The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-02-17
SUPPORT OF THE COMMISSION,

The Smoot organ appears TO he mucn
worried abpnt Tho Tribune s attitude
respecting tie municipal commission OF
this city. We see no reason for either
surprise or worrimcnt in this. When
the commission was elected. The Trlb'
uue ,'bo morning after election day,
promised it It's support candid and ia'r'
such as wonld present marked con
trast. TO the mean, cuvious. aud
'.knockiuc" spirit exhibited by the op'
position press 90 the American admin
istrsiion during ,.hc time that it was
IN power. The Tribune expects to keep
that pledge cauddly aud faithfully.
The commission has been in power
less than two mouths. Surely no one
ment upon it, much less a condemna-
tion and carpiuc Judgment, in so short
a time. The Tribune is fully disposed
TO give the mission time. to carry
out its policies and To show TO the pco'
pic of this city the benefits of the
change from the old form Of govern
ment to the new, provided such benefit
can be made to appear.
The particular thing that torments
the Smoot paper. the organ of the Fed
eral bunch. h.-scems to be that The Trib.
une has approved the increase in the
police force. 1t is passing strange.
however. that .bc Smoot organ should
take that attitude with respect to The
Tribune. for we have beeu advocating
An increase of the police force fer 4
good many wears. We urged the Amer
icau administration to make it, giving
good res SOILS therefor. These reasons
are ths.. the usual standard of numcr-
ical officers IN the police departments
of cities is ono policeman to each thou
sand Inhabitants We have shown that
because Salt Lake City is on the high
WAY Of nations, and while receiving
tourists, travellers, aud good visitors OF
every kind. il inevitably follows that
il also must receive in .the wake of
these, since this is on the highway OF
national and International travel, a
IA bible of quite another character;
tramps, toughs, criminals, and outlaws
Of every degree. Therefore, the ratio
of policemen to the total inhabitants
should he greater here than elsewhere.
We have presented these facts often,
and present them again As good
reason for the increase In the police
forco that has been made.
The reasons we urged for the in
creased force during the American ad-
ministrsiion were Just as good reasons
for the increase in the force under the
commission administration. They were
economic reasons. administrative rea-
sons, applicable alike TO any form Of
administration that the city might have,
and we do not abandon these reason
merely because OF the change of form
Of the government. This. Of course, is
something that the Smoot organ cannot
understand. 1t measures everything by
the standard of partisan politics, and
what seems good to do under a so.
called Republican administration II
would consider damnabIe under a Dem.
ocratic administration. and herein is a
contrast between the two papers. We
speak from conviction aud earnestly in
the public interests. The Snoot paper
speaks simply as partisan organ
without regard TO the public Interests
and shifts its position according a par
tisan policy requires
The matter is perfectly plain from
any honest standpoint, and The Trib
unc S consistency throughout is abso
lutcly clear,