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Show THE CITY GOVERNMENT. While the legislature is considering hoped-for improvements in the plan of governing this city, why would it not be a good idea to adopt Judge King's plan, which contemplates, substantially, placing the entire government of the city in the hands of a mayor and four councilmen, the mayor to preside and have the casting vote in case of a tie, each councilman and likewise the Mayor to have his several departments to attend to, to name appointments, to be confirmed by a majority of the board ; to submit all contemplated contracts or improvements to the board to pass upon; to be paid salaries of ?3,500 for each of the councilmen and ?1,000 to the Mayor, the present Mayor to hold office during his elected term, the councilmen to be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature, the Councilmen to serve dur. ing the term for which the present council was elected, the present council to be paid for their full term and retired upon the law taking effect and subsequent Mayors and Councilmen to be elected as now or appointed as the Legislature may determine. Possibly, it is an injustice to Judge King to say that the foregoing is substantially his plan, but his idea runs through it and it points in the right di. rection. The difficulties now are manifold. There is incompetency, there are petty ana unseemly clashings; there are all the evidences of personal and party spites and jealousies, and the work is but a side issue with councilmen at best, as they all have to make their livings and cannot devote the needed time to the city's affairs. How many bankers or merchants or manufacturers manufac-turers would like to entrust their affairs to the management of the entire board of present coun. cilmen of Salt Lake City? But suppose they were reduced to four, paid salaries which would enable them to give all their servie to the city, suppose the different de. partments were allotted among them and each should be forced once a week to make a full show, ing of his week's work to the board, is it not clear that the change in the handling of the city's business would be most welcome to all classes in the community? This is supposing, of course, that men would be appointed who would be com. petent to earn their salaries, and would earn them. The best governed city in the Union is Wash, ington, and that government is very much on the B pbn outlined above. Of course Washington is ff b law under the supervision of Congress, but tb it has become almost "a Action of the law," foi we do not think Congress has interfered with th work of the city affairs in a quarter of a cen-tu cen-tu v. Every member of the board snows exactly tb needs of the city in his particular depart-nnts; depart-nnts; he reports at short intervals ana when he ha doubts or when new outlays are to be made tho matter is considered by the full board and a decision is reached in other words only business methods are discussed and only business rules fol owed. Some very heavy work will have to be performed per-formed in this city in the immediate future, and shrewd and honest and sterling men are needed to direct it. In this city in the past two years we have seen valuable franchises lapse solely through the obstinacy and partisan meanness of certain coun-eilmen. coun-eilmen. We have seen the Mayor's efforts to cure abuses thwarted by councilmen solely through personal dislike. Unseemly wrangling has been the rule and personal criminations and recriminations recrimi-nations have occupied a large percentage of the time the council has been in session. How long would any business man submit his business to such management? Why not try a plan that works like a charm in a very much larger city than Salt Lake will be for a generation to come? Why keep the property owners in disgust at what has been done and In constant fear of what may be done in the future. |