The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-03
ETHICS OF THE CASE.

| up from time to time. In case there
is wrongdoing in public life, in case of
! ficials are mfaithful to their trust, in
casc the people Of a State are wronged
and defrauded by the acts of their pub
| lie servants, what shall the public press
do about it, Should they expose the
wrong fearlessly and hold the unfaith-
full officials to account, or should they
gloss it over, say as little as possible
about it, and endeavor to protect
the reputation of the State' by CON
ccaling the offcnses7
If the public press is faithful TO its
duty, we consider that it should tell
the truth, expose the wrong, and en-
deavor to hold the unfaithful officials
to public accounting for their misdeeds.
This is usually done. But there has
risen in recent years something Of a
sentiment to the effect that TO do this
is to dishonor the State, TO discredit
its advantages. and to keep out immi-
grafton, the incoming of wealth, and
20 retard progress. We think that the
reasoning that leads to that conclusion
is sophistical and tends to evil, for it
is shield to the transgressor. cloak
to the wrongdoer; and any community
that acts upon that idea is sure to
have an abundance of unfaithful ohi-
Gals and 10 suffer from their corrup-
tion
y case has arisen in Idaho that awak
ems this train Of reflection. The Trib-
une, during last years canvass, ex-
posed the wrongdoing of the Idaho
Land Board, and specifically gave pub
licity to the evildoing and the threat
end public peril by reason of the faulty
construction of the Mackay dam, on
Lost river. The construction Of that
dam was so faulty. it involved so inn
minent a peril, that the inhabitants of
the valley, and especially of the town
of Mackay, were mp in arms, demand
ing that the faulty construction stop
and that proper and safe construction
should take its place No relief could be
had by them from the Governor and
the Land Board. under whose action
the contract for building this dam was
was held accountable for specific acts
under which the State and its people
were being wronged And now comes
the Boise Statesman, accusing The Trib-
une Of venality and of retarding the
progress Of Idaho through the publ
cations as made, OF course, the Boise
paper degrades itself when it charges
The Tribune with venality in this or
any other matter, since 1t well knows
that The Tribune is wholly free and
always has been wholly free, from any
charge of that kind. And we believe
that, so far from iniuring the State of
Idaho or retarding its progress, The
Tribune has done excellent service for
Idaho and its people in its exposure of
the wrongs which most certainly have
occurred
Indeed the same paper which makes
the editorial charge against The Trib-
une admits that the investigation that
is being made by the Legislature of
the affairs of the Land Board discloscs
evils IN connection with Carey Act con-
structon and finances that are Gas.
founding That is. what The Tribune
has published as true is found by this
investigation actually TO be true; so
that settles the main point. But the
Statesman urges that the State Land
Board could not prevent the diversion
of funds by bonding companies, nor
enforce contracts such as were involved
in the Mackay dam construction. ac-
cording to the terms of those contracts
as let. 1t appears that an opinion of
the Attorney General is TO the effect
that the Land Board has no power to
see that such construction is properly
done, it cannot even stop improper con-
struc Ii on that the State Land Board
inspectors have no authority or power
to give instructions as to how work can
be done. Which is clearly and mani
festly an absurdity. The Land Board
lets contract for work TO be done.
The bidder who is awarded the con-
tract agrees to perform the work upon
specifications that are made part of the
contract. To say that the State Land
Board had no authority to see that the
work ia done according to contract is to
plead for rogues and for the triumph of
rascality If it Is true that the Land
Board has no power to enforce the terms
of contract, why should it make the
contract' It needs no specific law TO
invest the Land Board with power such
as this. 1t is a power that is inherent
in the very act that at stands respon-
sible for The Board lets the contract
under which the contractor agrees to
do certain work Ill certain way that
is provided and fully set forth in the
specifications. The contract and speci.
fications clearly recognize the right of
the Board to have its inspectors upon
the work, to see that the contract is
faithfully complied with That is the
usual order of procedure and doubtless
is the order IN Idaho. IT is incompre-
hensible that any Attorney General or
anybody of the least sense or experi.