The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-01


The Herald Ogden bureau has re-
ceived a request from Joseph Parry
asking for certain information concern
ing transactions of the county COM
missioners. The letter embodies one
Mr.. Parry sent TO the Standard, to
which he says the answers given were
not sufficiently complete and lucid to
enable him to understand the matter.
AS the question has already been gone
over to considerable extent The Her
aid will quote only portions of Mr..
| Parry's letter, with extracts from his
letter to the Standard.
MIR. PARRY'S LETTER.
Dear Sir-As there IS much gossip
| going on among our citizens in regard to
certain statements published in the Salt
Lake Herald in regard to the manage
ment of the finances of Weber county by
the present board of county commission
ers, l address this TO you. n statement
| is there made which forms a basis for an
editorial on Weber Finance in Sundays
Herald. 1t states that the commissioners
had no lawful right to execute notes and
that such notes are invalid. And that
said commissioners had no right to ig-
| more the county treasurer. That no au-
| thority exists warraEting them in leaving
! the money in the hands of the party
II,
structions to redeem county warrants,
| the holders of which would be directed to
! them instead of TO the county treasurer.
Thus leaving in the hands of the loaner
! negotiable paper in twice the amount of
| the money borrowed.
| According to The Herald man $52, 500
has been borrowed between December 81,
! 1855, and August g. 1885, of which the
| treasurer states he has only received
$780, COO 1t thus seems that our commits
sioners have provided custodian for our
and the voters of Weber county.
| This, dear sir, is a matter that deeply
| interests the taxpayers OF Weber county
| as it shows an outstanding interest bear
| ing debt of nearly $40 coo.
Therefore as a subscriber and constant
| reader of your paper and heavy tax
payer in the county 1 wish to know the
| bottom facts in the case.
| First-Has the board the right to exc
cute note binding the county?
| Second is it lawful for them to exc
cute note to bank and place the
note in the bank and not take the money
the obligation calls for to the treasurer?
Thirds the sum named by The Herald,
| $4,000. the true amount OF our indebted
ness outside the bonded debt?
Fourth-IS it an excess or within the
limit fixed by law?
L remain yours respectfully,
JOSEPH PARRY.
THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
All Mr. Parry's questions have been
answered by The Herald, but the sub
ject is a vital one and will bear re-
peating. AS to the first question The
Herald has had the statutes carefully
examined by attorneys. and no author
ity whatever was found for the issuing
of notes by the county. The Standard
answer to the question was to the eff
feet that attorneys differed. The Her
aid had the law examined by one of the
legislative members who prepared the
law of 1896 prescribing the duties of
county commissioners as well as by
competent Ogden attorney. Their
judgment was emphatic that the is
suance of notes was not legal.
There are two ways by which money
can be raised specially defined in the
statute. One is by the issue of bonds
for special purposes, and in this case
the commissioners have to submit the
question TO q vote of the people, notice
being given long in advance. The COM
missioners may issue bonds to provide
for the payment of warrants which
were outstanding Jan. 4, 1896.
Such are the provisions of the act
of 1896. In the light of il the answer to
Mr. Parry's question must be No"
AS TO the second question: The law
says: THE county treasurer must re-
ceive and safely keep all funds be-
longing to the county: he must pay all
county warrants presented for pay
ment in the order of presentation if he
has sufficient funds for that purpose,
and must keep cancelling stamp and
imprint the same on every warrant
paid by him; he must present with
each annual statement, as vouchers
for disbursement, all warrants paid by
him during the fiscal year.
This the commissioners have not
done The warrants have been left
for the most part at the Utah National
bank. Mr. W. F. Adams, cashier of
that bank, first said that the warrants
were not defaced in any way by his
bank, but has since admitted that each
his bank on the date when it was pre-
scented. The statute answers mo" to-
Mr.. Parry's second question.
The Herald's claim was that S61 800
known Indebtedness existed. This iN-
debtedness is represented by the notes
and registered warrants outstanding.
No account is made of warrants not
registered. They do not draw interest
The notes amount to $4,000 and the
warrants to over So, 1000.
The claim has been made, and is be-
ing made, that the indebtedness will
be wiped out on Jan. 1. To refute such
a senseless claim, the times when the
notes were issued and the times when
they become due. together with the
amounts are mere TepuDllSHeU. none
of the notes will be due by Jan. 1, as
Stunning, of course, that they are ever
due:
Dec. 81, 1895, note to Utah Ma
tional bank, payable in one
year .................... SO, 900
June 6, 1896, note to Wells, Fargo
& Co., due Feb. s, 1897 ......... $4,000
July 6, 1896, note to D. H. Peery,
payable July 6, 1897. $500
July 6, 1896, note TO Utah Nation
al bank, payable Jan. 1, 1897. 10000
Aug. 3. note to D. H. Peery,
payable Aug. 8, 1897. ........... 5000
IOIdl .@7-,oPV
Registered warrants outstand-,
ing Observation-Disclosures. SZo,UOU
Total Observation-Disclosures. S67 800
There are known to be a number of
warrants outstanding and also num-
her of valid claims for which the
owners cannot get a warrant because