OCR Text |
Show CHEZ QUERIED ON POET POST Whether a poet laureate can be appointed for Utsh without the legislature creating such sn office of-fice was a legal question asked Attorney General Joseph Ches Tuesday. The question csme In the form of a letter sent by Gall Martin, chairman of the Utah State Institute Insti-tute of Fine Arts, who explained that the matter had been referred re-ferred to him by Governor Henry H. Blood. Recently a group of elubowemn, headed by Mrs. Earl R. Harmer, president of the Salt Lake City chapter of the League of Western Writers: Mrs. Dee A. Boyer of the Utah State Federation of Women's Clubs, and Mrs. Robert C. Montgomery, Mont-gomery, of the Art Barn, asked Governor Blood to create the office of-fice of poet laureate for Utah and to appoint a Utah poet to that position. po-sition. In his letter to Attorney General Chez, Mr. Martin asked an opinion opin-ion on tha three following points pertaining to the request: 1. Has the governor the power to create such an office In the absence of any legislative act conferring con-ferring upon him such authority? 2. Could the governor create an honorary office? 3. If such an office were created cre-ated would he be authorized to call upon the Utah State Institute of Fine Arts for advice as to the appointment or for a nomination to such an office? Mr. Martin also asked If the Institute In-stitute had authority to donate from Its funds to another organization's organi-zation's funds for a poetry prize. He said one of the writers' organizations or-ganizations had made an informal application for such a donation. |