OCR Text |
Show THE BEE. 2, the: V X the-Jesuitica- Published Once a Week by The Bee Publishing Company. : I'plication lias boon made for admission to tlio Salt Lake matter. City Iostoflico ns second-class SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, - FEBRUARY, 1898. TERMS OP SUBSCRIPTION. Canada or Mexico,, ono Any part of the United States, r$2.00 year, postage paid ' ' France, Germany, and all countries embraced Enand, 2.&0 in Universal Postal Union, ono year, postage "paid New Subscriptions may commence at any time during the year. If the Paper is not desired bovond the date subscribed for the piblishors should be notified by letter, two weeks or more - . . Di: biforo the term expires. continuances Remember that the publishers must be noti tied by letter when a subscriber wishes his paper stopped. All arrears must bo paid- THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Salt Lake City, Utah. Teli phone 651. P. O. Box 6 jo. NOBLE WARRUH, JR., Editor. Tiie Bee is an illustrated magazine devoted to the best interests of Utah ToMett You. ant ier people. It is not a newspaper, nor a party organ, nor a sectarian publication. It is a review of current events of interest to the people of this state and section of the west ; a review of the social, political and commercial affairs of Utah ; a journal of illustration and comment. It will not deal in scandals or sensations except wherein they have an influence over the community and suggest a moral to which public attention should be called. But its opinions will be freely and fairly expressed, without prejudice, without fear, without favor, and without any suggestions from the business department. Its views may not suit everybody but they will be given just the same, and given honestly. There is certainly a field in Utah for an independent illustrated paper. If there isnt The Bee proposes to make one. It has no ax to grind, no personal ambition to gratify, no enemies to punish and no favorites to reward. It is an advocate of whatever it believes to be right and an open opponent of that which appears to be wrong. With these few remarks it will proceed to business. delicate and often a dangerous matter to criticize a tribunal whose Wrongs. power to punish is almost arbitrary and from whose decision there may be no appeal ; but whenever any branch of public service becomes tainted with scandal, when the finger of indignation points at glaring abuses of authority, at rank injustice, at unreasonable decisions and an outraged but awe stricken community whispers its suspicions, and the records confirm them, it is time to break the ice of silence and enter an emphatic but respectful protest. If The Bee have not the right to voice public sentiment, to express public indignation, to demand that the administration of justice be held above suspicion, then it will assume that right and abide by the consequences. It makes this statement with due respect for every court of justice in the union, without the least desire to influence the disposition of any pending litigation, without malice, without selfish interest, but with a sole desire to render a public service. It is a They say that Representative King has been attracting too much national attention here of late, and that this fact has been attracting some further attention Ware of the Hammer. here at home. There is a little hammer owned in the vallies of these mountains, constructed on plan, full of dents and covered "with fragments of hair and scalp. The Judge may not bo aware of its1 existence, but unless he changes his course it .may reach out for him. There is a motto neatly inscribed on the handle as follows: If a man rise too fast tap him on the head. It is a curious relic but it is by no .means one of the past. It is decorated with a tawny lock from one of Utahs leading orators, a clot of blood fiom Another, and other ghastly trophies, but its usefulness has not been very much impaired. Our brilliant youngrepresenta-tivshould not underestimate its solidity nor overrate his ability to dodge. And he should bear in mind the motto: If a man rise too fast tap him on the, head. l e The decision of the Supreme Court of this State in the Jordan irrigation case Canal Decision. this m0nth is open to criticism. The writer is not personally interested in the matter, except that such decisions have a general significance which the public is not disposed to over- look. It has been a topic of conversation for several da)8, and while The Bee deplores the lack of respect shown the court in much of the comment indulged, there is no denying the fact that the law7 and the opinion are hard to reconcile. In Judge Xorrells review7 of the case, when it was submitted to him last year, the facts, the circumstances, the law7 and the equity bearing upon the controversy w7ere clearly and conclusively set forth. An appeal w7as taken, with the firm of Zane, Moyle and Costigan as appellants attorneys, and the appellant won. But the opinion, rendered by Chief Justice Zane, was a very lame effort to justify the decision, and does not compare, in logic or law7, with that of the court below. The injustice of this action, the disastrous results of the opinion, the irreparable disaster to many people is set forth in a very able communication to the Deseret News of February 12th. But the Xew7s refuses to champion the cause of the injured farmers, although it does call the Courts action an astounding deAnd of course the Herald and Tribune cision. are silent. They prefer to discuss the outlook in China.-- ' People are sick and tired of the Pratt controversy. If Arthur Pratt were the And the nayor. gap Lake City capable of ony mau filling the position of Chief of Police there would be some excuse for the persistence with which his friends and followers are trying to force him upon a protesting public day after day, week after week and year after year. Is there no other man in all this municipal population fit to hold the place? It is a sad commentary on the city and somewhat of a reflection upon the character of its manhood. Surely there are other men just as honest and as brave and as handsome and energetic as Mr. Pratt. Surely there are a number of equally qualified citizens whose selection would not p;ovok3 oa 3 tiath the strife, the criticism, the dissatisfaction that the mayors nomination has engendered. Then there must be something behind it all besides the simple question of efficiency, besides a disinterested regard for the welfare of the city. Upon its face the action of the mayor bears a most suspicious look. Men who are urging Pratts appintment in spite of the turmoil sure to greet it, in spite of the general disapproval already manifest, in the face of the record of the last three years, in defiance of the will of the council, repeatedly and emphatically expressod, in total indifference to the demoralization of the police department already caused by this same bitter, prolonged personal fight, men who urge the appointment with these facta and and conditions before them certainly care less for the people than they do for Pratt. i Mayor Clark is dwindling in the shadow he permits Pratt to cast over him. He is allowing himself to be saddled with an individual fight and paraded before the public by designing men. He is jeopardizing a repHe utation it took him many a )ear to build. has enlisted in a personal war, lost sight of the general public, forgotten his pledges of economy, fiom it involved the city in litigation, with-helits peace protection and prostrated himself at the feet of a political boss. Such is the record John Clark is making although he has been in cffice not yet two months. The mayor will not maintain for a moment that Arthur Pratt is the only man in Salt Lake able to manage the police department. The mayor will not contend that the appointment he has made is absolutely essential to the growth and prosperity of the city. He know7s better. He must know that the world would move right on, that Salt Lakes municipal government would exist just the same, w7ere Arthur Pratt to leave for Klondike tomorrow morning. He ought to know that it is possible to have a police department without an Arthur Pratt. Other cities are obliged to worry along without him and some day Salt Lake will be compelled to do the same. Why not try and get used to it before the awful necessity actually arises to confront an orphaned corporation? d party last fall was a Pratt party is becoming more oHhe every day. The activity of his , his kinsmen, the conduct of his brother-in-law- , the support of his hack friends and the Salt Lake Tribune can be accounted for in no other way. And it is reasonable to believe that the appointment of Pratt and Divine as fire and police chieftains was the price exacted by the Tribune for its support. Howrever, the sucscheme w7as only partial. cess of that But the attempt to secure the reward is being made nevertheless. And both contending parties are expected to discharge the obligation of the one. That is the situation in a nutshell. And however grateful Mayor Clark may feel for the Tribunes backing he must have experienced some little embarrassment in requesting his late political opponents to join with him in settling his campaign account. The nerve required for such a proposal must needs be collossal, even were it strictly right to exchange for personal support that which belongs solely to the people. rt That the non-partisa- n evi-Tribun- e. father-in-law- w7ell-lai- d Chief Pratt is a very pleasant gentleman. He presents a good appearance Success. aaq possesses more than the average intelligence. In fact, he is a remarkable man in many ways, gifted in peculiar directions, and, more than any other resident of Utah, has a faculty for getting possession of information investing him with a knowledge most dangerous and an influence most potential. It is believed s of that he knows more of the of prominent men in this section, more of the hidden affairs of Salt Lake society, than he has ever told ; that he is aw7are of indiscretions and frolics, revels and jamborees, times, places and short-coming- participants ; that he has befriended influential men in time of distress and under peculiar circumstances, thereby extending his influence and laying the foundation of his present importance. That he retains such information for private U3e hack case w7as demonstrated in the celebrated when he suffered himself to be committed for |