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Show THE CITIZEN CONTRACTORS .CONTRADICT . COMMISSIONER BURTON ... Statement Filed With :City ..Recorder A . Alleging Misappropriation. of , General Funds. The General Contractors Association of this city will compel the pres ent city commissioners,. if possible, to return all moneys expended for road work done in one section of the; city, it .being alleged that said expenditure has been made contrary to lqw. It is also said that the commission has dis regarded the law and has made certain improvements the cost of which 'has . i - . . .far' exceeded the limtis provided by law.J The contractors say, that money has beeh taken from the public fund to 'finance' improvements, which1 the public officials say was done' to save money, but the contractors say that they cannot substantiate their (public officials) claims. The contractors have filed with the city recorder an answer to Commissioner T. T, Burton, the reply being addressed to the mayor and city commission, which contains the the fol: lowing: Half prepared plans that do not permit of an intelligent bid ; carelessly prepared estimates that fail to consider all hazards; the desire on the part of some official to gain construction experience at the expense of the taxpayers; the desire to create political prestige through power to hire men and to purchase equipment; because segregated cost records of day labor jobs are carelessly kept or not kept at all. Sometimes they are deliberately camouflaged. A careful reading and analysis of Mr. Burtons answer brings forth one simple story, the contractors continue, that he has and desires to maintain a large force of men and a big supply of equipment, and that unless he keeps them busy they will be idle (it does not occur to him that he might reduce the force;- that in order to keep them busy he must obtain employment by hook or crook, and that if it becomes necessary to break the laws (with" which he admtis he is not .in sympathy) he intends to do so. In this confession on the part of Mr. Burton lies .the root of this entire controversy", and in those few statements Mr. Burton practically confesses the we .have brought. He charge-whicadmits that he is in open hostility to the laws which have been passed by .the legislature, and the specific instances which' we have cited clearly show his absolute and studied intention to violate them. Such policies are always dangerous, regardless of the motives which impel public officials. Wo charge that you paved wtih a penetration macadam, pavement, . Seventh West street from Second North to Ninth South in absolute violation , of law, at an expense of about $20,000 to the taxpayers at large and in discrimi-natio- n against the oher taxpayers of Salt Lake City, and particularly against those who have paid for their pavements at great personal sacrifice. Mr. Burton attempts to answer this charge wi!h the simple statement that Seventh West street is not now and never has been paved, and that he has . - h 19 simply made a light macadamized road. it was to;.meet this evil that the legis- .for the mayorality and four men for ' How can he. in one. breath state that lature passed the 1923 law requiring ' commissioners Less than1000 people 'registered last the street has not been paved, and segregated costs to be kept. .. Why. then in the next breath state that he should you be permitted to spend. near- . Tuesday which is a very poor showing has created a light macadamized road? ly half a million dollars per year of. for a, city the sizepf Salt; Lake and When a street is macadamized it is the taxpayers money without any te ' which also proved a big surprise to the., candidates running for . office. griegated accounting whatsoever?., paved. There are somany.men in .the race The commissioner states that an; ; Speaking of the drainage canapwe'; was' ; would thought emergency existed, which in this case beg again to call attention to.the, that it the hustle utiriegisteVed;peopl& out but made it necessary, 6r .you to act. A. honorable members of the city com felf one some down somewhere. reference' to the. city records on this: mission; to the .fact that Mr. Burton , ; There is onedayi''-l4::.,vfhicto 7, 1920, point shows that bps, wholly failed to answer our i Mr. Burton discovered that this street that he .advertised fbr bids for . register and. that is'mtTuesday, Ocon the west side, of Salt Lake City the doing ofoiie project and; is pro-- , tober 16. Those whbjijo not register on that', day cannot vote at the priwould be maries, and it. is very; important that the winter and yet he knew during the previous pfrjajyJeare not ufimindfuT-Othe all should vote, at the primaires. ' alterations and changes may March, that he had eliminated the fact-th- a INTEREST IN RAILROADS. give the, gravel surface from Strange & Val? be made, hut --this does.-no- t. landinghams- contract. Was this , the city the right to do something entirely One of the.most convincing only street in . Salt Lake City which ments in answer to those radicals who would be muddy and almost impassare trying to 4 force the railroads into able during that winter? Is that such bankruptcy as a short road Ur governan emergency as warrants the paving ment ownership is contained in an ad: of a street out of the general fund? dress recently delivered In recommending this discriminaMarkham, of the .Illinois Central, in tion and the macadamizing of this ' which he said: VW street, Mr. Burton stated that if the Our government-nhas afi of the ' city would appropriate $5,000 to purpower of railroad fegulatlonneeded chase the . binder (bitumen) that he to safeguard of the pubcould furnish the crsuhed rock from lic;- govwnmqnt QwnershlR.OuId add the citys own plant out. of the money and jf:wuld subnothing provided in the budget ' and that in theu incentive which' mow exists tract., his opinion, $5,000 would do the work. under private management to operate Without further inquiry as to the cost the railroads efficiently and economiof doing this work, the commissioners cally. voted the $5,000 and told him to go ahead, just as though it would cost A MEMORIAL TO CODY. nothing whatsoever for the balance of the undertaking. The mere fact that A memorial to Colonel Cody famous the balance of the money was to come as Buffalo Bill, at the town that bears from the budget seemed to satisfy you his name in Wyoming, is riow'.well uncompletely. Who ever heard of men der way, according to Mrs. Mary Jespassing upon the macadamizing of a ter Allen, of Cody, Wyoming, a relawhole, street covering many blocks, and of the great scout: Not only to tive intersections with the simple inquiry ' as to wThat the Tarvia or bituminous preserve the memory of the celebrated frontiersman but to keep aiive the binder would cost just as though it would cost the city nothing whatsospirit of the West of pioneer day's) the ever to obtain and crush the rock, project of building a monument to one of the outstanding figures of that time transport the same to the was undertaken by the national and spread, roll and finish the job. international Buffalo Bill Memorial The auditors report shosw that the committee. material which had to be purchased for this job from outside sources cost -- ; . . . i - . Vi.- , i .the-worker- i s ; . h . . f - . . -- . the-interest- . . e s, , , t 9 w-or- . $7,274.58 instead of $5,000, as estimat- GIVES UP STAMPS. ed by Mr. Burton, and it is safe to say that when the Tarvia or bituminous binder on. the job costs that amount of money, then the taxpayers of Salt Lake'City paid at least $20,000 for this penetration macadam pavement out of its general fund as a donation to the citizens residing in Mr. Burtons immediate neighborhood. He. admits that it would have cost $12,000 to gravel the street, and yet he wants the public to be simple enough to believe that it cost but little to pave it. Our esimteatfo to pave it. Our estimate of $20,000 i3 entirely too low. Why does he not tell us what it did cost? The fact of the matter is that Mr. Burton does not know what it cost, because segregated cost records in his department are not kept. He is not in a position to tell the cost of anything. The practice of carrying costs into general accounts where it is impossible to ascertain the cost of individual undertakings, is an old trick of politicians so that they can make claims to economy on certain jobs without fear of being checked as to costs, and Germany has given up the use of postage stamps, according to an announcement received by the posioffice department. Although no reason is assigned for the suspension of postage requirements, it is probably due to the fact that the cost of printing stamps is far greater than their face value, due to the depreciation in Ger- man currency. The anual output of oysters in the United States exceeds 3,000,000,000. yi MUONS. In the Tli I id Judicial District Court, Salt Lake Comity. State of Utah. O. 1). Romney, plaintiff, vs. Klise .Marie Moth Iverson, liana Moth Iversen. lenhanl Moth Iverson, Violet Moth Iversen, Hernhnrd Moth Iversen, Marjorie Moth Iversen, Beatrix I. Jones. Roderick Moth .Iversen. Hlinor Gill, being the heirs of I Moth Iversen. deceased. Defendants. Summons. The State of Utah to said Defendants: You are hereby summoned to appear within twenty days after the service of this .summons upon you, if served within the County in which this action is Brought; otherwise within thirty days after service, and defend the above to end for Su-8-inn- ie . . |