The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-02-14
INCORPORATION OF MURRAY
NOT LEGALLY PERFECTED
Boundary Descriptions in Petition Do Not Core.
Spond With Outlines on the Map Filed
Statutes Provide That Both Must Agee-Ogina Plat of the City
Cannot Be Found

THERE is good legal ground for the
belief that the Incorporation of
Murray is invalid.
The descriptions of the boun-
daries of the city, on file in two Of
fees of the joint building, do not tally
with the boundaries shown on the map
also on file, as the law says they should.
So many other mistakes and inaccur-
acies were attendant upon the filing OF
the various documents preparatory to
the Incorporation of the town, that
it is feared they have vitiated the
municipality end sought by the ma
Jority of the taxpayers of that section
OF the county. The errors. it is claimed.
are so glazing and SO directly in con-
fiict with the statutes providing for the
incorporation of cities, that they could
not possibly be couHtenanced by any
unprecedented court in the land.
1t is an intricate question of law
whether the defects in the steps taken
preparatory to incorporation can be
remedied by amendments to the rec
ords. or whether the whole matter of
Incorporation will have to be enacted
again. from the filing of a petition OF
the citizens asking for an Incorporation
10 vote on the question by the popu-
\ lace of that community.
Matter Being Investigated.
The matter is now in the hands of
Ray Van Colt, the city attorney OF
Murray. He was rot prepared to state
yesterday afternoon what would be the
outcome of the whole matter. AS city
attorney he begged to be excused from
expressing an opinion upon the matter
at that time. But he did say, however,
that a cloud had been cast upon the
incorporation of Murray.
The matter was brought to the atten-
ton of Mayor Miller of Murray by an
article which appeared in The Herald
Friday morning. He Immediately called
City Attorney Ray Van Colt up by
telephone, and asked him to make an
investigation of the records. Up to
that time the article in question had es-
capped the notice of the city attorney.
After reading it he hurried down to the
Office OF Recorder Meeks and began an
official investigation.
The further he proceeded in the mat
ter the more thoroughly convinced he
became that something was wrong.
And when he concluded his investiga-
ton, which lasted almost three hours,
he made the Implied statement that II
the question were brought into the
courts for determination, that Murray,
as city of the third class, would
soon become a thing of the past.
Might Be ,Remedied.
He was not so sure, however, but
that the defects might be remedied by
filing amended maps and descriptions
with the county recorder. But as the
matter now stands he admitted Muir
ray is not, in the eyes of the law, from
a legal standpoint, an incOrpOra ted
city There are. too many defects in
the whole proceedings to Withstand a
searching scrutiny Of the courts.
The first thing City Attorney Van
Colt did was TO look up the statutes
on the modus operandi of Incorporating
cities. He found the following in the
Laws of Utah." chapter SO, under the
caption incorporation of cities" be-
ing IAN act to amend section 169 OF
the revised statutes Of the state OF
Utah. relating to the Incorporation of
cities" which act reads, in full, as fol-
lows:
BE it enacted by the legislature of
the state of Utah:
Section 1. That section 169 of the
revised statutes of Utah, 1883, be
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1853 Petition TO incorporate
When the inhabitants of any part OF
any county, not embraced within the
liHhits of any city, shall desire to be
organized into a city. they may apply
by petition in writing, signed by not
less than 100 of the real property