The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-03-25
THE OGDEN CASES.

The Supreme Court of the State has
fulfilled the expectation of lawyers and
publicstS by the two opinions handed
down, in what have become to he
known as the Ogden scandal cases.
in view Of the letter of the Law, tho
court could do nothing else than TO
sustain the judgment of the lower tn
bunal in the proceeding brought by Mr.,
j. d. Skeen, the Ogden reformer,
against Chief Of Police Browning, of
that city. The Supreme Court holds
that the District Court in which the
action was brought had no jurisdiction
in the matter, The responsibility is
with the Mayor and the Council. The
case, therefore, was not tried on its
merits, since the demurrer interposed
by counsel for tho Ogden chief was
allowed by the District Court and the
| decision of that tribunal was sustained
by the Supreme Court. Mr., Sheen may
have been right in his contention. OF
he may have been wrong. His motive
is beyond reproach. On the other
hand, the Ogden chief has enjoyed an
|
character, his cleanliness, his assiduous
attention to his duties; and ii he has
failed to enforce the laws and the or
dinances according TO the view of the
reformers, he has probably conducted
| his department as we'll as such depart
meuts can be managed under existing
circumstances. This is a fair iudg
l e,
| issue was not brought to trial. If pro-
ceedings shall he had in the City Coun-
Gil further light may be thrown upon
this important subject,
In the case against the offending
! Councilman, the court was explicit and
its opinion will meet with universal COM
mendation. After Mr., Skeen had sue
| cecded in removing certain public of
| ficlals for malfeasance, and while Judi
cial proceedings brought by him We're
pending in the court against certain
| Councilman of Ogden, that official re-
! signed, his resignation was accepted
by the City Council, and on the same
evening he was reelected by the Coun-
ell to the same office.
The Supreme Court calls this a trav-
esty. The contemplate proceeding was
all of that, and more. 1t was a piece
Of insolence almost without parallel in
the history Of municipal graft. That
such action could be had in body of
officials, intrusted BY the people with
public affairs, IS an indication of the
I. IL 4. L l.
must have for the law and for the de-
cencies. The moment the man resigned,
he confessed his offense When the
Counci! accepted the resignation, Off
cial recognition of his offcnse was ac.
corded. When he was reelected by
the same body on the same evening, the
| Council practically said to the people
of this State: "Wc propose to have
our way, law or no law The Su-
preme Court has administered a proper
rebuke. Hereafter public officials will
| recognize that the law was meant for
then guidance and not for their avoid
ance.
SO far as the individual Councilman
is concerned, he bears a good reputa.
tion in the community. He has been
efficient for many years as a public
servant. He is the victim of n ''sys-
tenn in which he became involved.
But if the law were not to be admin
istered because System had pre-
vailed in previous years, the public
would have no remedy against growing
evils. The stronger the System the
more necessary it was that such re-
former as Skccn should arise. The
more the offending Councilman and 9TH
er officials, including those of the coun~
ty, were supported by their popularity
and by public sentiment, the more
heroic was the work of Skecu. One
evil was breeding another in the pub.
lice service. From drawing illegal
moneys for extra services which they
performed, some of the officials had
gone TO the point Of drawing money
without even a pretensc of return serv-
ice to the public. The "system' was
becoming swollen and arrogant. BY
means Of the pclf the machine was be-
coming all.powerful. Individual citi.
zens were afraid to express themselves
III opposition The taxpayers were
cajoled or coerced into supporting raids
against the funds raised by taxation.
The people of this State should he
grateful to J. D. Skeen Of Ogden, for
his vigor in prosecuting these cases;
and the State should feel complimented
upon the straightforward opinion deliv.
cred by the supreme judicial tribunal
Of the commonwealth,
The offending officials have been re-
moved from office, Instead of nursing
hate and bitterness in their hearts
against those civic agencies, including
the courts, which have been operated
against their misconduct, they should
calmly and honestly review the situa-
| tlon They have no right to feel venpe,