The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-10-29
LICENSE DEPARTMENT
MAKES GOOD RECORD
Frank B. Kimball Proves Him
self Right Man in Right
Place.
NO FAVORITlSM SHOWN
All the Same Time Revenues
of the City Have Been
Largely Increased.
NO FAVORITlSM SHOWN

| Previous 10 1906 the city license de-
partment WAS huge Joke, fah''a
came 10 the city, piled their trades 'h"
gathering in the public s shckels' Ie!t
without IN any way contributing to the
city ycvenue. Thcrc WAS no regulation
upop them aud whether nuI-ances or
not. was never considered. In hap
hazard sort Of fashion. licenses were
collected through the Office of the Guy
treasurer. for selling liquor Dnd from rom
merchants. But the office usnaliy
pIayed IL voritcs and many escaped
without paying their proper conIripu"
ton TO the city treasury.
| Under American administration OF
civic affairs. il has been the ann 10
enforce the city ordinances impartiaIlS
! and without fear or favor, bringing IN
the needed revenue to the city wlihout
undue harshne5s In any parncn!ar case,
The license department has peen re
! organized hy the present admlnlStTa
ton. Changes began a. soon as pro,
eressivc Americans obtained control OF
Salt Lake Certain favored ones we're
| no longer allowed 10 escape WhIe tue
poorer merchant was nlulcted 10 the
fullest extent, fakirs md street ven
dors Nho were in competition with
merchants were followed NO and made
nnisances, licenses were refused ana
thcv we're arrested if they attempted 10
do business.
Not all Easy Task,
The reorganization Of this depart
ment was not an easy task. Collections
Of any sor, OF fax arc not popular, IL
wss not until Frank r. KimbaN was ap..
pointed deputy license assessor ana
gwen complete charge of the collections
that this important branch Of the city $
revenue was placed upon anything ap'
proacking satisfactory basis,
MIR Kimball worked upon entirety
different lines from anyone preceding
him. He found that many were escap,
ing the license tax that they should
have raid This was at once stopped.
He gave everybody to understand that
there would be no favortes, and that
as long as the ordinances assessing the
would he collected He acted in the
Interests of thc city and it soon became
to be understood that all were 20 con-
trihutc alike and that the tax was 10
be collected according to law. The op-
position and cav;lling al the depart
mept ceased to "A large cxtent.
II has been charged by the enemies
of the American party. and Of Mr..
+ imball rs n true American. that the
administration has leeu increasing the
merchants tax. This is not true. The
merchants tax is not higher than 1T
WAS. The difference is that now all
are paving whereas. before a favored
few escaped. as they have done each
wear under the assessment of taxes by
Republican county officials,
Large Sum Added.
In The first year of MI kimball s
tenure of office he found $l2,5o0 of
these taxes unrollected from merchants
for non-coliectIon of which there was
no apparent reason. He Immediately
added this sum TO tho city revenues.
Under Mr. Kimball the license de"
partmept has become one of the most
important contrjbutor!es to the city
revenues and the additional amounts Sc
cured TO the treasury through his efforts
have gone far toward helping the Amer
lean administration carry on the great
works which have placed Salt Lake on
the map among modern cities.
During the past Two wears the admin
stratJon though pursuing the most rig.
orous economy. found that IL had not
nearly all the money desired to pay
for the city's portion of the improve
revenue brought IN through the eff,
forts of vigorous license department
did rnuch TO give the citizens VINO were
ciamoriug for improvements, the pawn Q
and sidewalks they asked
Mr. klmball pursued vigilant policy
as regarded tic street vendors and FAX.
irs and has permitted few to escape
without a contribution to the treasury.
This seems but a small thing. but the
gross amount was welcome addition to
he city S revenue.
Wrestling and boxing promoters were
made to pay license where they for
merJy escaped. Under the old system
the thcater licenses We're thought to
cover those, but Mr. kimball held other
wise. They are now paying up with
out question
Cannot Be Influenced.
In carrying out the ordinances KIM
ball has earned the reputation of he
ing man whom il is impossible to in
tIuenee. If tax or license is due. he
collects it whether it he from a friend,
or foe, of the administration In this
way he has built up the branch of the
city government. which was once looked
upon much in the same light of Joke
to ono of the most important of the
city departments and 10 be a tremcn.
douS source OF revenue for Salt Lake
In 1904 the license tax collections
were but Tl10.220,75. These were the
days when friends of the a,ministra.
tion. or of the powers behind the ad~
mlnistration, escaped, In 1905. the last
year OF unprogressiye and mossback
rule, the collections were but bls3,-
159 &c
They jumped to $l97 .o06,3O in 1906,
the first year Of progressive American
rule. and 30 S2lS,156.90 in the follow.
ing wear, In 1905 the collections were
500. $3.50 The licenses were not so
well collected during this year us they
should have been. and the department
was rcorganizcd with Mr. Kimbal at
ts head.
In 1909. Nv Kimbal turned into The
city treasury from license collections
s211 .906,0s. and followed this up in
1910 with the splendid total Of
$3.50. lI2.5s.
For 1911. the present wear, the license
collections will amount 20 over SS40..
ppU,Oo. the highest IN the city s history.
Plays No Favorites.
/