The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-08-28
TIRED OF INVESTIGATIONS.

TIRED OF INVESTlGATloNS.
The Municipal Commission of this
city announces that it will make no in
vcstigation of the riot which accom-"
panied the street speaking Of the 1. ".
W, fortnight or so ago. At the same
time the commission makes it clear that
| it is tired Of Investigations, and that
it has other and more important work
| to do than TO sit as an investigating
body at the bidding Of various organi-
cations over temporary incidents that
come to the front. In this, so far as
the riot is concerned, we believe that
the commission is acting wisely; the
courts having taken up the investlga-
tion of that riot and as they are deal.
| ing with various Of the participants in
| it, it would be an intrusion upon the
| functions of the courts for the city
commission to undertake an investiga-
| ton of its own, which could serve little
purpose The courts have begun this
| investigation, let them finish it.
There is another thing that might as
| we'll be said here and now as at any
other time and elsewhere; and that is
that the different voluntary associa-
tions and organizations of this city
| when they get up cases for the com
| mission to investigate while they act in
good faith, as we have not the least
doubt, at the same time these organi.
cations are not official or responsible
organizations under the law. By this
we mean that they are not able to put
witnesses upon oath and proceed in the
manner laid down by law for ascertain
ing the facts as to any given accusa
| tion. Persons appear before these vol
untary organizations and tell lurd tales,
which, when confronted by their respon
| sibility under oath, the tellers utterly
| fail to establish when legal investiga-
tion is made. 1t is one thing to tell
nossipv story in an informal way and
without the responsibility of an oath,
it is quite another thing to tell that
same story under oath, where the wit
ness is subjected 10 cross examination
and liable to be confronted with the
accused, and with others who tell an
entirely different story.
1t has sometimes been suggested that
in good many of these cases the wit
nesses do not dare TO tell the plain
story to the official investigators that
they tell to the voluntary associations
or organizations. for fear Of some sort
Of vengeance, either from the police or
! by some person, official or unofficial,
who may ue involved OF accused What
ever there may be in this is a thing
| that the commission cannot deal with
For if people will tell sensational stories
to voluntary bodies and fail to tell the
same stories when confronted by legal
investigation and bound by the rules Of
evidence, it is impossible for the com
mission TO go back to the gossip that
the associations received and took as
assured proof Of guilt The statements
made not under oath before the associa-
tion which brings the charge TO ex-
anime which the official investigation
is had, cannot be held TO be legal cyi-
dence. All that the commission can do
III S0cn II case is 10 IhEe tne real cV1-
deuce as il gets it, If witnesses are
either afraid or reluctant to tell under
oath the sensational stories that they
told 10 voluntary organization, that
is no fault Of the commissions: and il is
| impossible to imagine that the commits
sion should be guided by the extreme
tales told TO the voluntary investigators,
when the evidence presented before the
commission itself falls so much short
Of what was originally told, and fails
utterly as legal proof.
We commend tho commission, there
fore. for its discretion In determining
| to have no investigation Of the /. W. w.
| riot. In fact, even if the commission
were not disgusted with the results of
| former gossipy Investigations. there
would be ample reason for having moth
ing 10 DO with this riot, since az VIC
matter in band and are dealing in their
own way with the persons accused in
connection with that riot. All in all :
since the commission is much pressed
with It's regular business, and has am
pie 10 do i'm routine and nee essary work.
il IS not matter of surprise that that
BODY should declare its reluctance to
proceed with further Investigations,
since those that it had undertaken have
been so profitless and the charges in
them have been so poorly supported by
| actual, proof