The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-02
R0s.NEsg METHoDg Nv POLITICS


The News insists that the people of
this city should not lose sight OF the
issue before them in the approaching
municipal election. They certainly
should not, but they may if they follow
the News view Of what is the issue.
It misses the point entirely as to what
is the issue and seeks to foist a false
one on the people.
It says that the administration of the
affairs of this city is a business mat
ter That IS true and is diputed by
none The administration OF the af-
fairs Of the city is q business matter;
but whose business, all the peoples or
only a. very few who associate them
selves together and practically say that
they alone are capable of managing it?
The position of The Herald is and has
been that the administration of the af-
fairs of the city, while a, business mat
ter, is the business Of the whole peo-
pie and that in the selection of officers
to conduct It, it is their right and
province to name candidates for the
offices. Now, the promoters of the non
partisan movement have not only not
acted on this theory. which is the true
one, but have shown by their actions
that they hold that in the selection Of
officers to conduct the peoples business
the people should have no voice. And
true to this theory, they have named
ticket in the making of which the PEG
pie were not consulted in one way OF
another.
Our contemporary says that in man
aging the affairs of the city there
should be no more politics than in
running a railroad, mercantile insti-
tuition or bank. But supposing that
in a railroad, a mercantile institution
or a bank, where there were 10000
stockholders, each entitled to vote one
share of stock, twenty-three stock
holders got together and assumed to
! appoint the board of directors and to
say who should and who should not be
| employed hy the railroad, mercantile
| institution or bank, would not the bal
ance of the stockholders have a right
TO complain and to say there had been
usuDpation? Would it be anything less
than arrogance and impudence on the
part Of twenty-three stockholders to
assume to say. without consulting or
| getting proxies from the other 59,977
stockholders, who should run the af-
fairs Of the corporation? And would
I those twenty-three stockholders be
/ able to convince the balance that they
! knew better how to manage their COM
| mon affairs than they did? They GER
! tainly would not.
| While illustrating the municipal cam
paign with corporate examples it is
just as well to do it fully. The ma
5ority, perhaps all, of the members of
| the non-partisan committee are stock
| holders in business institutions of one
! kind or another and there is not one Of
! them but receives a formal notice Of
! all stockholders meetings This is
done because it is their right and be-
| cause it is desired that every stock
holder be present when common affairs
! are to be discussed and acted upon
! that he may express his views, and thus
what is best for all be ascertained. All
! that is strictly business and Just as it
/ should be- But is this the method pur-
sued by the committee Of twenty three,
this committee of business men? 1t is
not, but the very reverse. They have
not acted as business men but as
1 usurpers and would-he dictators. They
have chosen to ignore the rights of
! the citizens of Salt Lake City to have
a voice in the selection OF those who
shall manage the common affairs and
attempted to usurp it.
This cannot be denied. They have
done this because they do not believe
! the people are fit to choose their own
| officers, which is a direct impeachment
of their capacity for self government,
but they have not dared to offer any
excuse or vindication for their cause.
1t is wholly unjustifable, and perhaps
it is to their credit that they have not
had the effrontry to attempt to justify
it.
Most assuredly let the people keep
the true issue before them.