The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-18
be unable to induce either to change
places with the other.
THE DEAD LINE.

At the City Council meeting on Tues
dav night the case was made very clear
that the new law which requires the
separate advertising, separate bid, and
q special contract upon local improve
mcnts in front of each individual piece
of property, is the cause of the hold'up
of public mprovcments-thc dead-llne
which cannot be passed. The bid of Mr.
Birch and that of Mr.. Kennedy each
goes by the board, because the con-
tractors in refusing to enter into con-
tracts. declare that the new law has
not been complied with. If the work
is to be done the lump advertising for
the whole district. the contracting on
the same basis. must all be relegated to
the scrap heap, and advertising and new
contracts, separate, for each piece OF
property must be entered upon. What
has been done heretofore is made waste
by the law.
The contracts so held up include
total of Sl,4S1 ,51o,el, according to a
statement prepared and submitted by
the City Engineer. And that is the size
Of the hold-up inflicted upon this city
by the mysterious amendment that was
smugglcd into the bill whose intent WIS,
apparently, only to change the time
when property-owners should be re-
quired to pay their assessments for the
local Improvement. AS the law stands,
these payments were enforceable on the
engineer estimates; as the change
meant. tho payments were not TO be
made until the contract for the work
was let, and then in strict ratio of the
property to the total property embraced
in the contract. Against that, there was
no objection; but surreptitiously there
was ADDED the proviso breaking up the
district plan of advertising and con-
tracing, and requiring separate adver-
tising and contracts for each piece of
property,
For some time, search has been made
for the person who offered this amend
ment to the bill and had it inserted
to find out what his purpose was.
Every one disclaimed, until now. 1t is
now understood that Senator Hollings-
worth of Ogden is the man who had
that proviso added to the section,
changing the district plan 10 the sepa-
rate property plan. What his idea IN it
was, we have not been able to ascer-
tain, after diligcnt inquiry. He says,
we understand, that he called the at
tention of Senator Benner X. Smith to
the amendment, and that the latter ap,
proved II. On the other hand Senator
Smith says that he didn I know any"
thing about this vicious amendment and
didn t know who it was that had it
tackled on to his bill. That il was an
emanation from the Smoot machine, and
was designed to stop the American ad-
in its work, is evident,
from the warm defense of the hold-up
by the Smoot mouth
But we do not think that the Ameri,
can administration should quit the work
of improvement. 1t should push on first
of all, in getting a ruling from The
amendment If it is held that the new
law is not effective in requiring the
of every piece of property
for separate treatment, then all can 90
on as before. ii it is held that segrega-
ton is required, then press on with the
work on that line; and let the property
owners fully understand that they are
put to the added cost by the odious
political machine which in this and
other ways so foully deals with the pco-
pie Of Utah.