OCR Text |
Show t , . i I I ' 4 ....- w - . . w a . . . ...... A A .. . . . ; i ,. o I t" ' 1 r---- : :':: :..".'. j-r - 1. ; r -.V.e body's' ':---.t::'.i t: t:-.e rocr 0 I-. it f. : ' J ty the V. h L'..t &r..l I'.ailway ccr.-.; -my to lis iatrcrs. 0 G Com: ". . : ..t r c"ji. t has Un rr. i2e to r.e with 'the view that the ') city i t t--' e the r:ttt--r in Lan-1 ar.l corr.rcl the sail company to five O the i .j the i:ht they j.y for. It would ftem to me that the franchise O g-rantei t-y the city to the raid oompa.-.y for this concession is arr,!e to protect t.ie reople against the outre seous l'a'.tin? eft-vice we are com- roiled to put up with. It is we'd known that the lighting: company is,, or' seems to be, not only pivingr a much poorer light, but, it ia alleged, is raising the reading of the meters, ahd thereby subjecting the peorle to not only an inferior light, but Is compelling them to pay a much higher rrlce for a much poorer light. And the foregoing will apply equally to the arc service furnished to the city in the residence districts. Your honorable body's attention Is respectfully Invited to the facts' stated. that an investigation may be at once ordered and. the lighting company be compelled, under forfeiture of its franchise, to give Its patrons the light that is abundantly paid for. MAYOR MORRIS. . j snd two oleht detectives for the more thorouch proiectlon of the reiildence. portion por-tion of the city. Engineering Department. The report of the Engineering department depart-ment shows the receipts for the yenr to be iDTJT.OO and the disbursements gCfi.27S U3, the net crt of the department being J--.-Kvf4. Thin amount covers the expenditures expendi-tures for all purposes by the department and includes the maintenance and work upon all public Improvements made during dur-ing the year. .... The public Improvements mode during the year 1m3 amounted to $125,58.38. divided divid-ed as follows: Water main extensions J2."!.?"1.M Sfwer extensions 7.S).2-i Sidewalk extensions 25.4. 3S Btreet pavements 42,S'.c Main sewer 2.31H.07 Greenhouse ,t49.0J Conduit. Jordan and Salt Lake City canal f.5)W.4J Pipe line to Isolation hospital .... 23 "Wooden highway bridge, Jordan river at Fourth North street.... 1.29.54 Miscellaneous i. 431.26 Your attention Is respectfully directed to the recommendations of the Engineer, among which the following, in my Judgment, Judg-ment, should be given early consideration: "That an intercepting sewer be constructed con-structed In the western pert of the city and a pumping plant be put in at Ninth North street for pumping the sewsge Into the gravity sewer. This would provide. In connection with the grsvlty outlet sewer, sewer facilities for tho entire city." "That the dead-ends in the present water wa-ter works system be connected as fast as possible and that a certain amount be appropriated ap-propriated toward this work each year." "That an ordinance be passed regulating regulat-ing the width of tires to be used on drays and heavy vehicles." The repsrt of the' Engineering depart-ment depart-ment Is very, thoroughly and artistically complied and contains a great deal of valuable val-uable information respecting the growth and advancement of the city In the matter mat-ter of public improvements. City- Attorney. The report of the City Attorney shows eleven cases were disposed of during the J ear In the District court of the Third udlclal district iwhereln the city appeared either ss plaintiff or defendant. The Judgments Judg-ments In these cases amounted to t8.345.fil, which amount has. been paid by the city. Five hundred dollars was expended for the purchase of books for use in the office of the Attorney. ... The Attorney ' recommends that a like amount be appropriated this year for the same purpose which recommendation I heartily indorse as I "believe Such an additional ad-ditional amount will place the Attorney's library upon such a footing that but a small-annual amounb will be needed In future to keep this library In an up-to-date condition.' On August 21. 1903, the city instituted proceedings against the Youngberg estate for a condemnation" of the tatter's water rights In. Parley's canyon-resulting In an order from the court transferring said property to tae city at a cost of 5077.60. This Is the first Instance of the acquiring of water rights by the city by condemnation-proceedings; the right to institute such proceedings being -disputed prior to the passage of th? law of 1903, amending the powers of eminent domain so as to permit cities to condemn private water rights for public purposes. This law will act as a. safeguard In the future-in preventing pre-venting private owners of water rights from -exacting-extortionate prices from the city. .,.'-..: . .. City Cemetery. , ' The report of the City Sexton shows the receipts of the cemetery for the year to be. 111,641 and the expenses of same to be $10,131.63, the excess of receipts over expenditures ex-penditures being 1509.37. The report of the City Recorder for the year shows 229 liquor licenses, 93 druggists' liquor 'licenses, 18 restaurant liquor licenses, li-censes, 1943 merchants' licenses, 2326 miscellaneous mis-cellaneous licenses end 14&8 dog licenses were issued In 1903. This department during the year disposed dis-posed of 770 petitions and communications, M reports of city officers. 1308 reports of committees, 140 bills for ordinances and 206 resolutions, . and transmitted 6284 let tars. On December 2Sth last the ordinances of the olty, as revised by the Council, were adopted and the work is now In the hands of the printer. The cost of the revision will amount to probably KSG0 or $3000, and I am constrained to say that the work, as a whole, falls far below what was intended intend-ed and what was expected by all who have to deal with the city ordinances. However, the work has been done and we (Continued on page 7.) . k V A . J - - , L A . . - ' - -v s A ..A i - - .. i . t J Mayor Morris' f.rr-t annual message was r resented to""the Cty Council list , n'.zt as fi'.tows: . Kayor's C;-oe, 6a!t Lake - City... .TUh, Fetrtary 1 1"- To the i: rorable the President and Mergers of tie City CouncilsGentlemen: I tcreW.Li n-ectr-IIy submit this, my first com-H-iUcation to yon, together with the aissuU reports of the several depart- - mer.ts of C city, for the year, offering i therewith such surestlons and reoom-rnerutions reoom-rnerutions aa the occasion eeems to w ar-raau ar-raau . - rinance Eeartaient. ' Eonded IndeMadness. Tlie bonded in- ! dhtfdnees of the citr is Ji70M, being 1' 6 per cent Interest bearing bonds of ; t.uU each, and ! 4 per cent Interest bearing bonds of I.l'0 each, as follows: liisue of July 1. l-'2. l-20 years, & per , cent (series No. 4), th,0. Issue of Msr 1, li-. l-20 years, per ment (series No. E), t)"X. Issue of Beptember 1, ls-H, 29 years.-4'per i cent (series No. 6), S .'0,O.i0. Issue of October L Hj0. 10- years, 4 per cent (series No. A. water), JX0.OA , iBsue of January 1. lnoi, 20 years, 4 per cent (series No. 7), JjOO.OuO. - - Issue of July 1. 1!U. 20 years, 4 per cent (scries No. f, 32(0.000. The annual interest on above amounts to 1125, 4u0. ' . . The 3020 year issue of July 1, 1S92, and the 10-20 years issue of May 1. 1894. should be funded at as early a date as possible by the ifisue of like amounts at a lesa interest. in-terest. I have no .doubt that new Issues, cancelling the matured issues, could be placed upon the market at par with a 44 or possible a 4 per cent interest. Could this be done the city would save at least 16740 per year, an item certainly worth con-. con-. sldering. In addition to this the city should by all means receive a premium on these bonds. . , Sinking Fund. Subdivision . section 206, Revised Statutes of Utah, 18a8, provides: "The City Council shall have power to borrow . money on the credit of the corporation cor-poration . for corporate purposes, tn the manner and to the extent allowed by the Constitution. and the laws. and. to Issue warrants and bonds therefor In 'such amounts and forms and on such conditions as the Council shall-determlne. The Council Coun-cil shaJl provide for the payment, of the ' interest on- such bonds as the same shall become due. and for-a, sinking .fund for l he payment of the principal thereof within with-in twenty years after issuing the same." As the above section has never been put into effect, by former City Councils, I re- - spectf ally invite your attention to the law, that you may take such steps as your honorable body may elect In the premises. Treasurer. ' , The annual report of the City Treasurer Treasur-er shows: . Cssh on hand January 1, 1903 $201,109.34 - Receipts from all sources during the year ... 740,554.41 Total resources for the year ...$941,663.75 Total disbursements during the - year ...... 7S8.687.19 Cash in bank January 1. 1904 .....tH2.978.54 Less unredeemed warrants, as .- shown by ' Auditor's statement. "78.104. M ' Actual available cash January 1. 1904 t7i870.20 ' Actual available cash January L 1503 .' ...) 166,818.61 Decrease during year 190J 91.946.31 " The' City's Indebtedness. It is probably unnecessary for me to ., draw the attention of the Council to the necessity of economizing in public expenses. ex-penses. .Without any reflection on past Councils for lavish and often useless ex-" ex-" ' penditures of the money of the people, it . is apparent that our expenses must be w kept within our Income. We have long since arrived at our debt limit for general gen-eral purposes, beyond which we cannot go. As will be seen, our total bonded in- debtedness alone is 12,798,000, upon which we are compelled to pay an annual interest in-terest of 125,400. This entire Indebtedness, with the exception of 32&0,0UO In water bonds, is -for general purposes alone, the - Hrnuat Interest on which amounts to 3115,400, and is payable out of the general fund, which derives its revenues from licenses, fees and general taxation. The total amount collected for licenses during the year was 3168,842.20 and the total amount of fees collected by the several sev-eral departments amounts to $42,946.15. The city taxes, for general purposes, col- lected by the County Treasurer and covered cov-ered into the city treasury during the ! ' vear amounted to $281,944.62, leaving a balance yet due to the city of some $36,000. The Available Cash. The statement of the Auditor shows the actual available cash at the beginning of the year to be $74,872.20, but this amount Is not available for general expenses; in fact, all but' some $18,000 represents balances bal-ances In special funds, raised from special assessments, which, under the statutes, can only be .used for special speclfio purposes pur-poses and cannot be drawn upon for general gen-eral expenses of the city. The fact is that for the past few years - the general expenses of the city have exceeded ex-ceeded the annual revenue. In- 1903 the revenue' for general purposes amounted to $o79,148.69, while the expenditures amounted amount-ed to $614,728.47, leaving a deficit for the - year of $35,679.71 Considering the fact ' ' that included in the revenue stated was the Item of $60,360 derived from the sale - V of the city's real, estate, the conclusion is . , obvious. It has been the policy of past admin I s- ' 1 rations to cover these deficits by the sale ' . of the city's real estate, but as practically all of the city's available real estate has now been disposed of, we are confronted with the fact that the city has very little more real property to sell, so that henceforth hence-forth the only recourse left-s for us to limit our expenditures to the actual available avail-able revenue. ; . Waterworks Department. The report of the Superintendent of Wa. , terworks shows the amount of revenue derived de-rived from the department for the current vear to be $113,234, and the expenditures to be $52,764, an excess of revenue over expenses ex-penses of $uO.4"70. It Is believed by many that this sum of tCj.47i represents a net profit to the city leBulting from the operating of the waterworks water-works system and the Impression hss pre- vailed to some great extent that the ex-cess-of receipts over expenditures of this department is used by the city for the maintenance of other departments. This InnpresHlon has doubtless arisen from a confusion In the minds of the public of the terms "waterworks department" and 'waterworks system." The expenditures of the waterworks department proper, .which is simply the distributing branch of the system, are scarcely more than one-half one-half tne amount of the actual cost of the syHtera to the city, the remainder being lilt-buried by the Board of Rubllo Works and other departments in the form of wa-termain wa-termain extensions and general improvements improve-ments of tne system and also for the protection pro-tection cf th water rlsrht and the increase in-crease cf the water supply and charged to the waterworks fond snd therefore sot f.'iown ia the report cf the Superintendent of Waterworks. Interest ca ZizZs. Oa September II. i-A-an orlinaoee was 1 ' ' '' " V enacted which provided for the setting aside in a special fund the revenue of the waterworks system to be used, first, for the payment of interest on water bonds; second, for the maintenance and operation of the waterworks department, and. third, for such improvements and extensions as the Council might from time to time order; or-der; the balance, if any, remaining in the fund at the close of the year was to be placed In a sinking fund for the redemption redemp-tion of water bonds at their maturity. Owing to the prevailing impression that the waterworks system had a lonre surplus sur-plus each year. It was thought that at least $25,nno per annum would be placed In the said sinking fund, thus providing ample means for the redemption of the bonds of the department. Experience, however, has shown that the actual expenditures ex-penditures of the waterworks system, since the creation of the waterworks fund In 1900. has annually exceeded the total revenue derived. The report of the Auditor for the year 1903. shows the total cash revenue from the system to be $a6l'1.92 and the total expenditures from the fund to be $91,680.75. This does not include, it should be borne in mind, the amount of $48,4o2.24 expended' for water purpoees from the Irrigation and water supply fund, created under the statutes by general taxation. In addition to this, the general expense fund has upon several occasions borne a portion of the expense of litigation for the protection of the water supply, aa well as other dis bursements for the system outside the city limits. While the revenue may provide pro-vide for the pressing needs of the distributing distrib-uting system, no great movement of a. permanent per-manent character looking te an Increase cf the water supply can be paid for out of this fund; hence some other source of revenue rev-enue will necessarily have to be looked for. . It will thus be seen that, to date, our waterworks system has not been self-sustaining, self-sustaining, aa has been supposed, and the revenue is not so large as to permit of Improvements Im-provements of any great magnitude in the near future. The report of the superintendent contains con-tains several recommendations to which your attention is respectfully invited, among which those relating to the establishment estab-lishment of a stand-pipe system to be supplied from the waters of the Jordan and Salt Lake City canal for street sprinkling and the utilisation of the flowing welts near Liberty park by means of a tower and pumping system, I recommend be given your careful consideration, with a view of determining the feasibility of the suggestions. Sliding Scale for Water Heters. . I desire to draw the attention of the Council to the urgent and absolute necessity neces-sity for a change in the present sliding scale of our present 'water meter system. The present ordinance, approved April W, 1902, is so unjust. I take it, to the large majority of the people using meters that I would favor its repeal; and I trust the Council will "take early action In the matter mat-ter and enact an ordinance whereby all who use meters will be charged alike for the water used. Bv the present rates it will be Been the small user (one who uses less than 7000 gallons), must pay 10 cents per every 1000 gallons-(which is the minimum), mini-mum), while the user of 50,000 gallons procures the -supply for 3V4 cents per 1000 gallons, or almost two-thirds less, than the small user. It is well known that during the dry season garden and shade trees suffer for lack of water while the larger users have an abundance and at a much lower rate. If this sliding scale was continued a little farther, one large user could take all the water and It would cost him nothing. There Is daily flowing Into the city from 14,000,000 to 20,000,000 gallons gal-lons of water which would give over 200 gallons per capita or over 1000 gallons for each family in the city and, if they demand de-mand their just due they should receive that amount of water. Under the present syste-n the small users (who are the majority) ma-jority) must suffer until the larger users have their abundance. What Justice Demands. . It would seem to me that justice demands de-mands that all should stand equal . before the law: the large water user should pay as much per 1000 gallons as the . lesser user. I do not believe the city has the right to barter our water supply to the highest bidder to the injury of the ma- jority of the people. I sincerely trust that the Council will abate this unjust sliding scale of water meter rates. In connection with this meter system I also desire to call the attention of - the Council to the manner of assessing some of the larger users. The assessment rolls -of the Waterworks department shows some of the assessments to be almost I identical In amount for every month in the year and. going a little farther, It will be noticed that . one of the very largest users pays the very same amount, month after month, 'WhHe -the -assessment roll in i this particular case fails to show a single reading, number of cubic feet or number of gallons consumed. The reason for such an existing condition does not appear nor can I imagine - why such methods have been allowed to go unheeded in the past ' I shall - have to insist that these meters be correctly read In the future, the correct assessment 1 made and money collected from all consumers regardless of the aaiount of water consumed. Irrigation and Water Supply. The report of the Land and Water Commissioner Com-missioner shows the expense of maintaining maintain-ing the department for the year 1903 was $12,360.58, with receipts from the sale of hay from city lands $1208.62. snd receipts from rent of irrigation water $284.25, mak- i ing the total receipts of his department 0490.87. A barn,-shop and storage yard for the convenience of the department were erected at Tenth South street. A real estate record "showing the detailed de-tailed information regarding all the real estate owned by the city was prepared and compiled. A value was placed upon all the city's real property by the commissioner commis-sioner and shown to be: Real estate, exclusive ex-clusive of Improvements," reserved for pub. lie purposes, $632,858.03; real estate held as private property and available for sale. $76,537. However, It would . appear" from an examination of the various lands, under un-der the above heading, that - the actual amount of available real estate for sale is but $51,987.52. The balance, if not now In actual use, being held for publlo purposes. City's Water Supply. The ' commissioner deals exhaustively with the question of the city's water sup. ply and the various propositions which have been made from time to time, look. Ing to an increase thereof.- He considers the best source of relief to be the purchase pur-chase of water rights in Big Cottonwood canyon creek, one-half of which stream, the commissioner says, la equal to double the quantity now obtained by the city from all sources.' He does not look with favor upon the Idea of exchanging Jordan river water, fiowlnf through the J. A 8. I C. canal, for Eig Cottonwood watei, ss the city's experience j with the exchange, ex-change, under, the contract for the ci. change of the water of Partar's eanvon has, ke claims,- .proven -Tsry. meu:ae - torv owing to the unreasonable demands of the farmers and the dirterence in the nature of the water of the canyon stream and that of Jordan river, lie argues in favor of the direct purchase of the water rights fro-n the farmers. This appears to me to be too expensivs a solution of the problem of . Increasing our water supply to admit of adoption by the city. I am of the opinion that when the question of furnishing water from Utah lake, now under consideration by the National Government, has once been determined de-termined upon a permanent basis, there will be no doubt as to the ability of the city to obtain sufficient water through the J. A S. L. C. cannl to admit of the exchange ex-change with the Big Cottonwood farmers for their water to be used In the city mains. The difficulties which have arisen with the primary owners of Parley's creek water are due. possibly, to the loose terms of the contract under which the exchange of water was operated. I believe that a contract could be drawn, the terns, of which would be equitable and prove entirely en-tirely satisfactory both to the city and to the Big Cottonwood farmers as soon as the supply from Utah lake becomes permanently per-manently established. litigation In Sight . ' The commissioner foresees only continual litigation from the construction of the contract now In force under which Jordan Jor-dan river water is exchanged by the city for the water of Parley's creek. He recommends that the city secure from the farmers a clear title to the water of the said creek and giving therefor such portion por-tion of the city's rights to the water of the Jordan river as may be agreed, upon, or an equivalent to the primary rights exchanged, and that the dllterence as to quality and quantity be settled upon a cash basis. The commissioner states' that Utah lake water is -only suitable for Irrigation Irri-gation purposes, and ss the city need not be In the Irrigation business he recommends recom-mends that the J.- ft S. L. C. canal be turned over to the farmers on Parley's creek to be maintained by them In part settlement of the proposition to purchase the clear title to Parley's creek water. I am unable to approve of this plan for the reason that the city cannot afford to dispose of the J. A S. L. C. canal under any circumstances as, In addition to furnishing fur-nishing a basis for the exchange for waters of the mountain streams by which exchange a large portion of our present water supply has been secured, the canal Is absolutely essential for the watering of the forestry of our city, without which the city's, chief attraction would be lost or wanting.. ''.-.. The Standplpe System. Again, if, as the Superintendent ef Waterworks has repeatedly suggested.' It is desirable to establish a standplpe sys-temfor sys-temfor street sprinkling, to be supplied from the waters of the J. & S. L. C. canal, In order to relieve the watermalna and prevent the great injury to the fire hydrants hy-drants which, under the present system cannot well be avoided, and from the statement of the Said superintendent that such a system would, in his opinion, save to the city some 2,000,000 gallons of wster dally for domestic purposes, It would. I consider, be fqlly to entertain the Idea of abandoning the said canal. As to-Parley's creek: 1 Until the litigation litiga-tion now pending In the courts has been disposed of by which the respective rights of the city and of the farmers of Parley's creek water will be established, it would not be wise. In ,my judgment, to undertake under-take to' carry out' any policy that would Interfere with the present status of affairs af-fairs regarding the waters of that stream If, when the courts have, finally adjudicated adjudi-cated the controversy arising out of the present contracts with' the said farmers it shall be found that the city's Interests have suffered, the proposition to purchase such water rights as the city does not now own of its own right, may be considered with favor. I shall in the not distant future submit to your honorable body In a special communication com-munication my views as to the policy that should be adopted by the present administration admin-istration with regard to the permanent increase in-crease of our water supply. The unusual snowfall In the mountains the past winter will, no doubt, insure us an abundant supply of water for the present season. This, however, should not deter us from proceeding without delay with the work of endeavoring to secure a permanent water supply . for all time to cone. ( . .. .- Cost of Maintenance. The cost of maintaining this department for the year just passed was $51,615.71. an increase of some $2100 over the year 1902. The number of alarms responded to was 182 and tlie Are losses amounted to $398.-608.46. $398.-608.46. However, considering that the losses at the disastrous fire at the Atlas and Central blocks amounted to $360,946.83 alone, the losses from the other 181 fires is certainly small for a city the size of Salt Lake. A new aerial truck ' and sundry new equipment purchased during the year have placed the department in a most excellent excel-lent condition for a more effective service In the future and will amply explain the increase of $2100 in expenditure over the previous year. The Chief of the department again recommends re-commends the creation of the office of electrical inspector, and. tn view of the fact that so many buildings are in course of erection In this city at all times of the year, and from the fact that a very large proportion of these buildings cover a veritable ver-itable network of electrical wiring, I heartily concur In this recommendation. I deem it necessary that the electric wiring wir-ing in buildings be placed under the control con-trol of a thoroughly capable and efficient officer, not only for the protection of, owners of such buildings in guaranteeing that the wiring be done in a safe and proper manner, but also for the extra precaution that the city should take in a matter of this kind. Street Lighting. The cost of street lighting for the year was $32,654.03. Twenty-three additional arc lights were placed during the year, making the total 484. Of this number but ten lights were furnished free of charge as consideration for franchise privileges. I would respectfully suggest that the number of free lights can be very materially mate-rially Increased by your careful consideration consider-ation of the interests of the city when future fu-ture additional concessions are granted to the lighting companies. In my judgment judg-ment no franchise, or extension of sama for street lighting should be granted without with-out yielding an adequate return to the city. . . . Police Department V The expense of ' the - Police and Prison departments for the year was $49,672.06, an Increase of $77h over the year 1SW2. Thirty-four hundred and seventy-eight arrests were made, resulting In lirjg convictions, the fines and forfeitures from which amounted to J30,3 95. I would respectfully recommend that the force be Increased by the appointment of Ave additional men three -mounts! police . : ' . V ' , . ' - i i . i I ' ' l . . ; ' ; ( - f y ! 1 1 - : . i ; i t i .tii i ; r i i r 1 r v it, f f r t i r i- V i , v 1 ' i ) cf O..! C 'I. vl 1 t f II' ,e t (I a i i ' t' city fr F j - v. . i r i 1 l f i v r c. r 1 s 1 r i) f , cf 0 v i - e v i : - f . . ! i ' t t : 9 f . V 1 . ' i nil ' 9 '8l1 1 .-t ("ir. .:., i t . : i f r. J n . I nst ie 1 -h ( ivp I "i i'-i H'l'l t -.9 city re "ivc i J.rai .hi'.y rioi' In return, i-nd, ty tse i ni..-r H i-.mh p i i 1. 1 : o n-nt la drr. -e. a 1 thi-se tnnn lave tf be run 1.1 sei baclc by t.ie city at r fTnot diie srni at bii enormous enor-mous coxt tf ttie tnxiayeis. I repeot-f repeot-f ...y recommend that, tt.e C'n'incil In fu tare xeri"is tn umot caution In th rantins of a fianctuue of n t.itsjvr ct tare. . related Annual He port. The annual rerort of the Board of Pub-lio Pub-lio Works not having as yet been i-' celved, a review of this department la thereby not found la this communication. The Increase of our city In poPulHtl and wealth Is phenomenal. Everywhere Is noticed the building of new and beautiful beauti-ful homes and business blocks. We want more people to come and live with us and Invest their money here, and to this end It Is my earnest desire thai ye work In hars mony for the Improving and upbuilding of our city, that every Inducement may be offered to ell who wish to make this their RICHARD P. MORRIS. Mayor. Haycr Ilcrris. ' (Continued from page aj win be obliged to abide fcy it until euch time at the city's finances will ae&ln permit per-mit of a- more careful and, thorough revision. re-vision. ' . . Parciaslng Supplies. . The necessity cf a system whereby'all supplies for the city can he) under the permanent home. Respectfully submitted, head of one department I deem to be one of the moat Important matters to be considered. con-sidered. In the past each head of depart, ment has had the authority to order eup- piles from whomever he chose and it would seem to me that this system is a most expensive one for the city. I would respectfully recommend that a purchasing or supply agent be appointed, whose duty it would be to advertise for sealed bids for supplies needed for one year in the several sev-eral departments of the city, in the same manner as are bids for general city improvements; im-provements; the lowest responsible bidder to be awarded the contract for supplying the particular department the needed supplies sup-plies or material for the period of one year from the date of acceptance of the said' contract. This system would. In my opinion, be not only a very great saving to the city In the cost of supplies or constructing con-structing material, but would make it Impossible for any department to extend favoritism to any particular dealer and would give all an equal opportunity to compete for the business of the city. , Our Sidewalks. It is doubtless unnecessary for me to call the attention of your honorable body to the absolutely wretched condition of our sidewalks, especially In stormy seasons. sea-sons. To be brief, I would respectfully urge that an ordinance be enacted to com-per com-per property-owners in the paved district to keep their Walks clean, not only from snow In the winter months, but through out the year. I would respectfully suggest sug-gest that the ordinance deal directly with the owner or agent of the property; the owner or agent may, in turn, of course, enter Into any arrangement they see fit with the tenant. Sidewalks in front of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of idle property, some of which is In or adjoining ad-joining the business district, are allowed to go from one year's end to another without with-out being in any manner attended to. Just simply lying in wait for the elements to do what the owner or agent should b compelled to do. Let us all Join In an active ac-tive - crusade against these negligent property-owners. Salt Lake's Uewsboys. ; I would respectfully call the attention of your honorable body to the following from the recent message of the Hon, Henry M. Doremus, Mayor of Newark. N. J to the Common Council of that cltv: "The time has come for the members of your honorable body to take Into consideration consid-eration the subject of the newsboys who run the streets of Newark. It Is a sad spectacle to see children of tender age subjected to the temptations and vices of gutter life, -absenting themselves from homes where character might be molded or wholesome truths imparted. Many of these boys are orphans and to forbid them to earn a living might seem a hardship were It not for the fact that such a living Is too often earned at the expensesJof future fu-ture honesty. The city must look after its unfortunate children. It is better to save the child than to send the man to jail a criminal. "I am In hearty favor of an ordinance prohibiting the sals of newspapers by boys or girls under the age of 10 years, suggesting sug-gesting that all children above this age limit who desire- to sell papers be required re-quired to procure badges from the city, without cost, of course, and that such badges be distributed only upon satisfactory satisfac-tory proof that the applicant attends a publio or private school. It is necessary for us to prevent the) corruption of youthful youth-ful Innocence when such prevention lies within our power." - As I am most heartily In sympathy with the sentiments expressed In the foregoing communication and as it seems to mo so many children In our own city need the protection of the law against their parents par-ents or so-called guardians In this matter, I will Join in the suggestions of the Hon-crable Hon-crable Mayor of Newark and respectfully recommend that the Honorable Council of Salt Lake give the subject careful consideration, consid-eration, with a view to enacting Just such an ordinance. Just Complaints. . ' I would respectfully call your honorable body's attention to the poor lights furnished fur-nished by the Utah Light and Railway company to its patrons. Complaint after complaint has been made to me with the view that the city might take the matter in hand and compel the said company to give the people the light they pay for. It would seem to me that the franchise granted by the city to the said company for this concession Is smple to protect the people against the outrageous lighting service we are compelled to put up with. It Is well known that the lighting company com-pany is, or seems to be, not only giving a much poorer light but, it Is alleged. Is raising the reading of the meters and thereby subjecting the people to not only an inferior light but Is compelling them to pay a much higher price for a mucn poorer light. And the foregoing will apply ap-ply equally to the arc service furnished to the city in the residence districts. Your honorable body's attention is respectfully re-spectfully invited to the facts stated that an Investigation may be at once ordered and the lighting company be compelled, under forfeiture of its franchise, to give Its patrons the light that Is abundantly paid for. The Smoke Nuisance, Again we are Importuned to take early action in the matter of ridding our beautiful beau-tiful city of the ravages of the ever-increasing smoke nuisance. Ordinance after ordinance has been passed and attempts made to compel owners of large furnaces to use some device whereby the clouds of black smoke constantly emitting from their stacks can be reduced to the minimum, mini-mum, but still no effort, it appears to me, has been made In the light. direction to cure this growing evil..- It is my Intention to enforce to the very letter the present ordinance on' this subject that the city may be protected against this unmitigated unmiti-gated .nd Inexcusable smoke nuisance in the future. , - ; In cases where abutters have, by petition, peti-tion, resolved to pave their street, I favor the city doing Its part of, the work, that of raving the intersection, without any needless delay. -I believe that any procrastination pro-crastination upon the part of the city fn such cases is an Injustice to the property-owners property-owners and keeps back neoessary Improvements Im-provements of our streets that otherwise would be made. In this connection I would very stroncly urge that the paving of East South Temrle street be commenced com-menced without any further' unnecessary delay. Heckless Uunnlng of Cars. The reckless manner In which, at times, our street cars are allowed to be run on down grades, thereby endangering the lives -cf the public, should-be slopped. It |