The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-09
NOT AT ALL ALIKE.

and very thin dust Mt that. The pre-
tense Of silly ignoramus that the 80
called lease" against certain Salt
Lake Councilmen is the same as tho
case against the Ogden Councilmen
won y work.
Tho Ogden Councilmen voted them-
solves pay for services outside OF the
pay provided by law, voting 1T during
their terms OF office; and there was no
ordinance providing for anything of
the kind. A fragrant double offense.
The Salt Lake Councilmen were paid
strictly in accord with law and ordi-
nance.
There is a wide difference here, and
any one in the least familiar with pub
! lie affairs can easily understand it. The
State Constitution (Article 81, Section
y provides that (among others) all
city officers "shall be paid fixed and
definite salaries.i' The Statutes (Com-
piled Laws, Section 225) say that "all
officers of any city shall receive
such compensation as may be fixed by
ordinance, but tho compensation of any
of such officers shall not be increased
or diminished to take effect during the
time for which any such officer was
elected or appointed The ordinances
Of this city (Chapter 10, Section l31,
Page 45, Revised Ordinances Of 1909
provide that "Each member of the
City Council shall be paid an annual
salary OF six hundred dollars, payable
monthly as are the salaries of other
city officials; which shall be for all
services rendered except that when the
waterworks committee sits as a board
Of equalization of water rates, each
member shall be paid three dollars for
each days attendance; and when the
Council sits as a board Of canvassers
Of municipal elections each member
shall be paid FIVE dollars for each days
attendance
Now, the Ogden City Council had no
ordinance providing for pay such as
Councilmen Chambers and Craig took.
The law expressly allowed the Council
to pass such an ordinance, but the Og-
den Council had not done so, and the
Councilmen who appropriated money to
themselves without such an ordinance
were clearly in the wrong; and besides,
they violated the law when they in
creased their compensation contrary to
the statute.
On the other hand, the Salt Lake
Council had made express provision
for such compensation, by ordinance, as
the statute expressly allows it to do,
being broad and unlimited in its con-
cession Of power to the City Council
in this respect
The Ogden Councilmen took In
creased pay during their terms of Of
6ce, which is positively forbidden by
law. The Salt Lake Councilmen did
not. No member is serving under n
term in which his pay was fixed, In
every respect, the Salt Lake Council
men conformed strictly to the law and
the city ordinance, So tho cases are
not in harmony, but directly opposed.
1t remains TO note the language
(article 2l, section u Of the Constitu-
tion bearing upon this question, viz:
CAN State, district, city, county, town
and school officers, excepting notaries
public, boards OF. arbitration, court
commissioners, justices of the peace,
and constables shall be paid fixed and
definite salaries; Provided, That city
justices may be paid by salary when
SO determined by the mayor and
council Of such cities
Now, if it is contendcd that all the
pay which any Councilman may consti-
tutionally receive is fixed and definite
salary which shall cover all Of his serv-
ices, excluding all per diem pay for
special work as on the water board,
or as a canvasser Of election returns,
then tho statute is unconstitutional in
granting such unrestricted power to the
Council to fix the compensation OF its
members II SO, the fault is in the
Legislature, not in the Council And
we would suggest to any ono taking tho
view that the Salt Lake Councilmen
did wrong in taking the pay which
was provided for by ordinance passed
pursuant to n statute which allows the
SVuhSii Auh PV"cl W pass ouCn OIhl-
nance, that the courts are open. Bring
suit, and test tho matter without delay.
IF the ordinance goes down, the law
goes down. Tho Constitution is the su-
preme law, tho gauge by which all
must be measured, Statutes and ordi-
nances alike must conform to it, But
it is plain that the Salt Lake case is
not in tho least like the Ogden case;
| yet we would not ask to havo the Salt
Lake Councilmen shielded from tho op.
GRAFTON Of any law. If they have taken
money illegally, let them go the same
road that Chambers went. For in the
demand for the sanctity and full opera
tion Of the law, and respect for it, we
play no favorites, And would to God
this was so with everybody else in
Utah
THE NEW CHINA