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Show I Ogden Troubles. H The point to the waterworks joke has not yet H developed. The system is on the bargain counter H marked down to a paltry $410,000, and the owners H are ready to let go any minute. The city officials H have still got the old campaign humbug in their H heads, that the city must own the waterworks, H and there are those who really believe the purchase H of the system at the above figure would be a good H investment. Among the number are the gallant H few who appraised the value two years ago at not Hj more than $200,000. The reason for the difference H of opinion is not clear, but the explanation is H easy. Then, as now the present city authorities H wore doing a stunt described in scripture as the H blind leading the blind. The mayor, who was H then a candidate, had investigated the cost of H every inch of pipe line, overy bolt, nut, casting, hydrant, and joint, and the sum total was $173,-H $173,-H 000. His dictum was that at somewhere near those H ilgures the purchase of the system would be a H good thing. And all his disciples looked wise and H nodded approval. Now, a readjustment of the flg-H flg-H ures has pushed the sum to more than double the H first amount. The followers, still blind, stand owl-H owl-H like, by, and swear by the mayor's mathematics. H They don't know anything about it themselves. H Bill takes the mathematical snuff and the council-H council-H men figuratively sneeze. The people, however, need not take the matter H too seriously. The city is not going to buy the Hj waterworks. Nobody need be alarmed. In the H first place the city could not raise the amount re-H re-H quired to pay the price; and in the second place H the people will not approve of buying a half worn-H worn-H out plant at double its original cost. When Bill H cracked his whip, his paper, over the people and H appealed to popular feeling against the purchase of H the system two years ago, he set the public by the H ears until the average, citizen was. ready to fight H to prevent the consummation of the deal. That H feeling is with the people yet, praise God. They H are ready to stop the wrong. If it was against H public policy to buy the system then, it is against H public policy now. The people will not be fooled. H They want the waterworks all right, but not for H $410,000. The present administration was elected H under certain specific promises. The people want H those promises kept. They don't want Bill and H his crowd to do what they enjoined Browning and H his crowd from doing. They expect the mayor and council to deliver the goods as agreed upon. No H monkey business, no graft, no collusion goes. Give Hj us a waterworks system for $250,000, or get off H ,the earth. I t & & H" After a labor of travail covering about thirty Hi days, the governor has finally delivered himself Hy of the appointment of a district attorney for Og- Hj den, with Tom's consent. In the meantime the H county jail has been crowded with prisoners await- H ing trial; His Excellency has been urged by H 1 1 county and dlstrict'authorities to make a choice be- H tween the two candidates; and after this unjust H and unnecessary delay the governor finally handed H ,' us something. It has been known for two weeks H whom he intended to appoint. The calf's eyes Ht were set and not money nor marbles could con- H vince His Excellency that the party had properly Hi something to say as to who should be appointed. H But thanks, governor, for what we did get. True, HI the party did not want it that way, but since n Hi ( would be breaking a long established custom to H" consult the Republicans of Weber as to state ap- Ri pointments, the party will probably not consider HI it has lost something it never had. The question H ' is often asked, "What is the use of working and H striving for and serving the party, if there is not H ' even the compensation of recognition?" A ques- H tion not to be answered. The Republican patriot of H N Weber must pay a penalty for his patriotism. It H much longer Mr. Chairman Agee would doubtless I Hi is his position to fetch and carry, to help elect I H governors, senators, et al., and to stand ready at all times to supply a point of attack for the gubernatorial guber-natorial boot. Success to the new district attorney. attor-ney. Kismet. & & & The daily press is responsible for the statement state-ment that the Republican executive committee woke up and tried to butt into the District Attorney Attor-ney fight during the -week. If the statement is true, more's the pity. That wise aggregation at one time may have deluded itself with the thought that it might cut some ice, but the hallucination soon passed. If the committee had been "it," the matter mat-ter would have been settled long ago. Snrh wlsoi i ones as Agee, Wade, Hansen and Kelly must nae known that if the governor failed to recognize the first choice of the committee that the second choice would receive scant courtesy. No, the politicians poli-ticians of Weber are still wearing swaddling clothes. They have yet to learn that all a cat can do is to look at a king. One senator is a majority of one. What arrangement did the winner make with the senior senator, anyway? If the contest for distiict attorney had lasted have been giving street imitations of the wild man of Borneo. He was getting pretty fussy. Ever since Hayes resigned the loquacious chairman has felt that he had a "call" and he was satisfied that if some one had not sneaked up on him when he was not looking and tied his hands, he would have capped off the appointment long ago. Though this view of the situation was confined to Agee alone, he was such a firm believer that he was the man of destiny, that he flirted a little on the q. t. with Senator Kearns, in the hope of landing the plum. Now, who would have thought that of Agee! & & & It is also charged that Agee was the author of all the queer "dope" which was alleged to size up the situation. One of his mutual acrobats was I that some particular attorney was to be handed the position on a platter. Another was that neither Halverson nor Murphy would have a peek-in peek-in when it came to a showdown, but the place would go to some rank outsider, some 100 to 1 shot, because of the peculiarly vexing compllca- ' tions which had prevented him from getting into the running. Of course, these things are excusable in the anxious chairman. We all know the place was worth striving for, but at the same time pontics pon-tics is no place for day-dreams. The chairman should keep his coat buttoned up so that if he can't keep his shirt on, people won't know it. |