The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-12
Company Now Comes Forward
With Reply to OPP
pOnents.
MAY CAUSE DELAY OF
EXTENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS
W. B. Wedell Also Discusses
Probable Result of
Action.
Special to Tho Tribune.

Special to The Tribune.
OGDEN, Aug, 11.-When the Ogden City
Improvement league, after weeks of de-
liberation OF the vexed problem OF tho
controversy between Ogden city aud tho
ogden Waterworks company, drafted tho
franchise that was passed by the City
Council, approved by the Mayor and filed
with the City Recorder. and subsequently,
accepted by the company, the citizens be-
heved that the best solution possible
under the existing conditions had boen
reached.
The shock OF opposition from men in
business life, who had failed TO attend
the discussions OF the question at the
meetings OF the league and q large COM
mittee Of the City Council-at least six
rnembers-were astounded when the op-
position showed itself, and when this took
concrete form in the shape of a suit to
en5oln the city from keeping It's part OF
the contract, and with the purpose of de-
feating the settlement, they realized that
their efforts were without result. They
are also inclined to the belief that better
information, and better knowledge OF
the conditions by those who are now op-
posing 1t, instead Of giving their views
when the matter was under discussion.
are not we'll informed
Today the management of the Ogden
Waterworks company gave out the fol-
lowing pertinent statement of that COM
pany's views Of the matter and as a reply
20 the statement made yesterday by ]. D.
Skeen, the attorney for the protestants,
as printed in full In The Tribune this
morning:
Statement Of Company.
1T is not usual for lawyer com
mencing a lawsuit to try the case first
IN the public press by giving out a. pre-
N7reh NJ he
people TO come forward and 'apancier'
the scheme for him, but inasmuch as Mr.
Skeen has done so the public ought 10
understand that, in the opinion of the
best legal talent In the city. there is
nothing whatever to the technical OBJ
tections raised by those two large tax
payers, j. J, Brummitt and J. D. Skeep
The record shows that the rules of pro-
ceedings OF the City Council were unani-
mously suspended to put this ordinance
upon its passage without going to COM
mittee 30 far as the first and second
readings were concerned, and that the
ordinance passed its third reading by a
vote of seven TO two-more than two
thirds of the entire Council-which in
and OF itself was an acquiescence that the
rules had been suspended by a two
thirds vote, But apart from this fimsy
technicallty the rules of the proceedings
are only for the guidance of the body
Itself, and like any other rules that are
not laws, they can be disregarded by the
body that formed them
The laws OF this State provide that an
ordinance OF O. city is valid whenever It
has been passed by a majority vote of
the members elected upon a proper yea
and nay call Of the roll. This was com
piled with and the ordinance is therefore
wholly valid.
Just a Little Roast.
"of course. 1t Is very easy for such tax-
payers as Brummitt and Skeen to say
that they are perfectly willing that Ogden
City should pay the waterworks company
S4l, 900 instead of $4,000. as now pro-
posed, because mighty little of that
amount comes out OF their pocket, nor
does 1t matter to them how many more
thousands Of dollars be squandered by
ogden city and Its taxpayers in lawyer
fees and court expenses. In their ex-
alted opinion OF themselves these would
be public benefactors absolutely disre-
gard the fact that a committee OF the
City Council and some OF the leading tax
payers OF the city connected with the
civic league have spent months in con-
sderiDg what would be best for the city
and Its inhabitants. These complaining
gentlemen. In their own opinion, know SO
much more law and are so much better
hLted to determine the best interests of
Ogden city that they do not propose that
the almost universal desire to see the
waterworks complication settled shall
cut any figure in this matter at all or
course, the only result that this ill-ad-
vised lawsuit can possibly accomplish is
the delay Of the extensive improvements
now under contemplation"
Speaking OF the two statements-that of
Mr.. Skeen and the other from the water
works company-W. b, WedelI, a promi-