The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-18
ADMINISTRATIONS COMPARED.

]
/ Boiled down, the argument of the
Americans for retention in city Of
| flee is based solely on the public money
! they have spent. They point to streets
! paved, sidewalks laid, sewers and water
main extensions, and then say these are
reasons enough for the continuance of
the party in power. The simplest an
swer TO that is the certainty that much
of the money has been spent extrava-
gantly, some of it needlessly, and all
of 1t without the exercise of the pru-
dence which should attach to business
lures Of trust funds.
Almost the first act of the Amer
lean" council was the appropriation of
$4,000 for plastering the inside of the
Big Cottonwood conduit. Only one ex-
cuse could be given for the appropria-
ton: the conduit, if properly built,
would hold water perfectly without an
interior lining, but the contractor knew
that if it was plastered any defects in
the concrete construction would be con-
cealed, the work would pass muster, he
would get the extra" 5000 and
everybody would be happy-exeept the
taxpayer.
An attempt has been made TO show
that the plans for the conduit were i'm
perfect and that the extras were
needed to correct these defects. The
engineer who drew the original plans
and was supervising their execution
until displaced by Morans friends,
stands much higher in his profession
than any of his critics; he stands well
enough to supervise work being done
for the United States government; his
clientele in private practice is proof
that his ability is unquestioned. The
sole purpose of the attempt to dis
credit him is to justify enormous dona-
tions to Moran by an American" al
ministratiOn.
In sidewalk construction the record
of the city administration has been
nothing less than scandalous. Con-
tractors have been permitted to execute
such work as they chose and abandon
such other work as seemed likely to
prove Improbable under their agree
ments with the city. They have been
permitted TO cancel contracts and then
bid again for exactly the same work at
higher f1gures-and the property-owner
has had no redress. Contracts are still
unexecuted for work on which the
money was collected two years ago:
and after holding the money for two
years the administration still ,ffers no
promise of furnishing the sidewalks.
OF the administrative departments
little need be said. The history of the
police department is so notorious that
the administration originally elected
mayor and chief of police both resigned.
The street department is literally a
stencil in the nostrils Of the people. the
city treasurer is being fought for re-
nomination by his own party, and while
there is nominally a movement on to
reform the reform" organization, it is
still controlled by the same men who
have named it's candidates and dictated
its appointments from the beginning.
The present mayor. a Democrat, was
elected by the council despite the sclec-
ton of another man for the place by
the steering committee of the organi-
cation, and his most conspicuous ex-
ecutive act has been to name for chief
of police another man who was not de-
sired by the organization. This, the
most creditaOle part Of the party's
record, has been achieved in spite of
the controlling element, and that only
within a month past.
Some stress is laid upon the fact that
open gambling has been stopped but
the slot machine gambling, run with
out license from the city, has been more
pernicious that all the open gambling
of former days, and the poker rooms
running under protection from the au-
thOrities have been doing business right
along. Within two months of election
the Sunday saloons which have -four
ished all through this administration
are closed down for political purposes.
The social evils, gambling, Sunday sa-
looms and minor places of resort have
never been so prosperous nor so openly
defiant of public opinion as in this ad-
ministratiOn. The form of municipal
control has been visible, but the fact
Of crime remained unchanged in all the
haunts of vice.
Compared with the Morris admins
tration, this has been no more progress
sive, unless extravaganza and progress
siveness are synonymous; compared
with the Morris administration the re-
straint OF vice I'm this has been in out
ward semblance only, while the Norris
management controlled the vicious ele-
ments, it permitted no secret, crooked
gambling. it compelled the slot ma
chimes TO pay license revenue when
they were permitted to operate at all,
while now they run openly and pay no
license, although they take from the
people more revenue than all the games
the city ever had before.
In real progress. in economical man-a
agement of the citv's business in s-a,