Show A SLANDER some 1 wo or three weeks ago a rumor waa iii to the effect that ason 01 iri smoot bad entered a saloon in aliis cry called for n bottle of beer abil inor kingly performed lie ordinance n over it that jie bad no sooner dane eo than lie fell to the miuor of the saloon in a paralyzed condition and expired right st soon after the rumor was fet arted we traced it up sufficiently to prove to our antho that there was no truth in the report and that it was the work of some vile character we took no notice of the afi air until we read a few days after an editorial in the despret beius which save is its authority for ita information that they had been permitted to rend 1 private letter detailing the aft air and that since they had written the article n person from provo had told thaia also the samo story we thought it unwise of the bews at tho time to give credence to such a serious abair without ast dst taking jp pains to find out the truth of the story but did not think it necessary oven then to refer to the matter since then however other exchanges have been babying themselves in publishing bifilar reports to eliat given by mhd netus and we thought it proper to go to president smoot himself and see what lie thought of it we did so yesterday and asked him if lie had heard of the report president smoot said that he had but not until the rumor had been circulated for nearly two weeks and not until a week after the article referred to in the news had been published that himself and his family besides been working to get at the bottom of the matter that they had failed to find the first individual alio knew anything about it and that lie was thoroughly convinced that it must have originated in the heart of some vile scandalmonger scandal monger or defamer of character lr A 0 smoot jr who was present at tho time of our interview with president smoot stated that he also had been working at the matter day and night for the last throe weeks but after a most vigorous biad corce to the conclusion that there was not a scintilla of tru thin the report he biad this opinion at first but thought it would be best to find the man who started the slander if possible whatever have prompted the individual who started this lying report we are unable to conjecture aud what makes it more sorrowful is the fact that the youna man referred to is at present on a bick bed near deaths door suffering with in abscess and from last accounts it is feared he cannot live long the practice of slandering a persons character is regarded too lightly and ia becoming too frequent in this community the present case is a striking instance of the results ol 01 such a course it seems strange how gome individuals can deli glit in it no one can probably conceive of the pain and sorrow that tho report under consideration lias caused the family of this young man we know of nothing else that could have produced more pain we trust in behalf of the family of president smoot that the papers that have been so ready in giving publicity to the malicious will now be as ready to contradict it |