| Show COME UNDER THE LAW IT is perhaps not inappropriate to once more direct attention to the fo Howing section 10 of article VI of amendments to the charter of salt bait lake city sono no officer shall be directly or indirectly interested in any contract work or business of the city or the selling of any article the expense price or consideration of which is paid from the treasury or by any assessment levied by any act or ordinance nor in the pu purchase of any amyal apal estate or other property belonging to the corporation po ration or which shall be hold held for the taxes or assessments or by virtue of legal process at the suit quit of said corporation mayor or other officer of the city I 1 there is an alleged member of the city council who occupies a 8 seat best in that body who never was elected to it and who is more or less a continuous breaker of the foregoing clause he does a certain class clam of work for the city and occupying a seat in that body to which he is not legally entitled takes part in appropriating public funds to himself the balance of the coune council ii are also thus either ignorant of the law or wilfully guilty of breaking it there is only one theory besides that of ignorance under which they could possibly act unless wilful lawlessness be admitted that is on the hypothesis that the ge in u referred to is not a member of the council at all judge zane in the third district court having decided by a judicial decision that a candidate of the peoples peopled party was elected to the office which he now fraudulently holds holda he not being legitimately a member oi of the municipal Cu council uncil it is barely but hardly possible that he be and the members member of that body may hold bold that he can contract for and do city work without coming under the ban of the law but such a liberal ap theory would be somewhat awkward to say the least in some other of its aspects as the public business transacted officially by the alleged councilman aud and the five other liberals in the same position so far as the title to seats is concerned would be thus admitted to be of questionable legality if the claim exists that the councilman who performs city work and votes money to himself is really a member of that body to which he appears to belong then there is no reason why on the same hypothesis any other member may not grade the streets lay water and sewer pipes contract for the arc erection c of the combined county and city building after mr apponyi is worn out by long waiting for that work to be begun swing that the ordinance providing that city work should be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder was killed by being voted down by the council what is to hinder binder a 8 monopoly of public work within the limits of the liberal ring especially ally as the law does not seem to be in any degree a deterrent we say come within the law that is all we have ever asked of the liberals A mere promise to obey the law as it exists on the statute books and as construed by the courts will not do preten creten eions from that quarter are not strictly reliable when men become a law unto themselves they area are a menace to this republic and the elective franchise should be stricken from their alien hands |
