Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-10-16
CONE UNDER THE LAW.


IT is perhaps not inappropriate {
once more direct attention to IL
following, section 10, Of article VI
Of Amendments 10 the charter O
salt Lake City:
.'So officer shall be directly or fndi
reciiy interested in any contract work
or business Of the city, or the sellini
OF any article. the expense, price. o
consideration Of which is paid from
Tie treasury, o. by any assessmen
levied by any act or ordinances. No
in the purchase Of any real estate, o.
other property belonging 10 tho cor
pomt.on, or which shall be held foI
the taxes or Assessments or by viriu,
% legal process n the suit Of said
corporation, Mayor or other officer Of
The city
There is an alleged mcnlber OF The
City Council, who occupies n seal
in that body who never was elected
70 il, aud vino is more or less 8
contiruousibre1ker Of the foregoing
clause. He does n certain class o.
work for the city AMI, occupying 2
seat in that body to which he i,
not legally entitled, takes part H.
apprOpriating public funds to him
self The balance Of the Couuci
are also thus either ignorant Of IN,
law, OF wilfully guilty Of breaking
it. There Is only one theory be
sides tnat Of ignorance under which
they could possibly act-unless viii
ful law!essuess be admitteG-that j.,
nthehypolhe,is that the gentlemlu
referred to j. not a member Of In,
Council a ali, Judge Zane, in th,
Third District Court, having de
cidel by a Judicial decision that q
candidate Of the Peoples Party wa,
elected 10 uie Office which he noa
frauIulenuy holds. lie not beina
legitiina.ely a member OF the MUM.
cipal Council, it is barely, bur
hardly, possible that he aud Ia,
members Of that body may hold tina,
he can contract FOR and DO city wOrb
without coming under the han O.
the law. But such a "Libcral''
theory would be somewhat awk
ward, 10 say the least, in some other
OF its aspects, as tine public bushes,
transacted officially by the allegeu
councilman and the five other s.Lib.
erals'' in the same position, 50 far a.
the title t. seats is concerned, would
he thus admitted 10 he Of question
able legality.
Ifthe claim exists that the c5un-
cilmln who Performs city work anu
votes money 70 himself Is really .
memJu: Of that holy to which he
appears 10 belong, then there Is M
reason why, 0u the same hypothe-
sis, any other member may not
grlie the streets, lay water aud
sewer pipes, contract for the cree
ton Of the cJm5lusI county aud
city building after Mr.. App1nyi l.
worl out 10y long waiting Tor
that WORK 10 bs begun. Seeing
that the ordinance pr3yiiinr
that city work should be awarded L.
the loves. responsible bidder was
killed 10y being voted down by the
Council, what Is 10 hinder q
Of public work within the
limits Of the "Liberal' ring. e.
pecia!ly as the law does not seem T.
be, in any degree, 4 deterrent.
We say, Come within the law. ''
That is all We have ever asked OF
the Liberals \ msre promise to
obey the law = As Il exists on the
statute books aud "a construct by
the courts" will not do: preten-
tons from That quarter are not
strictly reliable. When men become
a hw unto themselves they are a
menace 30 this Republic, and the
elective franchise should BE- stricken
from their allan hauI-