Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-03-20

ided for the election of Territorial
officers are dead, and were buried
by the Supreme Court decision.
Tney cannot be rai-es, either Is
veritabie realities or as phantoms to
supply n Governor with the ghost OF
a reason for playing the autocrat.
The Governor says the repeating
clause is every careful in its terms .
Is that 4 reasonable objection to ii!
Why, he declares in another place
that this is what ought TO be. and
intin2tes that the Legislature Ina,
not been careful enough. But lei
US look at this wonderful repeating
clause, which, az the same time, il
the gubernatorial mind is too com
| prehensive and yet not comprehen
sive enough. "The provisions Of al
acts and parts Of acts superseded 10y
or in conflict with any OF the pro
visions Of this act are hereby re
pealed.'' Is not this one of the com
monest and plainest of repeating
clauses used in modern legislation.
1t is TO be found in acts Of Congress
and the laws Of States, and mean,
all and no more than just what Il
says. Any one who perceives 5
bugaboo in it must have most vivid
and disOrjered imagination.
Now as 70 the omission Of provi
sions for elections in cities. Thi:
objection is on as low level rs the
rest. Accompanying this bill was
another, dealing especially and ex.
clusively with elections in cities,
That bill the Governor also vetoed
Itspecifically repealed the very pro,
visions which he now cites as un.
repealed by the bill under present
consideration. Both bills are now
| published and both the messages
that vetoed them. Let the thought.
ful reader compare and judge, and
form his own opinions Of the shifting
and dOdging that had TO be resorted
to, in order TO frame excuses for kill.
ing those co-relative and necessary
and careful enactments.
The gist Of the Governors mes.
sage is to be found in the closing
paragraph. Like . winged insect.
which il resembles, it carries i;s
sting in its tail. This bill, If il
/ should become a law, be SAYS,
"would serve 20 prolong a con-
h.ct which under existing
conditions and progressive in-
fiuence is rapidly solving itself.''
Exactly. Leave the laws, as they
are now administered, without any
further safeguards against fraud,
chicanery, injustice AMI Illegal
voting leave the election machinery
% be manipulated in the interests Of
a party which the Governor sup
ports and to the influence Of whose
leaders he humbly bows, aud the
conflict will soon be over for all
practical purposes. AS to the pro-
cess Of a "confiiet'' Solving itself, -
W. leave to the Governors message
makers 10 explain; we are not fami-
liar with that sOrt Of chemistry.
The bill, although unapproved by
the Governor, will, under the provis-
ions Of the Eimunds-T Tucker act
quoted above, be forwarded 10 the
Congress Of the United States.
If the Governor and his advisers
and apologists DO not like this
it cannot be helped. The
Utah Legislature did not make
the provision and it does not
argue much for the consistency of
those who kick against it to find
fault with the Assembly for COM
plying with it. The provision is
better far than the shameful nhso-
lutte veto mOnstTOsity.
The veto power, under constitu-
tiOnal and republican restrictions. is
a wise and beneficent executive
endowment. Without those re-
strictions it is n menace TO liberty
and human rights. In the hands Of
an impartial and unpartizan official
it might prove a barrier to bad legis-
lati0n. Welded in the interests of
a faction or in hostility 10 q class, it
Is a weapon Of death wherewith to
stab to the heart any vital measure
essential 10 the health Of the body
polite, and is to be ranked with the
Sno;ted club or the sharpened
tornahawk Of the savage whe beats
out the brains or cleaves through
the skull Of his bound and helpless
victim. 1T is a disgrace to modern
AMI its arbitrary use is
worse than imperial despOtism: