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Show THE ' CITIZENS' MOVEMENT." The so-called " Citizens' " move, meat, rather feebly launched at the theater mooting on Wednesday evening, even-ing, does not seem to take like wildfire; wild-fire; even Iho ' Federal bunch" lights shy of it, its organ treating tho meeting meet-ing with studied coutcmpi: its roporl, of the mooting was about what il might givo to a vaudeville show, willi even less appreciation of the importance impor-tance of tho event. Perhaps this is not V bo wondered at, siiico the chief speaker, the most conspicuous mover in the enterprise, President Nophi U Morris, denounced tho graft and robbery rob-bery of the county perpetrated by tho ring and enjoyed by its organ; he also denounced I he county commissioners for their illegal act in this piece of graft. This). .of course, was sullicionl to secure the animosity of tho organ, and givo it a . much-needed reason for its contemptuous treatment of tho meeting. Several of the speakers dovoied their time chiefly to a boost for tho Dcs Moines plan of city 'government ; Chairman George N. Lawrence censuring censur-ing Governor Spry for vetoing tho complicated and unworkable bill which was supposed to provide this form of government for Salt Lake City; he argued that "an opportunity should have been given the people to try tho plan." But there is no evidence at all that tho people wanted to try the plan; whenever there is a spark of reason shown by tho advocates of this plan whereby they will try the proposition propo-sition of allowing tho people to decide whether or not they want to experiment ex-periment in this way, then there will be some reason for their plea that, tho people wero dofrauded. There is no reason why tho peoplo of Salt Lake City should bo governed by the legislature; legis-lature; the peoplo of this city are entitled en-titled to local government, and are entitled en-titled to a voice in tho government which is placed over them; the assumption assump-tion that the peoplo would bo benefited 1)3 the Dcs Moiucs plan is a mere assumption; as-sumption; that plan has been tried in New York, Boston, and other cities 'in this count ry, and has been found wanting; want-ing; but whatever its merits or demerits, de-merits, the3 should be threshed out before tho people, and the people should have the right lo say whether thoy want it or not. In Iowa this liberty lib-erty is given to aii3" city, and none is obliged to accept the plan unless the voters aflirmatively so declare; but the proposition to impose it upon the people peo-ple of Salt Lake whether they want it or not, is a piece., of sheer dqspotism that is wholly unwarranted in a popular popu-lar government. Tho resolutions, adopted by the meeting wero commonplace in the extreme; ex-treme; they give forth a lot of platitudes plati-tudes which havo no bearing on present pres-ent issues; it is true that the debt limit has been reached, but no political movement can reverse that fact; that honesty and good service should combine com-bine in the municipal administration, but there is no political issue in this, because cver3 one is in favor of that, and tho present American city administration ad-ministration is particularly careful in its honesty and good public service, and no party could have a higher standing stand-ing for honor and public accountability than has the American party. There is, therefore, absolute no distinctive ground for the formation of a new party in the declaration of principles adopted at the citizens' movement; one might just as well undertake to get up a political pnrt3 on the basis of the multiplication table, the Golden Utile, or tho Sermon on t he Mount. All these things are assumed as being the opinion 0t everybody; to undortako to apply settled axioms of that kind to any conditions in Salt Lake' is idiotic in the highest degree. Tho meeting, evidently, left nut its real vitality, which nia.y develop later on; the movement is evidently a shadow of the prohibition convention held in this city last winter, but the prohibition prohibi-tion part is left out; so there is no vital issue, no substance, no. tangible idea connected with it. Necessarily, unless it gathers in something worth while, that can be pointed out as a distinguishing dis-tinguishing principle of politics which this parly wishes to la before' the people for their judginont, the movement move-ment will fall of its own weight. There is but one thing evident from the movement which resulted in this meeting, and that is that the hierarchy is casting about for a favoring gale to waft it into power once more in this city; it had high hopes of the catchy nature of a citizens' movement. II! this movement had shown any life, any political germ of vital force and of catching hold" with the people, it woujd have been pushed to the limit. As it is. probably the church politicians politi-cians will, to a great extent, withdraw their- support from it, and bo on hand to lend their boost to some other movement move-ment that will come later on, and bo a better means to use in attempting to reinstate the ccclesiasts in municipal powor. |