The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-04
TIE REAL QUESTION.

I'uSt H. tne agreement made by Mayor
MOTIFS and city Attorney Dey with the
'-isht ana Power Company was fin
ally ratified i'm ordinance by the CITY
Sounci last night and goes to the mayor
FOR his signature. Unless the effort
10 olock the agreement by legal action
Is successful in further postponine the
effectiveness Of the ordinance, the city
VIII come into immediate possession
OF the Big Cottonwood water rights.
power rights and land required for the
: CITY new water supply, and construc-
tion on the reservoir and conduit will
Degih as soon as bids can be adver-
used Tor and contracts let.
The terms of the agreement embodied
an the ordinance have been discussed
1uliy and are familiar. The city Sc
cures Immediately its water and power
rights clear of incumbrance with the
express agreement that the water can
be used for a municipal power plant
II desired; the charges Of electric light
ing are reduced and street car fares
come down to four cents each for tick
cts in books OF fifty In return, the
CoInpany's franchises are extended to
July l. 1855, it agrees to furnish the
free lights provided for in its fran
chises. and it undertakes to give the
city power for municipal purposes at
one cent per kilOwatt hour on a twenty
one-hour schedule In other words the
city gains every point for which it has
fought and the company gets ten
year extension of it's old franchises.
The last effort to delay the water
improvements took the form Of
'snap" application for an injunction 60
prevent three members of the council
from voting on the question because
as Mormon church officials they were
interested I'm the franchise The appli-
cation was made late in the afternoon,
evidently in the belief that it would
compel delay for at least two weeks
possibly longer. The city attorney.
however, upset the programme by Sc
curing the dissolution of the injunc-
ton at a night hearing, the court sus-
tanning his view that no facts were
shown that would Justify a continuance
of the temporary order.
Il is supposed the policy of obstruc-
ton viii be continued as far as possible
and every effort made TO prevent the
actual work of construction from being
put under way. Whether II can be
successful remains for the courts TO
decide. If the matter is again brought
before them.
So long as the light and railway COM
pany was obdurate and unreasonable
in its demands, the people of Salt Lake
were willing TO bide the issue patiently
I'm the hope of securing better terms.
The patience shown justified itself
because the company agreed to
reasonable settlement. conceded lower
street car fares. lower cost for
lighting service and the city's right
TO use the water for power pur-
Qoses-aH points Of Importance. con-
ccssions worth waiting for. 1t accepted
a ten-year extension instead of the
Hfty-year extension it wanted: it ac-
cepted its old franchises with prolonged
life instead of the favorably modified
franchise II wished as a substitute. In
every vital point the city administra-
tiou won its case and got even more
than it hoped for.
Up TO that point, the people were
willing 10 defer their hope of greater
water system, a system providing for
a population OF 100000. relieving the
stringency always felt In the summer
and never more than this summer. But,
with these concessions won and the
water assured at once. the people will
have little forbearance for a policy OF
obstruction that seeks. not the public
good but the furtherance OF personal
ends and the defeat of important pub
lie improvements that those personal
ends may be served
Considering these facts simply as a
business proposition. without any feel
ing Of prejudice on either side The
Herald fails to see any advantage in
the policy of obstruction. on the con-
trary. it believes that obstruction now.
after the company has given I'm and
agreed to accept the city's terms, is
viciously expensive for the city and
Injurious TO every citizen. 4
y
1t has been charged that the Demo
cratic administration has made deal"
with the Mormon church for the pas
sage OF the franchise in return for
which the church is to aid in the cleo
ton OF the Democratic city ticket this
fall. Evidently the hot wave has struck
I'm and the foolish season" is in fun
blast. The Herald is credited with
being a party to this deal, with hav-
ing Topped on the water question
and with various other political crimes.
The accusation comes from obstruction
lists who would rather wreck the city
than see it modernized and made at
tractive as a residence place; who are
willing to have the people suffer for
lack of a water supply rather than see
their political opponents accomplish
anything Of public benefit. 1t is, OF
course. naliciously false and its source
IS sufficient evidence of its untruth.
The Herald fought against a fifty
year extension of the franchise. il |
fought for lower street car fares. lower
lighting charges and better service. In |
its fight IL had the powerful support