The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-07-31
TAX LEVY MADE
ONE MILL HIGHER
Americans" Add to Public
Burden, Despite Demo-
cratic Protest.
CORRUPTION is CHARGED
FERNSTROM SAYS FUNDS ARE
DIVERTED FOR POLITICS.

DIVERTED FOR POLITICS.
True to the determination of the
American" party leaders, the city tax
levy was raised from IL to IL mills by
the city council last night. Toward the
last President A. J. Davis applied gag
rule and refused to permit discussion,
saying that it was nearly midnight,
and yesterday was the last day to fix
the levy.
The levy as finally fixed is as follows:
Contingent fund, mills water supply
fund, q of a mill; payment of accrued
interest and principal of water bonds,
/ q of a mill; streets, 5 mills; sewers, Is
of mill; public library, 4 of a mill.
Shy -h= Votes for Awhile.
Ii mad been the intention of the
| Americans TO pass the levy early in
the evening" The roll call showed, how
! ever, that Councilmen Carter and Mar
| tin were absent, and that left the
| Americans" without sufficient votes
TO pass the levy. After much delay
/ Councilman Martin appeared and gave
the requisite majority.
The resolution fixing the levy was in
! PRODUCED by Councilman w. Mont Fer
ry, chairman Of the finance committee.
| 1t was at once attacked by Mr.. Fern
strom, the only Democrat on the fl
nance cOmmitte, who made a speech
! against it.
Fernstrom Attacks Americans"
| Mr. Fernstrom said:
LAS a member of the finance COM
/ mittee l wish to state for the informa
/ ton of the council that we met last
/ Thursday evening and discussed the
/ financial matters of the city, with the
+ view of recommending a levy. Our
means of knowing the exact financial
/ condition of the city were very meager
/ because the auditor had failed to COM
/ ply with his sworn duty to furnish. not
alone the finance committee, but the
| public with a full and complete state
ment; but much was ascertained to
show that the necessity for raising our
| taxes is unavoidable, and when they are
raised the street and contingent funds
! will be raised to the full extent of the
| law.
There will be a deficiency at the end
of the year of at least $4,000 to $780,,
| 000-a condition which has never before
confronted the city. Unless some eX-
| traordnary means are adopted to meet
/ this most serious condition the city's
/ credit will be utterly destroyed. The
Creates cause for this condition is I'M
| doubleday the nasty raising of wages
and the increase of employees in the va
rious departments. The raising of
wages appeals TO me as a conspiracy
! and a collision among the leaders of
! the American party.
Employees Pay "Tithing."
| The laboring man receiving the in
crease of 25 cents per day, after he has
! paid his 10 per cent of "tithing" to the
/ American party is benefited by this
! raise 21z cents per day. The teamster,
who it is so earnestly advocated, should
have q raise because hay and grain
was so high, is benefited by this raise
! by 5 cents per day, and the American
/ party rakes off out of the city treas
ury fund 40 cents, and all employees who
may object TO the paying of this tith-
| ing are threatened with immediate dis
/ charge.
| This is flagrantly unjust and cor
rUpt The courts of this district should
have their attention called to the fact,
/ and see If there is not a law covering
/ this point, and grand jury should be
/ impaneled TO investigate and indict the
! guilty parties, so as TO break up this
most corrupt and damnable collision
/ that ever encroached upon the treasury
/ of Salt Lake City. That there is a
/ scheme of raising a campaign fund at
/ the city's expense cannot be denied,
and that the money which is going to
be secured from the city treasury is no
small sum. For instance, in the sprink-
! ling department, whose expenses are
over $4,000 per month, 10 per cent of
| that means $500 monthly to the Amari-
can party corruption fund from that de-
partment alone.
'It is no wonder that the city's fl
nances are ruined in eight months. /
! recommend that the city discharge all
unnecessary employees; that the wages
be restored TO where they were before
| the tithing scheme was inaugurated.
and that any employe in any depart
ment who attempts to collect tithing
| from the employees be at once dis
! charged; and if there Is no law against
such a shameful practice. that. if the
| legislatures recOnVenes the governor
| and the legislature be petitioned to en-
act such laws as will severely punish
such corrupt and demoralizing meth
DDS"
Wells Shows Inconsistency.
Councilman Black and other "Ameri-
| i'm the levy was due to the necessity of
providing a sinking fund to pay off the
accrued interest on the water and sew
er bonds. Councilman Wells replied by
pointing out that an increase of u of a
mill was made in the contingent fund
/ levy, not one dollar of which will go
/ into the sinking fund. He pointed
out that at the end of last month the
/ contingent fund was overdiawn at the
bank $9S. O00, and declared that the in
| crease was due to extravaganza in adj
/ nainistration of city affairs
There were several speeches, the
! Americans" contending that they were
! forced to increase the tax levy because
of debt left by the preceding admins
/ tration The tax levy finally passed,
after President Davis had cut off de-
bate Those voting against it were:
| Barnes, Holley and Preece.
Auditors Report Comes In.
The auditors report. showing re-
ceipts and disbursements for the first
six months of the present year, as COM
pared with the corresponding six
months last year. was transmitted to
/ the council by Mayor Thompson last
night. Councilman Arthur F. Barnes
sharply criticised the administration be-