The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-20

was raised bv the receipt of the fol-
lowing letter from Attorney George
w. Meyer, who mixes up honesty and
public officials in a singular manner
His disquisition, addressed to the
board. reads:
Gentlemen-Permit me TO call your
attention ia a matter that has fire.
queutly been a subject of public dis
cussion, and in which every citizen
ought to be interested, namely. that
all public officials should pay their
debts.
1 am aware that the law exempts
from garnishment the salaries of public
officials, and I think tha law is wrong
in this respect. 1 am aware that the
answer is that no person should give
credit, but this is simply an apology
for the officials dishonesty, for it can
not be considered anything else.
In many departments the United
States government has refused to re-
tain in its employ officials who refuse
TO meet their just obligations. 1t is
based upon the assumption that
man who will not pay his honest debts
will not deal honestly with the public;
and I believe the assumption is we'll
founded. Furthermore, the law recog-
niZeS the credit system and people
dealing with public officials ought not
to be censured because they at one
time INDUCED in the presumption that
public officials were honest.
The people of this city are paying
annually more than 3 per cent of what
their property could be sold for as
taxes and if. in addition to this, any
person should extend credit to a public
official and be compelled to lose it,
.l.1sr-
Not long ago a county official draw
ing nearly IS, 900 per year, besides being
provided with a comfortable home by
the county, refused to meet a financial
obligation of less than S2GO to a widow
in this town whose financial distress
caused one member of her family to
seek refuge in suicidal grave; and
during the time when this widow was
paying nearly / per cent of her prop
erty's valuation to support the county
official.
[ wish now to direct your attention
to a claim held against a person in the
employ of the county at a salary, I am
informed, of $50 a month, besides his
board, which makes the office worth
in the neighborhood of 800 per month
l refer to Mr.. Price, employed at the
county infirmary. He is owing debt
of about $3.50, contracted while he was
in the employ of the county. He has
been sued on this obligation, allowed
judgment to go by default, having abs
solutely no defense, for he offered
none, now shields himself by the pro-
lection afforded him by the law that
the salary of public official cannot be
garniSned. l spoke TO one of your
members in regard to this matter. l
believe the practice is wrong; l be-
lieVe il is On Injustice.
You viii pardon me fo- having thus
addressed you at length. as l believe
the matter is one of Importance and
should receive your attention. If Mr..
Price viii make arrangements to pay
small monthly payment of SIS or $50
he could soon liduidate this amount
and do justice to himself and his cred
itors l am. most respectfully yours,
GEORGE w. MOCER.
What will you do with the COM
munication?" said Chairman ARM
strong.
We'll, I don't know" said Hall. II
believe we should encourage ali Off
Gals to pay their debts. 1 know if
person was working for me and would
not pay his honest debts. l should dis
charge him. l do not think a public
official should be treated in any other
way"
After some little discussion the letter
was referred to County Attorney Van
Colt for an opinion as to whether the
board can take any action to remedy
such a matter.
ANOTHER ONE.
VIA the above had been disposed
of the clerk proceeded to read another:
Granite Feb 49,
To the Honorable Board of Salt Lake
County Commissioners:
Gentlemen see you have appointed
Mr.. Frederick Cowley road supervisor
for Granite district 90. We wanted to
know WHARF you git your informa-
ton from that Mr.. Cowley is Demo-
crat, he is not, ne Scraths the Demo-
crat tick I know TO be so, a man that
scraths his tick is not a Democrat
Party, he is one of these that stands on
corners looking for a Office. Gentle
men, When the Democrat gifts in Power
we wanted Democrats to git the officers.
We have got good Democrats in Gran
lite TO take the Road supervisor. We
Wanted man TO be Road supervisor
that takes a interes an vots the Dem
ocrat tick straeet. Your truly.
GEO. DRYBURGH.
Chairman.
Armstrong declared he never asked
man his politics and so long as a
man performed his work it mattered
not what party he belonged TO. How
ever. he believed Cowley was a Dem
ocrat and a good man. Rawlins
thought so. too. and Dryburgh's letter
was placed on file for future reference.
A BANK ASSESSMENT.
Relative to the petition of the Deseret
Savings bank for d rebate of the whole
assessment of s4S, S47.70 on the capital
stock of the bank on the grounds that
the stock was represented in real es-
tate. which had been assessed. and
upon which taxes had been paid, the
attorney sent in an opinion rec
the petition be granted |
The board however, saw fit to lay the !
matter over until the next regular
NORTH POINT CANAL.
The following self-explanatory res
olution adopted at a recent directors |
of the North Point Consoli- |
dated Irrigation company was received |
and referred to the county attorney:
Whereas, The Hon. Judge A. q. Nor |
rell has this day made an order in the |
Third judicial district court of the |
state of Utah, that the temporary in
junction lately put in force by said |
court in favor of this company and i
against the city and county of Salt |
Lake and others. be and the same is |
hereby suspended; and.
Whereas The dams recently placed |
in the drain ditch from Deckers to !
White lake are expected TO be torn |
out and large bodies of water allowed |
to flow down the surplus canal, to the /
detriment of the interests of this COM
pany: and,
Whereas, This company is informed [
by counsel, and therefore believes said
order to be imperative and Intellectual /
in law now therefore. be il