The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-10-23
GRANTING ALL Thai.

No man in town is likely to deny that improve
ment has been made in Salt Lake in the past ten
years. 1t really began about eight years ago. 1t be-
gan in earnest when the Republican legislature OF
1901 enacted the permitting the city to accept
scrip. len against real property. in lieu of cash
payments special assessments Before that action
of the Republican legislature the only way to get
sidewalk or street paving laid to pay the cash
for it,
After the law had been added to in the sessions Of
1903 and 1906 and had been made into its present
shape improvement went forward very rapidly. No
one denies that. Everyone is glad of t-and proud.
But, granting that the improvement has been
made: Why should the people be glad Of the graft
that has with it Is is necessary to fatten the
city authorities and the city contractors, and the
city party's paper and the city partys bosses-jus
to get the streets paved and the sidewalk laid?
Cannot the work of improvement and advancement
go forward without the work of grating going for
ward. too?
The only difference contemplated in the election of
James Murdoch mayor of Salt Lake is that the
work will be done honestly. Every dollar spent when
Murdoch becomes mayor will be represented by &C
tual accomplishment The people viii know what has
become Of their money-and they will have the fin
ished work equivalent.
But the men demanding the reelection of
Bransford and his political friends satisfied
with the accomplishment of the public work. They
want more than that. There members Of the
ell who have to make little money on the side.
There friends-entirely outside of official life
who in position to demand cut of the money
taken illegally and improperly from the taxpayers.
And it is that part of the business that the Repub
lcans propose to overthrow when they elect honest
James Murdoch be mayor of Salt Lake
The evidence is abundant There the Big Cot
tonwood conduit After it had been started according
20 contract after part of ii had been buded the city
authorities gave the contractor seventy thousand dol
lars plaster the inside of it, If the had
done according to contract. it would water
and carried water. If it built according to
contract then the contractor should have received no
pay. But the city treasury was rifed of seventy
thousand dollars in cash-and the money handed
such portions of it the donors could spare
to the official contractor.
Now. that is not right.
It not right to give the west side sewer con-
tractor thousand dollars for pumping out water
that his negligence and faulty work permitted to
flow in. Yet the money was given.
And if it not for the sturdy fight made every
day by James Murdoch the same city authorities
would give Pat Moran twenty thousand dollars for
repairing a en-thousand dollar sewer-THAT IS
NOT YET FINISHED.
We are all glad to have the city grow But what
is there for encouraging graft? 1t doesn't add
to the advancement 1t doesn't pave any streets II
isn't fair to the people.
Keep up the improvements just fast and as fan
the people want them. But make an end of graft
That is the safe rule the one way to do il is to
elect the Republican city ticket November second