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Show Page 2 The UTAH INDEPENDENT October 6, 1972 ODTrna Dedicated To The Constitution, Liberty, Morality, and Truth S "Free men can vote themselves into slavery, but slaves cannot vote themselves free." J. Recta Hunter Editors Outlook Why We Oppose Proposition 4 The debate between J. McKinnon Smith and Dr. William Timmins concerning Proposition 4 was quite revealing. Dr. Timmins seemed emphatic in his belief that Proposition 4 is not the beginning push to slip Metropolitan Government over on the people. In spite of his personal feelings, the evidence is overwhelming to the point of positive conviction that Metro Government is, indeed, what is behind it all. To build a case for that statement we must go back a few years and review the history of Metro Government in Utah. In 1966, eight constitutional amendments were placed on the ballot for the people of Utah to vote on. Among them was the proposition which would have changed the constitution to allow consolidations into a Metro Government. In spite of the proponents efforts, the people of Utah were not fooled and the Metro amendment was overwhelmingly turned down. The Deseret News editorialized that the people really did not know what they were doing and called for another push for Metropolitan Government. The exact quote from the editorial of May 27, 1967 is as follows: city-coun- ty Wbatever else is done about finding more revenue to meet its financial needs, it is painfully clear we must get moving, toward metropolitan government in this valley. . . . The voters, to be sure, turned down a metropolitan government constitutional amendment last fall. We doubt that vote reflected a considered and informed judgment. and soon. . . . The Deseret News feels we should try again We call on business and others with a heavy stake in good government to support and finance, as necessary, a thorough study of how metropolitan government can best be achieved and a campaign to get it done. The appeal that proponents of Metro Government hold out to the voters is that this larger-are- a government will be less expensive and more efficiently operated. The plea is that we will have better government if it is consolidated into a larger unit. To that plea, the Utah Independent answers that big government never has protected the rights of the people cither politically or economically. A consolidation of government is THE CREATION OF BIGGER GOVERNMENT! Big government always tends to infringe the rights of its individual citizens and always costs more to run. The added cost of administering it must be borne by the taxpayer in the form of increased taxes. The added power of that government must be paid for by the citizens in a corresponding loss of personal power over their own individual lives. Already the citizens of Salt Lake County have experimented Independent The Utah Independent published by the Utah each Independent Friday at 1399 South 7th East, Suite 9, Lake Salt City, Utah 84105. Yearly subscription rate is $5.00 per year by surface maildn the United States. is Send change of address forms and correspondence to 2459 Major Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 George, The Weight Lifter? scale. This with consolidation on a department-size- d occurred a couple of years ago when the citizens were gulled into enlarging the individual city and county health departments into one health department. The same lies were told to them then that are being told to them today, namely, that consolidation would result in better service, more efficient free press always operation, and at a lower cost. Our goes along with these proposals and rarely allows the opposition to use its pages to refute the extravagant claims made by proponents. Therefore, the voter, as he tries to find a kernel of truth in all this mumbo-jumbin order to form an intelligent opinion, turns to his daily newspaper and local news media. One side, only, comes through. The other side is completely blacked out thus leaving the voter with information which can only lead him to one conclusion the one that is desired by the proponents. city-coun- ty city-coun- ty Fastest-Growin- g Subscription Weekly mifrlook so-call- ed o health What was the final upshot of the department consolidation? The first thing they did was to raise taxes by 2 mills which was admittedly to pay for the bigger health department. Now, today we are seeing this same health department arrogating to itself powers which the previously smaller health departments would not have dared assume. Though this department is going to allow a vote on the issue of fluoridation of the public water supplies it claims it already has the power to do so regardless of the outcome of the vote. Furthermore, it says that the vote of the people really wont count, except as a poll. It also says it can, however, reject the poll and implement fluoridation by its own whim. And, when you look at the make-u- p of that board, you can see that the whims are stacked against your fundamental individual rights. In referring to the health department consolidation, the Salt Lake Tribune of May 14, 1967 reported as follows: They were quoting from a Utah Foundation report city-coun- ty Wants Reprint Dear Sirs: was elated to read in your September 29th issue the script of John Schmitz Face The Nation program. I wish there were some way of forcing the network to replay the show in the areas that they kept them from. Could you reprint the article on 8V4 x 11 paper and make it available? I think the demand for I them would be tremendous. Or, could I have permission to reprint the article? Or possibly, could you print it on the tabloid size your paper is on? This would probably be the easiest. Keep up the good journalism, though our rewards be small here, later comes the valuable ones. Sincerely, for God and Country, This new law undoubtedly will be closely studied as a significant test of the principle of functional consolidation and, possibly a step toward some form of metropolitan area government. Indeed, the people of this state should study closely the health department consolidation. They will then be able to project the outcome of further functional or actual governmental consolidation. The Utah Independent feels that if the people will study this issue in the light of past experience they will vote it down. The proponents of this move either want us to change our form of government for the sake of change, or, they already know what they have in mind for us but will not let us in on the grand design until we have already given them the power. Neither alternative bodes well for Utahns. We feel that the proponents of Proposition 4 know where they are going and their destination is Metropolitan government which consolidation. We have already pointed out starts with that the Deseret News has, for some time, been urging Metropolitan Government. However, the other major daily also has been uiging the same thing. Here are some more quotes from a Deseret News editorial of more recent vintage: city-coun- ty The movement to make local September 12, 1972 government more streamlined and effective through consolidation is gaining strength across the country. . . . With other Americans looking more favorably on consolidation, thats one more reason for Utahns to go along with Proposition No. 4 so similar streamlining can take place city-count- city-count- Utah's Largest and Readers y here. y Jim Payton Jerome, Idaho Editors Note: Permission granted to print all of the interview. Perhaps the American Party will make the interview available. Reply on JBS Editor, Some time back the Copley News Service ran an article on the John Birch Society activities in Canada. I would like to reply . to that article, which I think was biased. Most people have heard of the John Birch Society, but few have ever read any of its books, such as The Politician or the Societys magazine American Opinion. Did you know that as far back Societys as 1957 the John Birch Continued on Page 11 Continued on Page 3 |