The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-05-05
Arguments in Favor of a Public
Building.
DELEGATE GAME AND GOV. WEST
They Show the Necessity of one-Ihe Post
Office Business-Rap.d and Increasing
Growth of the City.
HERALD BUREAU.
Cor. 18th and @ Streets, n. w.
WASHINGTON, D. c., May 4.

esting facts regarding the wealth, popula-
ton and development of Salt Lake. de
did this incidentally to his argument on
public building at Utah's metropolis. 1t
has been the custom at this session Of Con-
gress for subcommittee of three to hear
arguments respecting public buildings
and then for the advisory committee,
which consists of eight gentlemen, to hear
g supplement argument. Then the advls-
DRY committee makes report to the full
committee, ard its conclusions are usually
adopted. These formslities in the case of
the Salt Lake bill were so fare waived
that 1t was decided that the advisory COM
mittee alone should hear arguments, and 1t
was in Pursuance of this decision that Del
egate Game appeared before them to-day.
He addressed the committee at some
length, and when he had finished, he was
followed by Governor West, who spoke IN
q similar strain.
DELEGATE GAMES ARGUMENT.
Mr.. Game began his remarks by sketch
ing the history of several bills which had
been introduced OF late years for public
building at Salt Lake, and showing that
in the last Congress one of these bills
passed the Senate, but was pigeon-holed
y
action of Speaker Reed. In urging the
necessity for federal building, Mr.. Game
explained to the committee that Salt Lake
was the great inter-mountain city, and
that she hal 70 rival in a commercial and
numerical sense between the Missouri
river and the Pacific; that her population
had doubled in the last ten years, and that
il had been so materially increased since
the recent census enumeration that her
population was now variously estimated at
from $1,000 to 10000 people.
THE PosToFFIcE BUSINESS.
Passing from this subject to the consid-
GRAFTON of the business transacted ct the
city postofice,' he showed that the receipts
from this source were much greater than
those in such other mountain cities as
Cheyenne, Helena and Boise. He empha-
sized This point particularly, inasmuch as
each of these cities is expecting an appro-
priation for a public building, and he
wanted to impress upon the committees
mind how unjust it would be to favor these
localities TO the exclusion of Salt Lake,
Notwithstanding the fact that Salt Lake
leads any of THESE places in the greater
amount Of its postal revenues Mr.. Caire
insisted that the work of the Office was,
on the other hand, more economically per-
formed than in almost any other postofice
in the country. He showed by the Official
figures that only 30 per cent. Of the receipts
at Salt Lake are expended for clerical ser
vice, while in the case of many other cities
it amounts to &c per cent. of the net
revenue of the Office. He contended 1t
would in ten years pay for the entire cost
OF a $500, 900 public building.
THE COUNTY AND CITY BUILDING.
With pardonable pride be explained to
the committee that the city and county
were erecting building for local purposes
81 ia ~
the sito He explained how much the city
had expended the last year in public i'm
provements, and how much the citizens
had spent for private purposes, all going tc
show that Salt Lake was one OF the mos
progressive places in the union. He
showed, too, that the government is al
present paying a rental of 81, 600 a year
connected with the postotfice department
Mr. Abbott, Of Texas, interrupted tbs
speaker at this point and said: "Why
surely, Mr. Game, you have some sort of
public building in Salt Lake, have VOL
not2n
MIR. Game dryly responded that Sal
Lake neither had 8 public building at thu
present time nor had she ever had one
He ADDED in this connection that aside
from the manifold advantages of such
building there was still another considera
tion, namely, that the public records wer,
not properly protected, and that If tirt
should occur they would be desuoyet
where they now are, and that the losi
would be irreparable. He stated in con
clusion that while he was speaking to-da,
for Salt Lake, he was there as the repre-
sentative Of the entire territory, and thai
as such he would like TO be heard in the in
terest OF the Ogden bill as well.
The chairman of the committee INFORMED
MIR. Caine that in view of the fact tina
their time was limited and that Governo
West also wished TO be heard it would b.
better 10 defer the argument respecting
the Ogden bill until another day.
GOVERNOR VESTS SPEECH.
Governor West supplemented Mr. Came
remarks in clever little speech, in whicl
he substantiated all that the Delegate ha,
said and touched upon some other points il
addition. There seemed to be q doub
among certain members of the COMMITTEE
as to the business part of Salt Lake AM
whether the city il that PARTICULAR wa.
spreading any or not
Mr.. Newberry, of Illinois, gave expires
sion to this doubt by saying that when b.
was in Salt Lake five years ago it occurre
TO him that the business quarter of tn
city would never be extended south of tn,
Walker honse.
Governor West smiled pityingly upoI
the speaker and informed him that busi
ness houses were already plentiful in tina
locality; that the Walker Brothers ha
moved their immense mercantile estab
lishment south of that point and for tn
further information of the committee b
stated that new hotel costing $500, 90
mad been erected south and east of there
That in addition TO answering the questio
of the committee, he would also Civ
them some idea Of the character of tn
buildings they were erecting and that Sal
Lake was growing so rapidly that sh
would have not many years hence q popu
lation Of 100000. Speaking directly to tn
subject in hard he said the committe
might regard $500, 900 large sum for
public building in u tab. He ventured th
prediction that il this sum were appropr
ated it would be found insufficient befor
the buildings we're completed, his argu
ment being that Salt Lake was growing 9
fast that what might be an adequate Pre-
vision today would be found wholly inedt
ouate few years hence. In proof Of tn
Ee instanced the fact that four years az
both the House and Senate committee b.
lieved an appropriation of S250,000 ampl
sufficient for Salt Lake public bulldini
At the present time no intelligent man b.
4 lieved they could get along with an Apr
prigtion OF less than twice that sum an
the same relative difference, he had 1
doubt, would exist four years hence.
General Wheaton Win 60 to Texas
Nav A-Goparal Ia.n-