Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-02-20

n into and determined by the court
b. but the rule must first be appli,
Of and exhausted without producing
0f satisfactory result. Indeed the cOur
It merely define and enforce the rule
1t The procedure in organizing
e newly elected legislative body mui
Il be Of a character to CONFORM to tn
n above doctrine; otherwise the Vi
It IIdity, or at least the regularity, c
= the organization is open TO que.
: ton. Almost any programm
which recognizes these principle
= would be unobjectionable 20 long a
E it allowed the body to determine
S who should be seated. Not unit
/ this has been done can the member
properly take the oath OF office.
In this city the Mayor is the pre-
siding officer Of the City Council
AID acts until his successor is sworr
in. So with the members Of thu
Council. Each member holds offict
and continues to act until his sue.
cessor is seated. Such are the pro.
visions Of the law. There is nc
break between Mayors or Councils.
Section 10 OF the city charter pro-
vides:
"Said Council shall dstermine the
rules Of its own proceedings, and be
Judge OF the election and qualification
Of its own members"
Now as the old members comprise
the Council until the new members
are seated, it devolves upon them to
determine who are entitled TO seats.
They have n right to prescribe the
method by which they will proceed,
and the usual way is to act upon the
contested seats last. lift be deter
mined to seat the new members, one
at a time, Of course the new mem
bers by gradual process would be-
come majority; but the old Coun-
cil might decide on the election and
qualification Of the new members
in a body. In case of a
contest the body has an in
vestigation made, causes the
findings of fact aud law to be laid
before 1t, and determines the matter
by vote, seating the member whom
itconcludes to De best entitled to n
seat.
In the organization Of the CITY
Council last Tuesday evening. the
body was ignored so far az its right
to Judge Of the claims Of members 10
seats was concerned. Parliamen-
tary law, custom and courtesy were
utterly disregarded. The new re-
corder, without a motion being
put or word being said, constituted
himself a committee on credentials
though not a member of the body at
all. He then rendered a reDort
upon which the body took no action
whatever. Not member uttered a
word respecting it. The new MAYOR
received and adopted 1t, and dictated
action in accordance Herewith.
thus usurping the functions of the
whole body.
Mr.. Young's remarks were adj |
dressed to the presiding officer. be-
cause that is the parliamentary
method Of communicating with the
house. The mayor made a personal
reply, and on his own responsibility
refused both requests made by Mr.
\ Dung. Instead OF so doing, he
'hould have asked the pleasure Of
he house upon each request, an
l9uncing that motion upon the
uhjeet vas in order.
Imagine, for a moment, what the
esult would have been of such n
,ourse by the presiding officers of
he two houses of the Montana Jepis-
AZURE during the contest for seats in
hat body. Imagine the furore that
you'd be raised were the president
Z the United States Senate TO
eclare either the Republican or
Democratic claimants from Mon.
ana to seats in that body,
ntitied thereto, without permit.
ing a Senator to say a word {
T cast a vote upon the subject ..
revolution is a mild word with !
'hich to describe such a conplete
Verthrow of parliamentary law {
sage and authority as such a FRO, |
seding would involve. Yet this I
Ientical proceeding was gone (
trough by Mayor Scott in the or t
'nization of the "Liberalv City !.
ouncil last Tuesday evening. :
1t may well be deemed ominous Il
evil TO Utah's fair METROPOLIS Z
nd yet the summary denial. bv a ?
lie man power, Of Peoples Party !,
enters to seats to which they had C
en-, by a judicial proceeding. found 81
be entitled, is strictly in keeping "a
tn the methods by which the ~ y,
4iberal' ticket was elected, and is a
ikingly illustrative Of the tenden. id
to anarchy of that party. The o.
'cedure Of Tuesday evening is a n,
,ical sequel to the registra-
n car which ran over the III
D Grande Western, to the IT
umption of supreme judicial az az
hority by the registrars, aud to af
numberless acts of arrogance and t.
lstice, not to say downright law de
mess, by which the Peoples ~ ~
rty majority was fraudulentIy in
,rcome. tn
he claim is made in defense of In
yor Scott, by the organ of the -
spirators, that "there did not
pen to be any parliamentary an
y around' him, and emo one al'
him to decide who should be ~ srl
I'm in" Section 4 Of the CITY dis
rter provides that the members tn,
he City Council 'fshall hold their by
'es FOR two years, and until their sor
,essors are elected and qualified gu
ing the oath Of Office is part of rar
qualifying process, and the old ing
Elementary body'' exists and IL I
until the new members have aga
n the oath. AS above stated. any
e is no break. The assertion eve
there was no enc but Mayor r nar
t to decide who should be one
n In is such a fiat contradic enc