter himself
said that he did not consider it worth
using. And still there was vile rig
marole of utter trash printed In that
paper having no foundation whatever
in truth,
The organ is thus condemned by the
Sheriff, and it is convicted Of manu-
featuring lies for the purpose of ma
llgning the police force of Salt Lake
City. Its publication had nothing
sufficient to Justify it; there was no
truth in the publication, and its own
reporter admitted that what he had
from Merrill was not worth printing
But somebody faxed lot Of wholly
imaginary stuff and attributed it to
Merrill Merrill denies that he said
these things. And so the whole mat"
fer goes direct to the office of the
Smoot organ, where this stuff was man
ufacturcd without the shadow of au~
thority or truth.
1t is a very black showing for that
organ. Still, we think that Chief
Grant makes mistake where he bars
the reporters of that organ from get
ting news from his office. A newspa-
per is entitled to news from public of
fees, and we do not think that any
public official ought to deny to any pa
per the news that is given out from
his office. That makes a personal mat
ter between himself and the paper,
which is not justified 1t is true, Of
course, that the organ has misrepre
sented the police force, has manufac
tured lies about it, and has acted in
the most disreputable manner through
out, not only in this matter, but on
previous occasions, and will probably
do so again. The public, however, has
come to understand fully the fact that
the Smoot organ is determined to lie
about and treat unfairly the police
force. Therefore, that force should not
put itself under any shadow of accu-
sation, and should give the organ no
chance to claim that it. prints false
hoods about the police force because
it cannot get the truth The police
force should give it the truth, Just as
it does to other papers and let the or
gan rave and lie as it will The public
understands by this time very fully the
attitude Of that organ toward the DO,
lice force OF this city, and is not in
the least likely TO be mlsled by any
lies or Misrepresentation which it NAV
print.
The report Of Mayor Park upon this
business is complete, unAinchiug, and
conclusive. 1t will be so accepted by
the public of this city, and as a com
plete exoneration of the police force
from the baseless charges made.