The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-10-02
HEAT AND LIGHTING,
Quite Enough Coal and Electricity
to supply Salt Lake city.

ing and lighting of the buildings
which are owned or controlled by the
county. After January ! there was
supplied to the joint building, Jail and
inffrmary, coal and slack coal, but how
much, by whom ordered, by whom
hauled and by whom received will
never be known, as there is not a re-
ceipt order or scrap of paper of any
kind TO tell even "a brief part of the
tale Bills were filed, however, thick
and fast and were promptly o. KID
by Geddes and paid without protest.
In looking over the accounts of the
present selectment, the special auditor
who has had such a fat thing for
months, correcting the accounts of the
reformers. freely admits that in re-
spect to allowing bills without vouch-
ers. the present selectment are a great
deal worse than were the old board,
From The Bumped bills or accounts
turned in by the dealers for coal for
the Joint building it would appear that
there was sufficient burned there to
have kept all Salt Lake warm for
good bit of time.
II would appear that gross negli-
gence has been allowed TO hold sway
in the accounting for lighting the
Jail and the joint buildings, in this
that the selectmen do not appear to
have taken any pains in auditing any
bills, but were content TO let original
charges he made without attempting
TO test their accuracy.
That the public may understand just
how matters have been conducted this
paper has made an intelligent re-
search among the files of the office Of
the county clerk with the results which
are herewith appended. The light me-
ters of the building are arranged in
the tunnel and the guage light from
which all the other lights are meas
ured burns in this tunnel. The meter
light naturally is allowed to burn all
the time. while the others are used
as occasion requires.
On February the light bills were
rendered for the month preceding.
Under the head of Grounds and
tower" $3.50 was charged. This
charge was computed in the following
manner: The gauge meter registered
$3.50 waits on Feb. l. The record OF
the previous month was 900 watts
showing the $50 watts had been burned
by this particular lamp. This $50
watts was multiplied by 20 lamps, the
entire number in and around the
grounds and in the tower. There are
plenty of men who will testify that
never during the month of January
were there 20 lights used in the grounds
and tower, but that possibly Is a
liberal estimate The price of lighting
is per cent per watt. which would
bring the bin up to $40, but the COM
/ pany allows a discount of So per cent
or $3.50, leaving the total as given
above. The selectmen did not attempt
10 check this bill and make any in.
/ quiries as concerning Its correctness
/ but allowed it without a murmur. Per
haps the electric light company pre-.
/ stunned the lamps We're being used, No
one can tell whether they We're or not
save those employed around the build
ings. It was the duty Of the court
1 however, to ascertain whether or not
the bill was correct.
The bill fer Tight in the tunnel i:
! S4S.e6. or Sl.3S more than for the
grounds and tower. The public will
understand the significance of this bill
when it is explained that the TUNE
IS an underground passage from the
/ boiler house to the Joint building anC
Is used by the engineer and the fire
men when they happen to have bust
ness walking to and from one place OF
The other. It cost the county the sun
mentioned in order to keep the en-.
! gineers from falling over themselves
during the first month. Of course they
are not expected to carry lanterns. Mr.
Geddes o. KID this bill, at least his
marks are on the face of it.
Freaks in the Coal Bills.
As can be plainly seen, and as is
frankly admitted by many of the of.
1 ffcials interested, the coal transactions
at the Jail. joint building, infirmaTy and
that delivered to paupers, the whole
/ business II fragrant mix-up, which
nobody pretends to know anything
about The bills, bushels of them
come in from all dealers; they are o
! K.'d by Geddes whether he knows any
/ thing about them or not; they are paid
and that is all there is to it. Protests
are in vain. and a few examples o
Jerk leg" accounting are here given
tust 70 show the public how theil
/ money is spent for coal
On Feb 5 a firm claims it delivered
two loads of Diamond lump coar' al
the county infirmary, amounting t.
! 500, but no one at the infrmary OF
/ anywhere else filed a receipt showing
delivery of the same. Mr.. Geddes o
KID this bill and it was paid.
On several statements for coal rem
dered by another firm there are NJ
orders or receipts attached for tn,
coal delivered; but all the bills are
O. KID by Geddes and the same arr
paid without questioning.
Coal For Sandy.
Among the coal bills for February
one shows. on pauper order No 60 from
Geddes, that zone ton" of coal costins
1925 was delivered to ]. C. Sandberg
an employee of the county, who livet
in Superior addition, and an "over
haul' charge was made.
On Feb. 10 ]. B, on South Fourth