The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-03-24
STATE PROFITS BY
GOVERNORS MISTAKE
Signed the Fee Bill Without
Knowing 1t.
COMEDY OF ERRORS
AND THE STATE THEREBY
GAINS $2S, 75o
COMEDY OF ERRORS

II was all a mistake, and it cost Sen
ators Clark. Kearns ct al. $3.50. Gov
ernor Wells Internationally signed the
Howell bill raising the fees of the sec
rotary of state March IA, and did not
discover it until yesterday. Conse-
quentiy the Union Pacific Railroad
company had to pay over $4,000 yes
terday when it filed notice of it's $780,
0OO, 600 increase on it's capital stock,
and the San Petro, Salt Lake & Los
Angeles must give up $3.50 in addition
to the $500 it paid earlier in the week
when it was incorporated.
Thus il happens that this comedy Of
errors has netted the state SIS, $50.
Secretary of State Hammond drew
the bill, and even he did not know what
had become of his chikd.. The railroad
attorneys were likewise misled, and the
disentanglement did not come until
yesterday.
The bill has had a checkered career.
1t was introduced in the first place by
Senator Howell at the request of Secre-
taTy of State Hammond. and provides
that fees for fling articles of inc orpora-
tion or notices of increases of capital
stock shall be % cents for each $1,000,
removing the previous maximum limit
OF 81, 500. The senate juggled with if
awhile, and then passed it with clause
making it effective March %.
The measure then went to the house,
and came near being killed altogether
when Secretary Hammond was hastily
summoned and invited to speak on the
floor of the house. He did so. and the
house amended the bill so as to make it
effective on approval and then passed
it.
The senate concurred in this change.
and the bill went to the governor.
During the closing hours of the Ses-
sion a message came to the senate from
the governor saying that the bill had
been approved. This was stated in The
Herald at the time. Later in giving
a review of the legislation it was stat
ed that the bill had become a law and
its probable effects on the secretary of
states fees in view of railroad and
smelter trust changes were mentioned
Denied by Officials.
Then came Secretary of State Ham
mond and Governor Wells himself with
a denial that the bill had been signed
and the declaration that all announce
ments to the contrary were in error.
The San Pedro. Los Angeles & Salt
Lake road filed it's articles at a paid
fee of only $500 on the assurance of
the secretary of state that the Howell
bill was not yet law. The Herald
thought the governor and secretary of
state ought to know whether the bill
had been signed. and printed a cor
rection in line with their statements.
Yesterday came the awakening of the
officials.
The Clark-Koarns road had come in
under the old rates and the Union Pa
cific was TO hold its meeting yester-
day and increase its capital stock $780,
600. 900. Mr. Hammond had had his eye
on the $4,000 that the corporation
would pay for this under the new law
and he began looking for the bill so as
to get it approved Governor Wells
did not have it, and Mr.. Hammond
spent the midnight hours between Fri
day and Saturday in going over the
bills in his possession to see if the fee
bill had been filed by mistake without
a signature Presently he came TO sen
ate bill S9' and turned over to the
place reserved for the governors sigma
ture. He expected to find this blank.
but there, written in familiar chiro-