OCR Text |
Show 1 BUILDING UP ANOTHER MACHINE 1 It is every day becoming raoro and more evident that the object of tho $ "American" party which now controls k tho destinies of tho municipality Is to build up a powerful political machine, fand as ex-Senator Koarns Is the loader load-er and chief financier of tho "Ameri-' can" party It Is reasonably certain it' that tho machine will bo operated In( tho Interest of Mr. Kearns ambition to regain his seat in tho United States senate. Almost without exception tho host of now appointments which have boen mado by Mayor Thompson are ; pronounced Kearns sympathizers. Tho now men glvon places on tho police l forco by Chief Sheets also bear tho j Kearns brand, and tho samo Is true of ! tho appointees in othor departments. 1 That tho fire department will be re- ; organized on tho same plan goes with out saying. It is said that when all the contemplated changes In tho personnel per-sonnel of tho police and firo department depart-ment aro mado not more than 15 per cent of thoso who hold places In those departments under tho former administration admin-istration will bo loft. Numbers of voters who before election were bo-gulled bo-gulled Into tho belief that the "American" "Amer-ican" party had outgrown Mr. Kearns aro now making wry faces at tho developments de-velopments which havo taken place, and which prove conclusively that Mr. Kearns in truth and in fact owns the "American" party. Tho opposition which by its own foolishness mado it possible for tho "American" party to win the late election, elec-tion, Is now casting about for ways and means to circumvent tho plans of tho Kearns machinists. .They see the danger of tho "Amorlcans" carrying Salt Lake county with thirteen mem bers of tho leglslaturo next autumn; may bo Summit county, Wober county and a few other scattering legislators. This would give Mr. Kearns enough strength to control tho Republican legit leg-it islatlvo caucus and if it should hap-' hap-' ' H pen that Senator Smoot would bo un-y un-y seated, tho chances aro that Mr. i Kearns would bo tho next United States senator. If ho failed of a few I votes ho could probably buy enough I ' outright to elect him. Even if Sonat -! Smoot rotalnB his seat' until 1909, M i V ' I Kearns would go into tho contest then with tho advantage of a number of holdover state senators. Aside from the mere thought of defeating Mr. Kearns' aspirations there is a Bt'rong feeling among the general public of Salt Lake antagonistic to making the departments of public safety, police and firo particularly, a part of a personal per-sonal political machine. Such a condition con-dition docs not tend to increase the efficiency of thoso Important guards of tho lives and property of tho citizens. cit-izens. It has been suggested, and tho suggestion sug-gestion is finding favor, that the next legislature pass an act tho effect of which would bo to tako tho police and firo departments of cities of tho first and second class out of tho control of mayors and city councils and placo thoso departments under the control of a non-partisan commission to bo appointed by tho governor of tho state. Tho act would in tho first instance abolish tho police and firo departments and then give tho governor authority to appoint a commission to reorganize them. A number of tho states have their pollco and firo departments under un-der such control and tho system Is said to work very satisfactorily. Another An-other thing which tho leglslaturo might do and which many people contend con-tend would bo a wise proceeding would bo to reduce tho number of members of the city council of cities of tho first and second class. Salt Lake could get along bettor with three councllmen than with fifteen, if tho three were given a good salary and required to dovoto their entire time to tho city's affairs. As it is now councllmen coun-cllmen aro paid only tho nominal sum of $35 a month. They can't reasonably reason-ably bo expected to give much of their time for that remuneration and the temptation to graft is groat. Tho last issue of Goodwin's Weekly roasted Bishop Spauldlng of tho Episcopal Epis-copal church, becauso tho bishop had said that Mormonlsm was increasing, but was not a menace Tho Weekly said In effect that tho bishop didn't know what he was talking about There are some editors who think thoy know almost everything and that all tho rest of mankind know very little. That was a virulent attack on Senator Sen-ator Smoot In Todkln's last lssuo. It's couched In very similar language to that which tho editor applied to ox-Senator ox-Senator Kearns many times during tho past few years. Tho argument Is not very sound for oven suppose Senator Smoot was uncouth and Ignorant, which ho is not, would that bo sufficient suffi-cient grounds for his expulsion from tho United States senate? Has tho senato set up an educational standard for Its members? A Frenchman has mado a map of tho United States, on which ho shows rol-atlvo rol-atlvo political corruption to tho eye. Ho thinks that tho "now century of tho strenuous Hfo...has stamped ruin on American society," Infected said organism or-ganism with decay, increased gambling and tho social evil, and led tho corruptlonlsts to form "a vast organization or-ganization of brigandage" According to tho depth of tho corruption lio marks states black, striped, or white, and each stato Is exactly uniform, corruption cor-ruption varying only with stato boundaries. Tho nrca of tho black Is tho most considerable. It Includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Mis-souri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, tho two Virginias, Vir-ginias, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Arkan-sas, Texas, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon, California and Utah. Somewhat Some-what llghtor aro Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Ne-vada, Alabama and Florida; still lighter, North and South Dakota, Arizona, Ari-zona, Now Mexico, Kansas, Oklahomn and Now Hampshire Tho only whites aro Colorado, Iowa, Mississippi, Michigan, Mich-igan, Maine, Dolawaro, and North Carolina. This ought to make cheerful cheer-ful reading for about sovon states, especially es-pecially Addlck's little stamping ground, or Dolawaro. Our Gallic astronomer as-tronomer goes Into figures also, deciding decid-ing that C7.000.000 pcoplo out of 7C,-000,000 7C,-000,000 aro Infected with political corruption. cor-ruption. And no doubt In Paris this long-dlstanco viow is read without a smile. Collier's. J st Civic appointments mado and approved ap-proved by the city council last Mon day evening aro as follows: Firo Chief Charles T. Vail. Pollco Department Edgar M. Jan-noy, Jan-noy, duty sergeant; Joseph E. Pugsloy, John A. Denzl, desk sergeants; Georgo Johnston, assistant Jailor; W. II. Wilkinson, Wilk-inson, night Jailor; Earl Rlploy, George Phillips, W. H. Chambers, Fred Schulzo, J. F. Kelly, patrolmen. Board of Health Dr. R. W. Fisher, Dr. F. H. Raley. Clerk of Board of Health W. O. Norrell. City Chemist Herman Harms. Clerk of Street Department T. S. Atkins. Poll Tax Collector L. J. Wood. Secretary to Mayor Alexander S. Fowler. Ex-FIro Chief Devlno and his friends aro a good deal disappointed that ho was thrown over for Vail for head of tho firo department, but then if Do-vino Do-vino had gotten tho placo Vail and his friends would havo been disappointed. |