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Show Ths Animal Bounty Frauds. There need be no sympathy for the me,n accused of attempting to rob the State of Utah on bounty claims. As far as the evidence adduced shows, they went into the game for pure pelf, not merely as a means, of making money easy. The scheme naturally required the connivance of some one connected with the office of the County Clerk, and thus far only two officials in the State have been implicated. Let us hope, there will be no more. s But it was a bungling scheme of thievery after all, and one which could hardly result in anything else than detection. These bounty claims must be made of record, and the record must come -up for inspection. That it could have been worked for several sev-eral months in two large counties like Salt Lake and Weber without detection is the only surprises The plan not only involves stealing, but theft by means of perjury and bribery as well. There may bp some respect for the sneak thief who purloins a purse or taps a till, but for the one who swears falsely in order to rob the public treasury there can be no extenuation. Those guilty of the bounty frauds should be punished to the full extent of the law. None the less guilty are those officials who lent themselves to the unholy raid on the funds of the State. There should be a full, thorough and unrelenting investigation into the bourity frauds, and no guilty man should be allowed to escape. |