The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-09-02
AMERICAN PARTY SERVICE.

various American party city Officials
be switching the direction Of its i'll
natured venom. and pouring it out
against the American party in general
misrcpresenting its objects, aims, pur-
poses, and the basic idea of its foun'
dation.
This would naturally be expected
from disreputable paper OF that kind,
1t is utterly conscicnceloss. vindictive,
and reckless. Day after day it is urg-
ing as foundation for its mcndacious
assaults its doctored - interview with
City Attorney Dinnny, Ignoring his
repudiatlon of its version of that In
terview. Mr., Dininny took good
deal of pains to go through that in
terview seriatim, to analyze its state
meuts, to show wherein it was false
aud perverted his ideas aud language,
making entirely clear the disreputable,
dishonest work that the Snoot organ
has done in presenting to the public
its false version Of what he SAID. And
yet that organ keeps harping on its
false interview with Dininny as the
authority for what it says, Nothing
more deprayed and utterly conscience
less was ever seen in American jour.
nalism.
The American party was founded on
the highest possible ideals Of Amer.
lean citizenship, and of official serv-
ice TO the people. The American party
has done a splendid, tremendous work
for Salt Lake City. Immediately upon
the announcement that the affairs Of
this city had been wrested out of the
hands of the priesthood there began
here such a revival of business activity,
and such an impetus in building activ
ity, continued, as was never dreamed of
in this city before, and has seldom
been seen in any city. The growth of
Salt Lake between the census of 1900
and that of 1910 was, in fact, the
growth of the city during the Amer
lean control; for, up TO 1905, while the
church had control, the city not only
had not gained in population over the
figures of 1900, but had actually lost.
In 1905 people were moving out of the
city by hundreds; the next year they
began to come In by thousands,
In 1901 supposedly Republican adj
was elected i'll this city,
but four nominally Republican couu-
cilmen joined with The four nominally
Democratic councilmen. making "the
solid eight, - all Mormons, all under
the dominion of the church, and all
determined to thwart every effort of
the Republican Mayor to advance the
of the city, to put in public
improvements, and to make of the
city the progressive metropolis that
nature designed II to be. Those solid
eight held everything in their paralyz-.
ing grip for two years. .. ......
Then ensued two years Of church ad
nominally under Demo
cratic auspices, but really it was an
administration III the interests OF the
church for the church S advantage in
disposlng of the street railway. In pur-
suauce Of that plan, carried through
by virtue of charter which, in i'm
portant particulars, absolutely be
trayed the people, and disrcgarded the
positive pledges made by that admin
istration in It's official statement to
the people of the purposes for which
the million dollars bond Issue was
sought. the charter demanded by Pres.
Ident Joseph +. Smith of the Mormon
church, who was also President of the
street railway, a charter such as no
city ought to give 10 any company,
with life of fifty years (iu place Of
the one hundred years sought) was
granted. The same administration let
Il hasty contract for the construction
of the Big Cottonwood conduit, the
specifications being so poor that the
conduit would not hold water, and had
to be plastered in order to make it
water tight. And that administration
went out of power without securing
one drop Of water to run through that
conduit 1t left to its American sue
cessor the task Of getting the Knudseu
water right, which ought to have been
bargained for at the very beginning
a condemnation suit. the issue Of which
was rather more than doubtful against
the city, was relic of that admins
tration. as well as some $4,000 of un-
paid bills.
In spite Of all these bandicaps the
American party vindicated itself glor.
iously. II paid off the floating in.
debtedness. il negotiated for the
knudsen water right on favorable
terms, aud has had the undisputed right
for that water ever since, and has II
IN Derpctuity. 1t plastered the con
dut aud finished it, making it water
tight. II has recovered the right to
use the water power at the discharge
Of that conduit which was forfeited
oy the last church administration. in
spite Of Its pledge to the people. so
that now the city can put in a plant
there for generating light and power
Tor the use Of the city The street