The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-29
"FERNY" STRIKES PAY GRAVEL.

AT last Councilman GcTnstrom has
been Of real service TO the public. He
has "sIosbed around" with regard TO
the political assessments on the city
employees until he has uncovered
miserable graft perpctratod by the
Morris administration last year. Ac-
cording TO the afidavits Of four Of tho
victims of that graft, they contributed
one days pay to the Morris campaign
fund, but only on condition that they
should bo fraudulently credited with a
days work which they did not perform
for tho city. That is to say, the con-
tribution and the scheme at the bottom
OF it called for tho payment Of this
political tithing absolutely from the
city treasury, TO the wrong and injury
Of the tax payers and without any
value whatever returned for 1T,
When employees Of the city under
any administration wish to help the
party under which they have obtained
their positions, by the contribution of
somewhat Of their earnings, there is no
reasonable objection TO their doing so,
provided always that the contribution
is voluntary, and that no compulsiou
by threats, terrorism or immiuence Of
discharge IN case of failure TO contrib
ute enters into the matter. 1t seems
from the affidavit Of the four victims
Of the Morris scheme not only that
there was n combination to rob the
city of the money nominally paid for
days work, but the threat was abso.
lutely held over them that if they did
not enter into this scheme and yield
the money that the city was robbed Of
in their name, that their discharge
would result.
This is combination of chicanery,
graft, robbery and outrage that Mr..
Fernstrom has done the public a great
service IN exposing. The fact that the
miserable offense was in tho Morris ad-
mipistration will probably cause Mr..
Fernstrom no regrets. because the
church is through with Morris, anyway,
and his wretched methods, but it is not
through with Fernstrom, nor is Fern
strom through with The church. It will
be remembered that Mr., Fernstrom s
party defeated him for the nomination
On the Democratic ticket last year, but
that tho man nominated in his place
was forced by church pressure TO get
OF the ticket and the party committee
was forced by tho church power TO put
Mr.. Fcrnstrom in the vacant place. 1t
was as neat n little political Job as
was ever put through anywhere. Fern
surprise Of the church. which owed him
much.
The church had taken no precautions
against Mr.. Fernstrom g defeat, assum-
ing as matter of course that there
would be no objection to his renomi-
nation, but he was beaten; and then
there was the devil to pay. Fern
Strom had been the active, aggressive
agent of the church power in the Coua-
Gil, 1T was he who said what "weN
would do, what "we' wanted, what
"we' would accept, all the time that
the robbing monopoly franchise for the
Utah Light and Railway Company was
pending, meaning by fwe' not the
people, not the city, not his constitu-
ents, but the grasping outfit that was
seeking the franchise. He was, in fact,
and notoriously, the attorney Of that
company in the Council The church,
which backed the robbing company,
could not spare him, and it owed him
too much to suffer him to be put under
an eclipse. Therefore it put through
tho job spoken OF and forced him upon
the Democratic ticket whether the
Democratic party of tho Third ward
wanted him or not.
1t is clear from the history Of the
case that Fernstrom owed nothing to
the Morris administration, but owed