The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-10-17
1T WAS NOT EXPECTED.

II anybody ever for moment thought I
that the present city council would carry |
out the Liberal promise of giving public
work to the lowest responsible bidders, he
didn't know the gentlemen comprising the
government. If anybody ever
had the faintest suspicion that the Liberal
party would insist upon the fulfllmcnt of
its promise, he was deplorably ignorant of
the principles upon which that party is
based. The. voting down of bill for an
ordinance requiring the letting of work to
those who would charge least for it was no
surprise to anybody who knows anything
of Liberal managers, Liberal officials and
Liberal ambitions. Had the bill passed
everybody would have been astonished,
and wondered if the millennium was upon
US. 1t is not fairness that the Liberal
council wants. In fact, it will not have
fairness. We challenge the friends of the
Liberal administration to designate an
instance where an official, and we
will bar none from the mayor
down, has been non-partisan when
the opportunity to be partisan
existed. We can name many cases where
such favoritism has been practiced, and
shameful discrimination shown. One OF
these may be mentioned here. Among
the first things that the present municipal
government did was to tax, steps for the
sprinkling of the streets. This work had
been done in years past by members of the
Peoples party, but was not paid for out of
the city treasury, nor by assessment on
property, private citizens contributing such
amounts as they pleased to give. The
owners of the sprlukling carts were in the
best condition of anybody to continue the
work, but their politics was an effectual
bar. Mayor SCOTT himself, who poses as
an honest, upright man, quietly solicited
Liberals to bid for the work, and actually
had the indecency to tell at least one of
these Liberals that he did not want to OK
pose the contract for public bids, as he
| feared the Mormons would be the lowest
bidders, in which event it would be annoy
ing to deny them the work. This is the
model official who was going to be such an
erect and proper mayor, and who began his
administration by a sneaking act which
would have called for his impeachment In
any other city. But this is not all. The
Mormons learned of what was going on anC
without knowing what others had offered
to do the work for sent in bid for the
sprinkling, and as the mayor had feared
their bid was the lowest. They did not get
the contract however Their bid was
Ignored, and the parties who charged most
for the work were given the job, the mayor
taking it upon himself to make the award
! although he had no authority to do so. re
smooth the matter over the council after
wards ratified the contra2t he made. The
result OF this rank and costly favoritisn
was sprinkling so badly done that even tht
Liberal organ had to side in with the pub
and condemn it.
Public work will be let to the lowest bid
ders when there are only those to bid VIII
vote the Liberal ticket and contribute t
the Liberal campaign fund. Spells are tn
ambition of the party. The ambition Q
the nominees was spoils. 1t was the mani
, for spoils which carried the election. Spoil
will characterize the administration. Tn
, first Liberal government of Sal
Lake will go into history as
: spoils government, and because of tn
spoils distributed for the benef
of partisan favorites, taxpayers and dc
, cent.men generally without regard for piet
will unite at the next election to bury tn
spoils gang SO deep that there will be 4
hope of its resurrection. And then thos
I who will perform the public work for th
least money will get the work to do.