Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-09-12
REPORT COMING MONDAY NIGHT
o..o,, Claimed That Employees Have
Been putting City Money In
Their Own Pockets.
CLERK KING IS READY 70 RESIGN.
Long Delayed investigation viii Doubt
less Precipitate a Hard Fight
In the Council.

THO skeleton In the closet OF the Salt
rsto City Council at the present time
!, the alleged Irregularities in the man
aoement Of affairs at the city cemetery
IN 10 last Tuesday night nothing was
la about the queer work said 10 have
,0en going on at the cemetery, ON the
door Of the council, and hence moth
ing had appeared in the public press
concerning the same. The investiga-
tlon Of the charges which has been un-
DIR way by the cemetery committee of
the council for just four months past
has been carried on in private, the
| meetings OF the committee being held
in Mayor Thompsons private Office on
/ Second South street instead Of at the
4 council chamber on regular committee
nights
TRIED TO KEEP 1T DARK.
Eeyery effort was apparently made
10 keep the matter from the public,
but the decidedly slow action of the
1 committee on reporting on the matter
the whole truth will probably be told
/ before the matter is settled. A report
i has been demanded by member Of
,he council ana 1t will undoubtedly be
submitted at the meeting on Monday
night The discussion on the report
| viii probably be very interesting If
| not sensational, and II Is very likely
/ thai the charges against those in direct
management Of the cemetery VIII be
pretty well aired.
THE SODDING GRAFT.
There is no possible way of determine
ing Just how much has been made by
those who were In on the "soddlng'
and "nower gratis" which have been
successfully worked at the cemetery
foY a number of years pact, but II Is
undoubtedly a good large sum. Eve
rythlng ran smoothly, however, until
| the cemetery combination attempted to
4 monOpOlze all the work of soddlng
1 graves, and thereby infringed upon the
claims OF several outsiders who made
i their daily bread by doing such work
4 Then the trouble began. Complaints
! were made to members of the city
4 council and an investigation resulted
| The resolution providing for an In
veslgatlon was introduced by Coun-
i Gilman Robinson on May 10 last, Az
ter a delay of about month, the COM
mlttee met m the mayors uptown Of
ace and heard the charges against
those In control at the cemetery and
also gave the cemetery employees an
opportunity to be heard.
CARTER AND KING.
Among those who appeared before the
Committee were Sexton Thomas Carter,
Howard King clerf at the cemetery,
Mr., Clark and Mr.. Mclaughlin, labor
lrs az the cemetery. II was admitted
hat certain employees had been using
part Of their time, which belonged to
md was paid for by the city, I'm soddng
OTIS at the cemetery for purchasers at
VS. per lot. The city, therefore, was
2aylrg these men for their time, while
Fl hey were using the time for their own
,ecuniary benefit. Not only did they
use the cltys time In their private work
but they also used the citys team and
,ther equipment Two of the men,
King and Cole. had cards printed ad-
'erusng their business which they dis
nbuled among purchasers of lots at
ne cemetery, Receipts given to parties
or money paid for work done were
many times made out In the city's re-
Mpt book but were signed by the men
= thelr own behalf and not as though
NE receipts were given by the city.
PRIVATELY PoCKETED.
II Is a well known fact that the city
.as greenhouse at the cemetery, and
developed az the investigation that
lowers from the greenhouse had been
olI 10 private parties and the money
neketed by those who were I'm on the
eal ana never turned into the city
'easury, Just how much has been
'al1ed from that source of revenue Is
&1 known. One Of the men stated
nay they had used up lot of tobacco
rloHglhg to the employees at the GENE =
cry N smoking the lice on the plants,
Iu mat they had only sold enough
oNers TO pay the men for the tobacco
~, They merely took that method of
aging for the tobacco instead OF max