The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-01-17
THE COMMISSION.
THE HERALD,
Salt Lake City, Utah


in the House bill 70 the regulation
of registration elections in this
Territory. A synopsis of the measure
appears in this issue of The HERALD
Two objects are plainly apparent in tie
bill. One is to get rid of the Utah
Commission which has made itself
offensive to a. certain rule -or-ruip
faction in th. management of elections
in this Territory. The other propose
is to place the election machinery
in the hands of that same
rule-or-ruin clique. 1t win be
observed that Mr.. Hoge's bill substi-
tutes for the Commission the Governor;
that is to say, the Governor is to be EN-
powered with the duty and privilege of
appointing those men who are to per-
form all the labors now performed by
the five men who form the Federal
board; these three are to appoint the
registration officers and election
ju ges, and il fact to have absolute
control OF the entire election machinery
of the Territory, while the three are to
be under the absolute control of the
Governor who is TO have theUndisputed
power of appointment and re-
moyaI Registration and elections are
to be conducted under the laws
OF Congress and OF this Territory sub
stantiaily IS at present, the only mater
iaI changes being in the men who shall
manage matters.
The Legislature will do well to
promptly and emphatcally sit down on
this bill, and it will then do wisely to let
the election and registration Law alone.
1t is always wise policy to not inter-
fere with things that are working well
enough. There is ever present the
liability. of making matters worse; in
this case, the change suggested would
be equivalent to the deliberate jumping
from the frying-pan into the
fire. Members of the Utah
Commission may be offensive to the
community. The principle of the Com
mission is Objectionable, but how much
more offensive and Objectionable things
would be If the law were changed as
proposed If any or all of the Com
missioners are Objectionable, is there
anybody here who dees not know that
the Governor would fill their places
with men who double discount them in
effersiveness2 We all wildly remem-
Der what the Loyal League tried to
do with the Bingham City
election, and what it set out to
accomplish with the registration
last spring. The leading spirits in. the
League would be the men to whom Gov
erHor West would entrust the admins
tration of the law, and what the League
could not accomplish last year, because
the Utah Commission stood by the
plain reading of the law, and insisted
that there was such thing as fairness,
it would at once achieve, for there
would be aone to stand in the road and
say nay. If Judge Hoge's bill had been
law at the last general election, how
many of the present members of
the Assembly would be there? The
five Liberals, and they would have
as associates thirty-one Liberals,
if Liberal candidate could have been
found IN every district. If that bill
were a law, and the Governors board
were in power, such conditions would
be imposed upon registration and vot-
ing that we doubt if any but the most
radical and reckless Of the Loyal League
members WOULD be able 10 vote.
The law creating the Utah Commits
sion is wrong in principle and unrep ID
hean in practice. 1t Is unjust, and
wickedly so. If the act could be re-
peaIed and the election machinery re-
stored to the people, we would
all be pie lsed. But these things cannot
be. The laws are in the books to
say for a time at least, and our elec-
lions will have to be managed by
others than the people. 1t is therefore
well that we retain the management
that is less Objectionable and less par
tisan than the one which is proposed.
DON'T let US voluntarily build the
scaffolds and supply the ropes for our
own hanging.
There is another matter to be con-
sidered in this connection, and that is
one of dollars and cents. The admin
istr tiou OF the registration and election
law costs fully $4,000 annually.
This expense is now borne by
the Federal government, SO anxious
is Congress that the voting sha.l be
on'y By such persons as it has desig-
mated. In view of the fact that very
few if any who are now denied the
privilege of suffrage would vote who
ever might administer the law, would
it be wise financial proceeding on the
part of the Terzitory to shift this bur
den Of SEA An0 q year to onr OWN