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Show I BUT ONE RULE TOR, ALL. The church organ is as much exercised exer-cised those days up its stupidity and donso ignoranoo of municipal finances will allow, over what it calls 'tho suppression sup-pression of tho report of the City Auditor. Au-ditor. It fails to uotc that thorc has been a report from that official, though not iu as numhloail as is desirable; atul yet 0110 from which such an expert iu figures ns tho Xows protends to be, ought to get 11 pretty good idea of the city's financial condition. A. more detailed de-tailed report would, not change tho figures as given, though more satisfactory satisfac-tory to the public and more exactly in. conformity to' law. Tho church organ criticism is, in full, as follows: THE SUPPRESSED REPORT. Tho Salt Lnko Trlmmo Is. according to tho certificate of character It gives Itself, the grout champion of conformity to law. Thorc Is, in fact, nothing that wounds its feelings so deeply as the shortcomings of other people In this respect. re-spect. Under the circumstances, its sih'nco 011 the city's tlnnuccs Is a remarkable evidence evi-dence of fortitude In suffering. The luw requires the City Auditor to prepare ami publish before the first Monday In February Feb-ruary of each year, a detailed statement of the financial condition of tho city. Tho law requires that this veport show, not only the amount of cash In the city treasury, treas-ury, and Its several funds, which, by the way, must bo kept separate; but also "the total expenditures' of tho city,- as shown by the warrants Issued, giving In total tho amount oxpondod In each department." de-partment." That Is what the law requires. re-quires. Up to date It has not been compiled com-piled with. The excuse was offered some time ago that the failure of tho Auditor to publish his report before tho llrst Monday In Februnry, as the law loquU'CS. was due to tho special auditors who have been fastened upon the city treasury, evidently to bleed it. But that excuse was a falsehood, and ono that did very little credit to the Inventor of It. The report was belatod last year, too, though there were no .-special auditors to blame for It. The truth is. the party bosses are afraid of giving tho public a complete and true statement of the city's tlnances. IJut. what about the law? As if there wore any law tho American bosses need to respect ! But the ciilr.cns will be asked for mi; 10 money In tho form of Increased taves. nn-1 wuter rales They wl'l be asked to vot-j 10: the tncroui-c of the municipal Indebtedness. If t'eo nerve of the grafteis does not fall. Thoy will be asked to provide pro-vide , l'ic offlciuls with more funis to squani.cr. at a tlmo when the tlnaneinl prospects are not bright. No wonile that the jugglers wIMi the city's finances arc anxious to suppress the truth! According to a statement in the ITorald, ,at the close of business "ebruary 29. there was 520S.303.32 Belonging to tho city in tho bank. Of this all but 352.ISS.31 belonged be-longed t the special funds, which consist con-sist of money paid by citizens to compensate com-pensate contractors for public Improvements. Improve-ments. There were about $200,000 worth of warrants outstanding against the 352.000, which means thnt there Is already al-ready an overdraft of SlnO.000. And these figures arc only approximately correct. With its usual fatuity, the Nows misapplies the figures in the last paragraph para-graph above quoted. The warrants arc payable, not allogother out of the $")2,(JSS.H1, but chiefly .out of-'the, special spe-cial funds; the crfor being of ignorance and misconception, as. when that paper began its hist campaign against the American party by the daring statement that the city's total annual incomo is .J(H,'M'JJ Now,- with respect to the '(genoral proposition of conforming to the law, The Tribune- makes no exception in the cac of American city officials. It insists, upon the contrary, that such officials should and must confront .strictly to the requirements of the law in all respects. This paper will not support them" in any other course. If. it. is true that . there, has been .any 'neglect or refusal to comply with tho "provisions of law in ihe making of the City Auditor's report, we insist that this, neglect or refusal lo comply with the law be ,110 longor. indulged in. .but that the lawfjil rejwrt be forthcoming as speedily as possible, if .the report, already made is not a sufficient report in the eyes of, the law. But as ihc c.hurch organ is such a "wretchedly Vour judge "-in this matltM-. it is quite impossiblo to lakkc its dictum as worth anything. We might 'conclude from the'Xows's raving about "more 11101103 in the form .of - increased taxes and water rates'' that it does not want the water service to be self-sustaining; and that the burden of Ihc increased .water supply, in interest, iii enlarged, and improved im-proved 'mains, and in better equipment, and service generally, but that it thinks those expenditures ought to be mel 1)3 general taxation, instead of coming from those who use the water which the bonds ' and -special revenues are supposed - lo provide. IJut that would be lo muddle everything, besides being be-ing a radical injustice. The funds -of JJie city, .should be kept separate, fti different ' aud appropriate) special spe-cial divisions,, as- they arc; and the .water dcparlrnont, having the expenses designated lo meet, should be enabled to assess upon- tho water rates the necessar charges .to meet -j hem. The Xews will "re-ceive "re-ceive little support in any proposition propo-sition to merge the. funds in a .gcucral pool, with the public to pay for all, instead of having the water -.users pay for what thev gel, in an equitable manner. , j Of (.'ourse, what gn'jLs Ihc Xcws is th'at Tho Tribune should be the recognized recog-nized exponent oC observance of Jaw and civilized usage. , And the church orgao. .with a. blind folly and idiotic persistence, seeks to arni3" and hold its following lo a haired of The Tribune Trib-une because o ;il attitude hereon. But that it is against the interest and the good repute of Hie 'lormou people to allow themselves to be 'so- held by the organ of tho church, and made to appear, as foes m of the law and of modern civilization, wo huvo pointed out eontiuually, and wo again point out to them that in lakin'g that , atl.itudo tho Zsews is betraying its peopli- and submitting them' lo undo- ' served contumely- aud coiilumpl. It is only tho Xcws itself, and I ho crafty twenty:six who are iu control and who arc mercilessb bleeding their wholo- communion for their own personal per-sonal advantage and private enrichment, enrich-ment, that aro entitled to tho pillory which those kumscs wish their following follow-ing to shnro-with them. As for Tho Tribune, we stand for law, for education, for civilization, and for all the best things of life: for the decencies, and for. ihe , amenities. And wo domand no more of others than we, are wjlling to submit to for ourselves, our-selves, and hold cvory American official to strict accountabilit3, they iinpar-tialJ3- conforming in all things io the law. and in the Jino of faithfulness and right. . |