| Show IT OUGHT TO FAIL iv IT WOULD seem that the gentiles of utah would be nearly as much opposed as the cormons mormons Mor mons are to the thomas west bill introduced by senator edmunds it ib a one man power scheme it proposes to take from mormon Mor monand and gentile alike the power to elect the local officers in the respective counties and give the governor with the consent of the utah power to appoint them there is not the slightest reason for such a radical change nor for clothing the executive with such arbitrary authority tho rity the utah commission have no permanent interests in the territory their office is not part of the local governmental system it is liable to abolishment at any time and its members are not even residents of utah to vest vast any appoint ing power in that body is discordant with every principle of local self government gentile 11 republicans will ally think the movement advantageous because in the first place no mormons cormons Mor mons would receive appointments point polut ments where their enemies would be available and in the second place republicans would be preferred but they must remember two things one is that chat the administration may change and that this is not only possible but imminently probable and that a change of governors would be consequent the other is that the personnel of the commission is subject to a similar alteration and that this would involve a change in the local appointments the proposition too is a departure from the spirit of our system of government and is a retrograde movement totally needless except as an indefensible measure to place all the local offices in the hands of the minority of the citizens and clothe certain individuals with autocratic to power such a scheme ought to signally fail if for no other reason than as a rebuke to self seeking officials who have not decency enough to abstain from open legislative wire pulling in their personal interest nor to be animated with a sense of shame at this exposure of their own lack ack of self respect |
