The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-02
FURTHER LEGAL CONFLICTS.

tions. In this city a deadlock ap
pears to have been struck at once OF
the matter of the issue of licenses
| The Judges order the issue OF license
! to certain saloons. but the city ordi
mace requires that the payment Of th
| licenses must be made before the Ii
censes are issued. The court seems t,
have taken no account of this, in III
order TO issue the licenses.
The City Council, fearful of being
In contempt Of court, asked an opinion
OF the City Attorney as to its statu,
with respect TO this court order, ano
mad special session Yesterday after
noon to consider the matter, with rath
er indefinite results.
In the general work of the Cit,
Council. the statutes contemplate that
the councilmen shall have certain dis.
cretion in their work. that they shall
vote as 10 matters that come before
them according TO their ideas of what
is right and proper. without being un
der any court or other constrsint or
order 10 vote one way or the other
II il is true thai councilman is
obliged To vote to issuc license, al.
should moi issue, then his conscience
is violated BY the court order, which
makes this requirement. of him; but
we do not see how in Justice and right
the opinion Of a councilman can right.
fully be forced npon this question.
a councilman, lei us say, has a
fixed opinion with respect to the con
duct of a saloon, and Of the uufitness
Of the persons running that saloon to
continue in that business. There may
not be anything that he could present
10 the court as overturning the court <
Judgment that a license should issue,
and still the councilman is convinced
that it ought not to issue Must he
violate his conscience and vote TO is,
sue that license, when he is convinced
that he ought not to do so, merely be
cause the court orders the hcense7 We
think that TO make such an interpreta,
tion of the law would be entirely un-
Just to the councilman, and cannot
bring ourselves to conclude that any
law is valid that would make such a
requirement as this.
But clearly the council is justified
in insisting that its ordinance shall be
complied with, and that the payment
for the license shall be made before
the license is issued.
A radical conflict is here presented
that is as vital as it is unexpected,
and in this conflict there is apparently
a claim Of jurisdiction in the court to
compel the councilmen to vote con-
trary to their opinions of right and
Justice. merely because the court makes
the order, and to order the issue of
license when the ordinance has not
been complied with.
Quite the contrary sort Of conflict is
from Ogden, where the coun-
ell voted to issue licenses to certain
saloon keepers, and the court, sitting
en- banc, refused its consent to the
ssue. So that here in Salt Lake City
and in Ogden the other How it will
cone out we shall all know after the
courts have had their innings, and
have determined what the law means
ishing, indeed. if the courts should
fnally hold that they could constrain
The action of the council and order
that licenses should issue when the
judgment of the council was adverse
Our report from Ogden also states
that it is understood there that both
Judge Howell and Judge Harris are
Of the opinion that the State liquor
aw is unconstitutional, in that ii
,akes from an executive and legislative
body certain duties, delegating them to
a judicial body. In the action taken
thus far these judges have not entered
upon that point, but if their position is
as indicated, it will be no surprise, nor
would it be any surprise to US if the
final determination of the Supreme
Court Of this State should coincide
with the opinion Of the Ogden Judges,
for we have stated the same objection
to the law heretofore. The idea of
making the courts administrative offers
to administer the law, and then the
same courts to pass upon that admins
tration, seems to be such a moustrous
perversion of our institutions, such
plain encroachment upon the dividing
line which separates the different func-
tions of our government into executive,
legislative, and judicial, that we do not
see how the law directing this In
fringement can possibly be upheld.
The multitude of pitfalls and IT.
reconcilable provisions in this exceed.
ingly long and intricate liquor law will
develop rapidly as the city councilmen
and courts undertake to put the legis
lation into effect. And we should not
be at all surprised if the courts should