The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-12-15

to discontinue their project of organizing
said Hydraulic Canal company
Wherefore, your petitioners pray that
your honorable body make a deed of the
said one-sixth interest in said dam and said
waters of said Jordan river to Salt Lake
City corporation, and as in duty bound,
your petitioners will ever pray. (Signed)
George Romney, John Il. Winder, Charles
d. Haun, Jesse w. Fox, w. S. Burton, A,
Gardner per Rueben Gardner John Nichol-
son, Joshua Midgley, Orson F. Whitney.
We again quote from the records of the
court:
AUGUST 20, 1888.
petition of George Romney and eight
others asking Salt Lake county to transfer
the one-sixth interest of the waters of the
Jordan river heretofore, to-wit, on Sep
TENDER %, 1885, granted to the Hydraulic
Canal company, to Salt Lake City corpora
ton, filed. 1t is hereby ordered that in
consideration of said petitioners being the
same persons who petitioned the county
court for said one-sixth interest in the
waters OF theJ erdan river to be decided to the
Hydraulic Canal company, who now pc
tltlon for said one-siXth interest in the
waters of Jordan river to be decided to Salt
Lake City corporation, it is hereby or
dered chat Salt Lake county deed said enc
sixth interest in the waters of the Jordan
river and in the dam, to said Salt Lake
City corporation as asked for in said petit
tion.n
(Minutes signed) ELIAS A. SMITH,
Probate Judge.
FRANCIS ARMSTRONG,
SAMUEL BENNIoN,
Z. NJ. WELLER,
Selectmen.
In this connection the jury desire to
state that after very thorough investiga-
ton of this water question, and an exam
nation of all the evidence before US con-
corning it, we do not believe that the
county ever had the slightest shadow of
legal title to any of the waters of the Jor-
dan river. The only legal appropriation or
diversion of water from that stream was
made by individuals for their sole use and
benefit, and that was done to such an ex-
tent that the whole volume of the river
was vested in such individual appropri-
ators long prior to the building of the so
called county dam.
During many years past the county court
has made the probate Judge "Superintend-
ent of County Affairs" This is an office
unknown to the law, and one which we are
ADVISED the county court had no legal
power to create. The statutes provide
that the compensation of the probate Judge
shall be "a per day and mileage for his at
tendance at sessions of the county court,
and in probate matters he shall receive
per diem OF So in each case previously set
and the ordinary fees for papers issued.
The record shows that the probate Judge
has not only received such per diem and
fees as TIL law allows, but that he was
voted additional money by the county court
as follows:
March 0, 1870 81 600
March II, 1871. -- l5OO
March 8, 1872 ---- 1000
March 10, 1873 $500
Since the latter date unit, October l, 1889,
they have voted him annually $500
in all to S46, 0O0-every dollar of
which was paid in violation of law and in
addition to all compensation allowed him
by the statute
From August, 1884, to May, 1888, we find
that the firm of Taylor, Romney & Arm
strong furnished material to the county
valued at Sl4, 900. During nearly all of this
time Francis Armstrong, a member of the
firm, was a selectman, and, therefore, pro-
h1blted by law from being a party to any
business dealings with the county. About
Sl2,OOO OF the amount named was for mate
rial used in building the county intirmary,
and during the whole Of the time in which
inhrmary material was furnished Mr. Arm
strong was selectman. The records do
not show that in building the county in
Urinary any bids were received either for
material or labor.
Ordinary prisoners confined in the county
jail are fed at an expense to the county of
40 cents per day each, but, in the case of
convict B. Y. Hampton, who was convicted
in the Third District court December "a,
1885, for the crime of conspiracy in setting
up and maintaining houses Of ill-fame in
this city, to be resorted to for the purposes
of prostitution and lewdness and to entrap
therein the United States officers and other
prominent Gentiles in this territory, the
county court appropriated 81 per day for
his maintenance and support while in the
county jail serving out sentence of twelve
months Imprisonment for the above named
offense.
In the case of convict Frank J. Cannon,
imprisoned for an assault and battery upon
W. H. Dickson, United States attorney, the
county also paid 81 for his subsistence dur
ing the time of his Imprisonment under SEN
tence for that offense.
SOME SAMPLES OF APPROPRIATIONS
made by the county court are as follows:
December lst, 1884, E. W. Tullidge. for
History OF Salt Lake county $1,000 90
September 7th,. 1885, A: Burt, looking
after licences in Salt Lake county, GOO 90
November LIST, 1886, painting portrait OF
the late Reuben Miller--------------- 100 90
August 3D. 1885, lunch, May 10th to date
LOT county W
August 18th, 1887, for dinner to five poll
ing places IS 90
March Sd, 1888, for lunch for county
court TO date 80 90
From 1874 to the close of 1888, the county
was continuously in debt and paying in
terest on borrowed money, part of the
time at the rate off per cent. per month.
The rate was gradually reduced until some
later loans were obtained for per cent
per annum. From 1874 to 1884 the average
amount on which the county was paying
interest was S55, 900. The Indebtedness
then decreased until December IS, 1888,
when the county paid it's last outstanding
notes, amounting to $4,000.
DURING THE FIFTEEN YEARS
ending with 1888, the county has paid in
interest 1922, 605.04, sum more than twice
as grea at as the original debt, and we have
tried to ascertain why the county CON
tracted this interest bearing debt, and
what benefit it received for the money
paid.
Beginning with 1872, large appropria-
tons were made to "canal and ditch &C
count" The amount so appropriated an
nually, from June l, 1913, to June l, 1877,
was as follows:
1873 % 397 %
1874 1854 O6
81, ~ 40
l6I0-------- 1888 AZ
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1889 IS
Total --------------------s117,73 4 SO
These appropriations, with other large
sums of money diverted from the road &C
count, were advances made to various
canal enterprises owned and controlled by
private individuals among whom, and the
chief actors in which were members of the
county court, including the probate Judge
and It's clerk.
County officers were stockholders and
officers in these canal companies. As such
county officers they Incorporated and