The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-20
mistaken on one point; the tank was
ovcrground instead of underground.
WHY A LEGISLATURE?

Why do we have Legislature in
Utah? What is the advantage of ii un-
der present conditionsl TO be sure, we
understand fully that the constitution
requires that we have Legislature,
and that it shall meet al stated times
for the purpose of enacting supposedly
needed laws, and for making the ap-
preparations which will carry on the
States governmental activities. But,
as is plain to see, and as is confessed
openly and unchallenged ON the floor Of
the legislature, the members do not
vote upon measures that arc pending
according to their own judgment. Mem.
her after member gets up and states
that he does not approve of the meas
ure that is pending. but that he is
obliged to vote for it because il has
been slated to pass, or words to that
effect.
1t is clear, therefore, that the legis-
lature is not doing the work which 1T
is pretending to do; but that some
body in the background is really doing
the work and passing it up to the leg
islature to ratify perfunctorily, mere
ly as a matter Of official form The de-
cision to make the enactments has
been arrived at in some other place,
and by some other power, a power
which the legislators themselves state
from their places in the legislature is
too strong TO resist, and that overrides
the Judgment of the legislators, both in
their individual and in their collective
capacities.
1t is understood that the "Federal
bunch is the power that is in the
background. and that is able to put
up to the legislature its dccrecs, re-
quiring that the legislators enact these
into statutes. The legislature, there
fore, is simply dummy TO give official
form to the dccrees which the power
that is hidden has prepared and direct
cd 10 have passed. There is no ques-
tion but this is the fact with respect
to the present Legislature. The same
thing has been evident heretofore in
legislatures, but never has the fact of
this outside domination been so openly,
so frequently, and so bitterly admit
ted and complained against as in the
present legislature, even by those who
submit to ii. 1t is indeed pit
iful thing 10 see members, of what
ought TO be body free to enact its
nd, pfnsS Iib ruJ Jp and
modification, that they are opposed to
the very thing that they are compelled
to vote for, as has been done repeat
edly during the recent session of the
legislature. And marvel it is to see
that these complaints of compulsory
voting which take away the freedom
and individual Judgment Of the legis'
laters on the questions involved, at
tract so little attention from the peo-
pie; il is all taken as a matter of
course. This suggests the query
whether the people of this State are
so careless as to have become callous
to this sort of thing, and whether they
VIII accept this situation as normal and
right.
The people sent TO the legislature
men supposed to he representative OF
the communities III which they live
both rs Senators and Representatives
These men came up here ostensibly to
exercise their Judgment in the passage
of laws, and to work in the interest OF
the constituencies which have seut
them. They come here, forget all about
their obligations to their people
forfeit their own self-respect
knuckle under TO the - Federal bunch.
and pass the measures which that bunch
requires them TO pass, at the same time
making complaining protest that they
do not like it and hate to do it, If
is dreadful spectacle to see enacted
svowedIy and repeatedly, before the
public. 1t would not in the least bo
surprising if the people Of this State
should take on such a deep loathing
and disgust for the Federal bunch,
which has thus made captives ant
tools OF their Senators and Reprcsen
tatives, that they would rise in thciI
wrath and sweep the whole bunch into
political oblivion, and the big boss Will
his agents and satellites