The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-05-07
Many Of the Measures Are OF
Great Importance 10 the
State.
OPINIONS DIFFER AS
TO LIQUOR LEGISLATION
Commission Form Of Govern
ment Law Likely to Be
Attacked.

On either Tuesday or Wednesday OF
next week, depending on which Nattor-
neys you take as authority, about l50
new laws, the product of the last state
legislature, become effective. Under the
constitution, all laws unless otherwise
specified become effective sixty days
after the date of the adjournment of
the state legislature at. which they are
passed.
The state legislature of 1911 ad-
iourned in reality on March Is, but
officially the legislature adjourned at
noon on March 9. Sixty days from
the official date of the adjournment
of the legislature would make the laws
effective at noon on May 8, However,
by some process of computation some
lawyers hold that the laws will not be
in effect until twenty-four hours later.
1t is probable, however. that this hiatus
will not be serious and that there Will
be no occasion for determining within
a few hours Just when the laws do go
into effect.
OF all the laws passed by the legis-
Iature which become effective next
week the one of the most Immediate
concern is undoubtedly the liquor law.
effect Immediately is matter OF dis
pute, The intention of the trainers, or
of those who thought they were fran
ing the law, was that the greater part
of the measure should not become ef-
fective until October /. but the bii!
fails TO carry out this intention.
Provisions of Law.
The bill provides that al! licenses
shall terminate October ! and that all
license fees paid for licenses with the
understanding that they are TO run
for longer period shall be refunded
in an amount equal TO that paid for
the unexpired period. This provision
was made for two purposes. One was
because October / was the date hxed
for the result of the local option cleo
ton 10 become effective. The other
was that the legislature thought it had
in the bill 2 provision making the reg
ulatlons and changes IN the manner o.
issuing liquor licenses effective on DC"
tober /. The legislature, however, meg
lected to put in any provision making
the changes in the laws and the repeal
of the old laws effective aS any spec
fled time and these sections, therefore,
come under the general provision or the
constitution which makes them efec-
tive next week.
LAWYERS are holding that In coz
formity with the new law all licenses
issued on or after next Tuesday or
Wednesday, as the case may be, must
be issued to persons having the quail
fcations provided for in the bill and
must be issued in the manner provided
for in the new bill, The confusion
incident to the change from the old
law to the new under tho manner pro-
vided by the legislature will be ct LEAST
interesting.
Commission Rorm Law.
Another law which becomes effective
next week, but which will nos seriously
affect the people for several months,
is the bill providing for commission
form of government Tor Salt Lake, Og-
den, Murray. Provo and Logan. It IS
announced that efforts on tho part OF
many citizens of Salt Lake and other
cities will Join In a movement to have
this law declared unconstitutional, A
similar attack will doubtless be made
on the liquor bill. The so-ealled Des
Moines commission laws change the en-
tire form of municipal government iE
cities OF the first and second class and
the contention Of those not In SYM
pathy with the movement for a COM
mission form of government Is that
such complete change OF government
should first be submitted 10 tho people
to be adopted or rejected by popular
vote.
There was considerable opposition to
the passage of the liquor bill and the
commission bills, but to the capitol
series of bills which become effective
as laws next week there was scarcely
any opposition, certainly none IN Salt
Lake. The capitol bills fit in well with
the laws enacted two years ago and
with those laws provide for the erec,,
tion of a beautiful new state capitol
for Utah at cost of two and one,half
millions of dollars.
The laws enacted by the last legis'
lature provide for a cash appropriation
of S750.000 and for bond issue OF
81 900 900. Another law changes The
duties of the state capitol commission.
The amendment provides that the two
salaried places provided for by the old
law shall be elected by the commission
from outside of its membership. These
places arc secretary of the commission
Continued OF Page Five.