The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-01-24
always leave the profitable advantage
with the Dackcrs2
AT LAST, A STATEMENT.

demand upon the taxpayers for vote
of s70O 900 in bonds, lacks n good deal
in expicitness, especially with regard
to the proposed high school. 1t says
that the new building will be on the
east side, but that is an extremely
vague proposition The east side of
the city embraces a good deal more
than half of tho municipality. The
argument advanced by the board that
the new high school building should
not be too far south because the IN
crease of population is largely In that
direction seems to be an exact rever'
sal of the rule that should govern. The
proposition that the high school should
he where the population is should gov
crn, and the fact that the population
is increasing very largely towards the
southeast ought in common fairness
to be a plea for the location of the new
building to accommodate that popula-
ton rather than to be urged as plea
against it.
The suggestion that after few
years the city will need third high
school and that the present purpose Of
the board is to put that in the southern
part of the city, presumably in the
southeastern part, according TO the ar
puments used, would seem to take away
| from the west side of the city all
prospect of high school facilities, since
| II is announced as the purpose of the
| board TO make of the present high
school quarters a manual training head
quarters. That being done, the west
side would have no high school proper
at all,
1t has been suggested, although VIC
do not see it in this vague address
of the board, that the board can not
exactly specify where the new high
school is to he built, because the prop
erty would be pat up beyond all reason
on the board when it undertook to
purchase the school site, But surely
time before taking number of op-
tions on various eligible locations for
the school site, That would be sad
oversight should it turn out that the
board has neglected this important
feature. So far from the board being
this site it should be able by this time
to know all about it, 1t should have
options on all eligible locations that arc
at all suitable for the school, and these
options should be at the discretion of
the board precisely as any competent
individual would do such business were
he entrusted with it, To plead that the
price Of land would be put up is simply
n plea Of imbecility. On the contrary,
the board should be able by obtaining
options to get competitive prices that
would lower the rates Of the school site.
On the other hand, however. and con
sidering the grating propcnsities Of the
dominant influence in the board, as
shown by investigation and the rec
ord, the more reasonable hypothesis OK.
planning the failure Of the board 10 des-
Ignate the site upon which it will build
this high school, would be that those
who are keen after graft would be
equally keen after rake-offs on the pur~
chase price Of the site. This is surely
more to he feared from the dominant
influence in the board than the putting
up of price by reason of the selection
Of site in one place rather than in
another. But as said before, all pos
sibility Of raising prices should have
been cut out long ago by the obtain
ing of options by the board. And by
the obtaining Of these options. the own.
ers of the sites being confronted with
the proposition that they are compet-
ing with each other in their anxiety to
sell to the board competent site,
ought, as stated, to reduce rather than
enhance the price.
We are sorry that the board has not
been able to make better showing
than 1T does in its statement to the
public. That statement is vague and
indefinite. In so far, however. as it
can be construed TO mean ANYTHING, il
means the taking away of all high
school facilities proper from the west
side and putting them all on the east
side. using the present high school
quarters simply for manual training
purposes, and not for the usual high
school instruction. And it leaves the
site precisely in such way that it
can he iuggled and manipulated for
rake-offs.
With regard TO the proposed grade
schools, for which 100000 is asked,
the board says that it will erect one
between Ninth and Tenth avenues and
one in the southeastern part of the
city. But to say that school will be
erected between Ninth and Tenth ave-
uues is to exhibit the same vagueness
AS in the high school proposition Ninth
and Tenth avenues run for long dis
tance east and west. Tenth avenue is
on the extreme verge of population on
the north bench, To erect large
school building there would seem to be
to put it pretty we'll out of the range
of the school population. And this
without much regard AS to whether it
was erected close to the graveyard or
close to the canyon chasm. The other
grade school TO be erected in the south
/