The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-11-01
Ogden News
Office, 24e+ Washington Avs.
Ogden, Friday, Nov. 1.
CRITICIZE CRAIG
FOR POWER DEAL
Willard Canyon Proposition
Causes Much Anxious In
curry by Citizens.

The Willard canyon water deal prom
ises to be an important factor in deter
mining the selection of men for the city
administration in Ogden for the next two
years. This matter is of material i'm
portance to the people of the city and il Is
a saIe bet that the question will be al
lowed to remain dormant until after the
election next Tuesday. The present status
of the case is not generally known to the
public, who have been led to believe that
the intention of the city fathers is to can
Gel the deal and recall the warrant for
5000 paid to Frank Moore a short time
ago to complete the deal.
William Craig, the Republican nominee
for mayor, occupies an unenviable posi-
ton in connection with the transaction
and he together with others who favored
the proposition are coming in for much
criticism. That the council was taken in
by the promoters of the power scheme is
proven by it's recent action when a reso-
luton was passed acknowledging that the
plan was not as it had been represented,
and that the amount of water running
through Willard canyon was not suffi-
cient for the citys needs.
1t was at this stage of the proceedings
that what was apparently move to rec
tify an error was rung in and the matter
of taking up the warrant which had been
given in payment for the power site was
put i'm the hands of the special lighting
committee which originally engineered the
deal. Here the matter has been allowed
to lie and there are those who believe
that it Will get no further, at least not
until after the election, and even then
ii is extremely doubtful If the warrant
will be recalled. In fact it is believed that
the move with regard to cancelling the
transaction was purely for political pur-
poses and that there was no real intention
to call the deal off.
William Craig. although president OF the
council at the time. was one of the own
ers of the power site at the time the spe-
cial light committee first decided to look
into the feasibility of the Willard site.
This was admitted in an interview pub
lished I'm local Republican paper a short
time after the Democratic convention last
month. IL was claimed. however. that
Craig disposed of his interests to Frank
Moore before the city decided to purchase
it. Even admitting that this is true. it
is held that Ii proves nothing and that
while the transfer may have passed
through the regular form and channel
Craig's interests may have been in the
proposition just the same when the site
was purchased by the city.
Mr.. Moore in the interview referred to
is quoted as saying that he was ready to
purchase back the power site for the
same amount he had received for ii and
it was a short time afterward that the
council passed the resolution setting forth
that the plan had been misrepresented
and that Mr.. Moore's proposition to buy
back the site should be accepted This
was in substance what the resolution
meant as the matter was referred to the
special light committee with power to act
after the site had first been condemned
and the original resolution to recall the
5000 warrant had been so amended.
The city council will not meet again I'M
til after election. making a report from the
special committee impossible until that
time unless a special meeting is called
At this time, however. so far as can be
ascertained. there is no intention to call
such meeting. Neither has the special
committee come forward with any expla-
nation as to why the matter is being de-
layed. In the meantime the 5000 war
rant is subject to the call of Mr.. Moore,
who is named as the owner of the site in
the papers that have been passed in the
case.