The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-02-25
BADGER THINKS HE IS TRICKEb.

Senator Badger predicts the defeat
of the compromise liquor bill, which
was reported at such great length and
infnitude of detail by the special com
mittec entrusted with the framing of
it, of which he was a member. 1t is a
bill which would reopen the whole
liquor question and involve the State
in litigation that would last at least
ten years before VIC got on the same
settled basis with respect to a .iudicial
determination of the liquor question
that We now have As ii is, the Su-
preme Court has said the final word on
the liquor laws as they now stand.
There is no fault found with the
legal status OF the liquor question as
thus settled; III fact, in all the legisla-
ton that is proposed the existing
status is fairly recognized in general,
but there is multitude of details to
be adjusted which would unsettle the
whole matter and would be certain to
cause the State very great expense and
contention. And since the only plea
that is made for this legislation is that
it is demanded to fulfill a partisan
pledge, there is no public demand at
the back of this bill, and there is no
reason why it should pass, or any other
bill on this question, a majority of
The people of the State. voted against
the platform that is thus pleaded as the
reason for this iIl.considered, unsettling
legislation.
Senator Badger seemed to be a little
bitter in his remarks on Thursday. He
that the bill is a compromise,
not welcomed by either side; that no
body was particularly for 1T; that the
proposed were good, but
in the scheme laid out by the commit
tee they must be beaten, good or bad.
He said he had information "that
those who profcssed to guide the des-
tinics of the Republican party in
Utah were determined that the
measure prepared by the committee
should not pass, and that another
measure, of which he had no knowledge,
should be written into the statute
books From which it appears that
insincerity and double"dealing rule the
situation There is a clamor kept up
all the time that bill must be passed
TO conform to party pledges and a
party platform. The organ Of that
party is clamorous on this point, in
sistent and voluble; but Representative
Wootton declares that the party organ
is in the pay of the whisky interest,
and does not. in fact, want legislation,
except such as would yield party ad
vantage and would furnish "soap" to
corrupt politicians.
And so the situation, complicated
from the start and partisan to the
core, is now imprcgnated with charges
from party men Of trickery. insincerity,
blackmail, and farming out the party
interest to personal advantage, The
organ rctorts upon the members of the
legislature, charging them with un-
faithfulncss, with subscribing private
purposes. with disregard of party
pledges and thwarting the interests Of
the people. The public need not
take these latter charges very seriously,
but we think no unbiased person can
look over the situation without con-
cluding that the party organ, under the
control of the "Federal bunch,'' is
thoroughly corrupt, insincere, and
both TO the interests Of
It's party. and also to the best interests
Of the people Of Utah.