Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1906-11-23
Friday, Nov. 70, 1000.
WHAT'S THE MATTER?

Lately there has been woeful lacl
of enterprise in the judicial depart
ment Of the city. Many people have
grievances, for which the ordinances
provide remedy, but after being
buffetted about from one official to
another in search of the person whose
business it is to hear their case, they
are obliged to retire without redress,
take the law into their own hand, or
quietly submit to the impositions
A case in point is that of certain
resident who complains that the near
proximity of slaughter house to his
residence is breeding disease, and has
cost him large sum in DOCTORS fees.
He wanted the nuisance abated.
After acting as shuttlecock for some
time between various officials, he was
Obliged to retire without redress.
Such complaints are becoming fire.
quent.
The city marshal is every now and
then cognizant of the commission of
crime, and in some instances has amp
lie evidence to make cases, but there is
no one to carry the matter into court.
AS near as we are able to size up
the situation, the chief difficulty
seems to lie in the fact that the city
has no attorney to prosecute its cases.
No one to draw up a complaint, or
prosecute the offender. The Justice
is willing to do his duty, but he can
not act as prosecutor and Justice
both. That time has past in town
like Cedar. In the early days, when
there was no one to tell us better, it
may have been the custom for JUS !.
tice OF the peace 10 present -sbe POO
pies side of the case and then rule
on the law and evidence; but that
time is past. It never was legal and
right, now defendants refuse to stand
for it. The result is that about nine
out OF every ten causes are never en-
teTtained, and for the tenth the city
sends TO Beaver or some other outside
town for an attorney, and in the
end will probably be out as much
cash as If regular attorney had
been employed, besides which the
dignity of the court is being seriously
impaired.
Again, in the matter of ordinances,
the city is floundering about in water
beyond its depth. 1t requires a mind
trained in the legal requirements of
the law to draft an ordinance that
will stand. An example of this IL
furnished by the ordinance recently
passed fixing drug licenses at $500
per annum. This the council did on
its own hook, without the advice of
an attorney, aud now its counsel
advises them that the ordinance il
illegal and will not stand in courts.
The ordinance will probably have to
be repealed,
The city is pay ing out almost the
equivalent of an attorneys salary TO
special counsel, and sending it away
from the town aud county, and what
are we getting in return? Next to
nothing The policy being pursued
by the present council is a short
sighted one. BY all means the city
should have an attorney. We do not
care fig who is appointed, so long
as ne is competent but without ques.
tion the Office should be filed. The
council had the matter up and
threshed it over through several meet
ings at the commencement of the pre-
sent admin stration, and finally
agreed that they could not agree, and
decided to get along without an
attorney The obstina5y and bicker-
ing OF the mayor or council should
not he allowed to block the interests
of the city, and the persons who are
responsible for the present state of
affairs, whoever they may be, should
withdraw their objections and appoint
an attorney az once. Either thew
should do this or pass an ordinance
repeating the entire code Of city
laws
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