| Show LYNCHING OF OUTLAWS the region near the center of which the corners of utah colorado and wyoming come together has recently been the scene of bold and desperate deeds of oui outlawry lawry that have excited great indignation in all three of the states named the murder of the boy strang and the more recent killing in cold blood of bf hoy are crimes that call for swift vengeance but it is not the province of a nor of his deputies nor posse to execute that vengeance if an outlaw being pursued resists the officers of the law with actual force of arms his bin violence may be met with violence and should he be killed his blood to is on his own head the officers axe are not required needlessly to imperil their own lives nor should they allow the fugitive from justice to escape such to Is both the moral and statutory law but when a prisoner has ban been captured and disarmed his life to Is sacred until declared forfeited by a court of competent jurisdiction after a legal trial the officers who hold him in custody are guilty of a flagrant crime against law order and civilization itself if they consent to his death by lynching lunching lyn ching they should protect him from such a fate at the peril of their lives if need be the region referred to Is wild mountainous ta tal difficult of access and destitute of ready facilities for communication with the rest of the world news comes from there that one of the desperadoes named jack bennett who was an associate chate of the murderers of the victims mentioned was captured on march ad taken bv a mo mob b of masked men fro from in the custody ofa of a colorado officer and lynched near ladore colorado it is also reported that three mentho are the actual perpetrators of the two murders murd ets and whose names are given as an harry tracy david lant and patrick johnstone have been captured but with a reasonable certainty that they will be lynched owing to the reasons stated the reports that come from the seat of turmoil should not be too readily accepted as true without confirmation especially should there be reluctance in believing that officers of the law would coulten ance the unlawful killing of prisoners actually in their custody no reports yet received indicate that tills this has been done though there seems to be a possibility that some of the officers may not exercise the care and courage they their should display in preventing prisoners from falling into the hands of lyn bers chers the universal sentiment among the law abiding people of this state finds expression in the earnest hope that the utah officers and posse in all their endeavors to break up the gangs of outlaws that infest the district referred to and to arrest the members of those gangs will maintain the majesty of the law and the fair fame of the state by preventing any tragedy of the character of a lynching lunching lyn ching governor wells wella who has expressed this feeling and hope may be sure that he voices the public sentiment of our entire commonwealth mon wealth |
