Show X3SXX 0 IXSeS < XXXX Y W I L II Iii Ir I t I VOiCES I OF THE STREEt i i t iii j I Ii J e e a o X XXXXX XX X 1 X 1 I J i I t THE Salt Lake postofllce made all a-ll e very fine record during the holidays JI 1 I holi-days by die able manner in which a I j 1 most unusual quantity of mail matter II I f t4G of all classes was worked off under II i adverse circumstances The postmaster 1 > was shorthanded at the very time when every availahle assistant was most 1 needed yet notwithstanding the fact I I that the amount of Incoming mall in I i j t I J j I the shape of letters and parcels far exceeded I is u ex-ceeded every previous year and had been delayed In reaching the city owing I I to the snow blockades on the railroads I 11 I all mall matter was quickly distributed I I distrib-uted and delivered No doubt many persons f r per-sons were disappointed bpcause expected IE I t expect-ed packages did not roach their hands 11 I on Christmas day but It is stated positively y n t if pos-itively that in every case of delay tho < e P t r f d trouble was not with the local force I I J nor for that matter with any of the j postofllce officials on mail cars or elsewhere it 6 else-where but was entirely clue to causes Ir over which neither the department nor ii nort t I f I I N the railroads had any control It Is 1 t very pleasant to be able to give credit n I 1 r I I where credit is unmistakably due and I 1 I 411I certainly Postmaster Thomas and his I II ° faithful assistants arc entitled to unlimited i lr i I + limited praise for the ability shown j I r under trying circumstances I I f I t 1 THAT there Is a praiseworthy disposition 11 dis-position on the part of some employers 1 J I I Ii em-ployers at least to allow their employees ii I em-ployees to share In the prosperity of ti i ° the big Institutions for which they I i v I work Is shown by the action of Wall I r i I street bankers and brokers railroad t + companies and many commercial and Ili t Industrial concerns in New York who 4 J either increased 1 the salaries of their 1 t clerks or gave them liberal bonuses atc at-c the opening of the new year Then the i 1 Pittsburg street railway company gave t liberal premiums to motormen and conductors Ic r con-ductors who had avoided accidents or If earned reward for careful attention to I their duties This companys system i Includes the keeping of a debit and I r credit account with employees good II f marks being earned for faithfulness i diligence and carefulness and 1 demerits c f demer-its being charged for inattention especially espe-cially the kind that leads to accidents I The Lake Street Elevated Railroad q tl I company of Chicago has also shown 4I Its appreciation of faithful I employees 1 by voluntarily Increasing the wages of molormen and It is supposed the conductors r con-ductors wages will also be raised Such c 1 41111 acts of voluntary recognition on the I i part of corporations and many others tl I could be mentioned are very encouraging encourag-ing as evidence of a right disposition 4 i and desire to deal equitably by faithful l II and painstaking employees I C I M 1 i THE question of the legal obligation i It i JL of a street railway company ton to-n I I provide seats for all paying passengers t II I j f I is no new one and like many other I I J I I x J JY Q such questions it has Its theoretical and Its practical side In theory no one questions that when a person J pays for a scat In a public conveyance whether the distance to be traversed Is long or short or the amount paid is five cents or five dollaio the parson so paying is clearly entitled to a seat In that conveyance The payment of the fare Is the passengers performance of his part of the contract the providing of a seat is the fulfillment of the carriers car-riers part It does not rest with the passenger to say If he will ride whether he pays or not and it should not rest with tho carrier company to any It will provide a seat If convenient or withhold it if inconvenient to urnl hIt h-It It Is however constantly urged by surface and elevated railroads all over the country that such a rigid construction I construc-tion of the law of contracts would he impossible that when a passenger boards a car he takes bin chance of finding a disengaged scat and that if he chooses to remain on the I car seat or no scat he must pay his fare for smelt accommodation ns he can find Now such a doctrine on the part of a company which operates under franchiser fran-chiser granted for the express purpose of insuring proper and reasonable fa dlitles for street tivivel Is nothing more or less than onesided selfish special pleading It is Illogical and subversive I subver-sive of bound public policy > < Co WillEN 1 a railway company receives V Its franchise it with the clearly expressed understanding that a certain service is I to be rendered in return for certain remuneration and if the remuneration I muneration is demanded on the one hand then the service should be forthcoming forth-coming on the other If the company is unable or unwilling 1o carry out its part of the agreement under which It secured valuable privileges then the traveling public should be exempt from the payment of tolls for which Its services ser-vices ire no adequate returns Suppose a passenger I boards a car but finds he has not the nickel coin necessary to pay his tare Is he thereby released from obligation to pay and is hp allowed al-lowed to occupy space on the car Why then should the company which finds Itself unable to discharge Its obligations obliga-tions be excused As a simple bold matter of fact people must use the streetcars seats or no seats They cannot always walk or hire cabs and carriages They must get from point to point of a largo city with as little loss of time as possible They expect to pay and are prepared to do so but whether They get seats or not they must ride and moreover It is their unquestionable unques-tionable right as members of the public pub-lic to do < so They are therefore clearly within their rights when they demand the accommodation they pay for and a liberal and equitable construction of the law would define that If a passen = ger boards a cm hi good faith expectIng I expect-Ing to find a Beat as he is entitled to do and to pay for It if found he shall not be ejected if he refuses to pay in the event of a seat not being forthcoming I forthcom-ing All the t talk to the contrary notwithstanding not-withstanding good management can I day provide scats for nil at all hours of the I A CASE Is reported from Williams I port Pa of a banker who went to Jail rather than pay 1 a fine of S30 and costs There is apparently some question ques-tion of principle involved as the charge on which the banker was convicted is a peculiar one It appears that the defendant de-fendant banker recommended certain I parties as being worthy of credit who afterwards failed 1o f meet their obligations I obliga-tions A banker who would wilfully mislead an inquirer In such a matter either for his own gain or to aid dishoneSt dis-honest dealers would certainly be deserving de-serving of punishment and if l the law were powerless to reach him the weight of public opinion should make ItaelC felt It Is not often however that such I acts of treachery are done Intentionally and bankers as a rulu are mast honest and reliable in the information they give out affecting the credit of persona who refer to them or concerning whom Inqulrleii may be made The information informa-tion so given is ot course confidential and it being assumed that all due diligence dili-gence Is used < 1 to Insure Its being correct po further responsibility clings to the official tendering it It Is probably on these grounds that the Williamsport banker resists the sentence of the court on IL charge of alleged conspiracy The fact that conspiracy is the complaint would Indicate an apparent Intention to mislead with a view to sharing in profIts prof-Its gained by dishonest trading In tills case the dishonesty would consist in aiding and abetting disreputable persons per-sons to get possession of goods without paying for them and then participating In the gain accruing from their sale It does not look like a probable story that a banker in good standing would stoop so low and the fact that the fine was so small rather Indicates a technical finding rather than conviction of criminal crim-inal Intention R EASONADLE rightminded people > do not take pleasure in continual faultfinding Even when the blame is well deserved it is not agreeable to be always drawing attention to delinquencies delinquen-cies and negligencles and acts of incompetence in-competence or worse And so It often happens that peaceably disposed citl Bpns will endure much inconvenience and even rank Injustice before entering a formal complaint The ordinary man whom one meets on the street Is usually us-ually of a pacific turn of mind Inclined to take things as they come without much resentment although indulging in an occasional spell of grumbling People Peo-ple who have traveled and read and mixed with the great world are usually the most disposed to accept what comes In a philosophical mood and they do not generally complain without due cause It needs no argument to prove that the person who Is always loudly finding fault with public Institutions but who is never willing to give credit where it Is due Boon ceases to be a person of Influence In the community It Is n safe rule for all to follow never to kick without good reason and then to kick hard and effectively Looking at the report submitted by three members mem-bers of the City Council the other evening even-ing In this light and from the conservative con-servative point of view It Is really pleading to be assured that Salt Lake is Jn a healthy condition so far as public pub-lic morality and freedom from crime arc concerned It would also be most delightful de-lightful to be convinced that all the stories of holdups and burglaries and disorderly resorts are mere concoctions of unscrupulous writers The reports which have found their way Into the dally papers and It is said that all have nut been made known are very ciicum stantUil and precise in details names places dates and hours being carefully given If the stories were untrue or ever exaggerated why were they not contradicted at the time of publication and why were they not denied specifically specif-ically instead of In a general way A CURIOUS Illustration of both J1 sides of the question was furnished fur-nished by the report of a genuine holdup hold-up that is genuine in all the details of name and business of the victims the enact spot where time outrage occurred the day hour and description of booty taken which was given one day last week The genuine case > as it seems to be In the absence of proof to the contrary con-trary was followed by an account of a foolish practical Joke which took the form of a bogus attempt at highway robbery and which might easily have had a tragic ending Now no logical person will say that Just because one or more cases arc reported on a certain day which bear all the marks of genuineness genu-ineness therefore the other makebe lieve case must be accepted as an evidence evi-dence of criminal Intention neither can It be held that the I discovery of a prac tjcal joke is proof that all the other narratives of highway robbery are only fairy tales Either position would be grossly absurd each case must stand on its own merits and be investigated singly and proved or disproved by actual act-ual evidence To say that Salt Lake is much more criminal or immoral than other cities of Its size Is probably an exaggeration let us all hope It Is At the same time Ills no derogation to the character of the great body of people who make up the population to say that there has been a good deal of laxity and want of energy in grappling with these matters affecting morals and safety of life and property There Is a good disposition we may well trust on the part of the city authorities to putdown put-down vice and crime and there certainly certain-ly Is a very clearcut and highpinned public opinion ou these subjects That there Is a lot of crime and immorality In every great city is no argument against doing all that can be done to control and discountenance even when radical remedies cannot be at once applied ap-plied The better element in this city is now aroused and united action should soon lend to a great visible improvement im-provement if coupled with due official cooperation r |