OCR Text |
Show THIS TRIB0NJJ 8lX MONTIIB AQO. One not familiar with tho course of tha 8alt Luke Triljuiie fur a few monlhe past would imagine that to thin sensational, braggadocio journal the public ia grcitly imlebted for tho conviction and execution of John I). Lee, and that the aid and bupporL it afIordd the proaecutiug officera and court during tho trial of that criminal exercised an immense public influence influ-ence in their ljeli:i!f, enabling them to briiiR their labors to a eucceieful conchihion by the conviction of Lee. Nearly every numbor of that scurrilous scurril-ous sheet coUiiina articles of self-laudation, self-laudation, taking the greatest credit to iticlf ns ono of the primo ai;ntif in tli iu in vesication, to whom the territory terri-tory and tho world owot a debt of gratitude it can hardly repay. This may be a very harmless amusement on tho part of the Tribune, and it is of courso in better Bpirit than moat o! tho bloodthirsty arguments and nppoalti which it now daily indues in-dues in; but the assumptions are uevertbolead totally devoid of truth and decency. When we aay that the course of tho Salt Lako Tribune Tri-bune throughout the trial of Leo last fall was wilfully and persistently Bliaped for the purpose of impeding tha ellortB of the prosecuting oflicors with the ovident intent to prevent tho conviction of tho prisoner at the bar, we state only what the files of that paper will justify tia in asserting. From first to last the motives of District Atforuey Howard, How-ard, who prosecuted the case, were vilely misrepresented, hia words and acts denounced, and ho waa Buhjected j to the meanest spociea of insinuation and tho foulest abuse. Ha could hardly bavo beca worse treated by a public journal wero be one of the guilty parties to tho massacro iuatead of theshrowd and vigilant public prosecutor, whoso energies were concentrated con-centrated upon the task of ferreting out tho bottom facts in tho diabolical crime, and bringing to justice one of tha assassin;. In order to refresh tho public mind in reference to the course of the Tribuuo last September, we copy bo-low bo-low extracts from a few of its editorial articles, which District Attorney Howard, while engagod in the heat of tho trial agaiust John D. Lee, was obliged to confront. It was a flank movement indeed, which tho prose- cutmg attorney naturally felt very keenly, coming as it did from the organ of his friends, a journal which bad never ceased to echo and re-echo the cry for vengoanco against the guilty perpetrators of the massacre. But to tho extracts: With tho Uindlio3t feelings towards I'rosocutinn Attornoy Howard, it is our duty to inform him that bo is allowing hij Heal to run away with hia discretion. Tliat Mr. iiovnrd can boliove, for one moment, tho preposterous and impossible story bo tells of Lno being thu solo mover In this butchery, is eolely duo to the fct tbftt ho has recsntty come among this oloet people, and bus not fully informed himself of the peculiar habits and rrlitiouu belief of this Latter-day Latter-day generation. a It is only due to Mr. Howard to inform him that iritcnae Gicitomenl line been Aroused in Salt Lnko at tha inroinprehonsiblo course ho is pursuing, and if im ihould follow up his straugo conduct by holding Klin-gonsmith Klin-gonsmith for tho action of the grand jury, his want of judgment will by many be regarded as treachery. His hasty nolle proseijUi in tho case of liisliop Dumo lias as bad a look as Bishop Axtell'i breakneck hurry to issue a certificate cer-tificate of election to Apostlo Cannon. "We truat Mr. Howard, in the trial of the remaining prisonora, wiil maLio haste alowly. i'ribuno; September I'J. -Mr. District Attornoy Howard is now showing his hand. Ho hits ret his heart upon eonricliiiE Loe, and to succe.'d in this darling ambition, lie is willing to place himself in a falsa position before the people of Utah and thu country at largo, and to iaeur tho odium of having sold out our interests for a nriee. Mr. Howard, tho great prosoeutiog lawyor ot tlio iiinettjcnll conlurT. can do it, and ho found tho unexampled un-exampled feat as easy as lying. Hi.j yrodeeessors in tho work bavo bva men of no torco, or they have been Mormon-eaters Mormon-eaters or mission jurists. KomethiuR tbe-ro has been about them to oll'end the religious prejudices of tho ompineled iftinU, and this friction being produced, it was impossible to gain a conviction.' Hut thin forsenic Ulysses is wisor in his generation. Ho can steal into their contidenca so deftly that tbej ncvor suspect a design; ho can roar you so gontly, that it will do ADy man's eart good to hear him ho can roar you as 'twureajnightiiigale. Iho Mormons are all right, they are fit to servo on jurie?, as tbii verdict in the Leo ease abundantly shows. There i no rexso in tho world why Utah should not bo admitted, the opposition ollered by the Oontilos is puroly ftctious, and is prompted by fanaticism, cupidity aod spleen. Mr. Howard nnut think that the American people ar morbid in their craring fer a victim, if ho supposes that togratn'y this craving his prollsiomt! duty requir.a him to sacriiico every cllisr consideration. Ho tins made a foolish bargain, and will come out at the smalt end ol' Ihe horn. Ho went for wool and will come back shorn. These everlasting ever-lasting fellow have ogregiously bam-boo.U'J bam-boo.U'J him, and we have a painful misgiving that Mr. Howard's future usefulness in Utah is irremediably burl. Tribune, fc'ept. 21. Thorn seomi a fatal facility in such eonduct, tho man who can so skillfu'lv simulat-j tho traitor is in danger of being mistaken at such by some of his most aniieus friends. A speech in a criminal trial which ends with a flur upon "certain parlies and newspapers, in Utah, who would roll under their tongue as a sweet morsel, tho conviction of the Mormon church at the expenso of the aouituI of Lee," has all the ppararic ot treason, and so the public of Salt Lake regard it. Mr. Howard, wo deeply regret to ssy, has so ntmrk-aWy invoWtd himself, that bit propoied attempt to right his record will necessarily be an arduous one. Tribune, September 1. further eotnmcut ia unnecessary. The editors of tho Tribune duriug both of the Lec trials exercised all of their influence and ingenuity to prevent pre-vent the conviction of John D. Lee. At the first trial at Beaver it was tho subject of genoral remark that the auior editor of the Tribune virtually managed the case on behalf of the proieculion. The result was a disagreement. disa-greement. District Attornoy Howard, having faild to consult the editors in regard to his plan of prosecution at the last trial, and having bad the temerity to act upon his own views of the case, was subjected to such advent) ad-vent) criticism and abuse as we venture to tay was never be foro showered upon a prosecuting prose-cuting officer during a murder mur-der trial in tho United States. Had tho editor of the Tribune con tinued to diotate and manage tho Lee caae.we venture to say no conviction convic-tion could have been reached, for tho uima of those men are not thenda of justice, but tho maintenance of public pub-lic clamor against the whole people of Utah, and the establishment of a pet theory of their own, which tho presentation of all the facts and meting met-ing out of strict justice to tho guilty parlies will overthrow. |