| Show CITY COUNCIL long before president gave gavel fell at the meeting of the municipal solons february 14 the council chamber was filled with prominent business men the members present were heise evans evane kelley bell horn hardy karrick Karr lck rich beardsley folland moran lawson 14 absent none the minutes of the special meeting hold held on saturday last at which was appropriated for the pu purchase lchase of land in ia the copper refinery deal were read and approved as were also the minutes of the adjourned meeting hold held on friday night last laet the Proceed lugs the salt lake los angeles railway company and the saltair beach company sent in an invitation to the mayor and city council to visit salt air on monday next to see the great improvements they were making there accepted with thanks stenhouse Ste ahouse company requested that the city council act favorably lavor ably on the i edition for seven coples copies of their new directory committee on ways wava and meane secretary pearson of the business mews meus ae association sent in a communication announcing the appointment of hugh anderson Ande F A druehl and john C cutler as a committee to confer with the city council in the matter of mn an inter mou rain lain sanitary conference mayor and sanitary bani tary committee J J corum et al asked to have crosswalks cross walks constructed on west second south street committee on streets mud and public grounds 0 J salisbury and others asked for an extension of sewers committee on sewerage william harkins asked for a renewal of lease on sand pits committee on public grounds thomas W jennings agent asked to be allowed to redeem certain land for unpaid taxes committee on pub lie grounds J L langton and others asked to have certain street fences removed committee on streets dr E S wright asked that the medical society be allowed to meet in the council chamber on the second monday of every month committee on improvements ruN TRANCE th TO CITY CREEK CANYON L S hills et al asked that the proposed road into city creek cany canyon on be along the channel of the creek from state street canyon road and thence upward along said road committee on streets I 1 HE ahe VETO the recorder read the following hou hon 0 E stanton city recorder dear sir I 1 herewith return u unapproved roved the appropriation of maxe made gy by the cit city council at a special meeting held on february 10 1898 in favor of george A lowe et al trustees for the reasons that are herein set out from the minutes of th the e proceedings rooe edings of the council at said special abels meeting it appears that the following resolution was passed andl the amount therein named ordered to be placed on the appropriation list to wit resolved that this city government purchase through george A lowe W H rowe bowe spencer clawson J S cameron M J gray 0 F loofbourow and L C karrick Karr iok trustees korthof wor real estate aud that 25 be and the same is hereby appropriated for that purpose and that the city treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to pay said eaid to the above named persons at once the title to said property to be taken to salt lake city corpora corporation ti ion the sum named being placed on the appropriation list and it was the only item which the list contained on motion said appropriation of was waa in pursuance of said resolution made to geor george r e A lowe et al trustees in neither t this hl resolution or the theroun cil is in the object or purpose of this appropriation pria tion disclosed further than that it should be used to purchase real estate what real estate or for what municipal purpose is nowhere made to appear the appropriation to is to georg georgea ea lowe et al trustees but the character of such trust its scope conditions and limitations nowhere in the proceedings to is made to appear it is manifest that all these proper and necessary disclosures upon the record re ord was intentionally concealed that something was being done by indirection which would be unlawful if done cireo ly 8 that is ie a record was made which shows upon its face that the appropriation wa made to purchase real estate for the city and it being within the power of the city to purchase real estate for certain purposes in the absence of anything in the record showing sho the object for which the purchase was wa to be made the natural supposition would be on the part of the taxpayer that the purchase was for some legitimate purpose and in the absence of anything showing the contrary such perhaps would also be the presumption of the law however in the face of this presumption the object and purpose of this purchase e of real estate was waa fully disclosed in the proceedings of the in forkal meeting of the council held the evening before the appropriation was made and as thus disclosed it appears that the object was not for corporate purposes but to aid private parties to erect a copper plant in this city this thia cannot be lawfully done either directly or indirectly it is not permissible under the common law of america and is in forbidden in express and explicit terms by the statutes of the territory in dillon on municipal corporations vol 1 elsec sec the common law of america on this subject is in expressed inthis in this language after the numerous judgments of courts r of the highest authority to that effect it may be regarded as a settled doctrine doo irine of american law that no tax can be authorized by the legislature for any purpose w which hichi is essentially private or to state the proposition in other words word for any but a public purpose among the numerous cases cited by the author in support of the text many were decided by the supreme court of the ed states in section of the ame iame i f volume the author further says the doctrine that private enterprises or objects cannot be aided by taxation is so fundamental that it cannot be denied or disregarded without unsettling the foundations ati of individual rights without lecog recognizing mizing legislative omnipotence over private property or the irresponsible despotism ot of a local majority and unwisely opening the way for frauds and abuses which in view of the past cannot be contemplated without deep anxiety judge cooly an author of preeminent pre eminent ability in his work on taxation p annot announces inces the same doctrine in this language it may therefore be safely asserted that taxation for the purpose of raising money from the public do 0 o be given or even loaned to private parties in order that they may use it in their individual business enterprises is not recognized as an employment of the power of taxation tor for public use in contemplation of law it would be taking the common property of the whole community and handing it over to private parties for their private gain and consequently unlawful any incidental benefits to the public that might now flow from it could not support it as legitimate taxation on page on this subject he says all useful laborers no matter what the field of labor serve the state by increasing the aggregate of its products its wealth there is nothing of a public nature any more entitling the manufacturer to public gifts than the sailor the mechanic the lumberman or the larmer our government is based upon equality of right the state cannot rightfully discriminate among occupations lor for a discrimination in favor of one branch of industry is a discrimination adverse to all other branches the state is equally to protect all giving no undue advantage or special or exclusive preference to any in a note he adds taxation in aid of private ri v ate enterprises is properly characterized by dickson Dickso nJ J in opinions of justices 58 me as taxation to load the table of the few with bounty that the many may partake of the crumbs that fall 11 suppose that tomorrow application should be made to the council to appropriate to purchase land to enable as in the present case the owners of the land to donate it in aid ot of a private enterprise of more importance to the prosperity of the city than the present resent one and that on the following day gay another like application in aid of a private enterprise of still more importance than the last should be made with what show of justice and equality could the council deny such applications I 1 make these suppositions to direct your attention to the danger of the precedent which such a purchase will establish its danger if the electors of the city should in the future ever be so unfortunate as to place in power a council less cautious wise and incorruptible than the present resent one or one more yielding to popular demands for the exercise ot of powers ultra vires or one still more skill tul in evading and getting around fundamental principles and plain provisions of the statutes of the territory Terri ory established and passed for the protection of the people against municipal infractions of common rights is too manifest to dwell upon from the doctrine announced in the authority from which I 1 have before quo ed that the legislature cannot levy a tax for the purpose ot of aiding a private enter enterprise rise it follows that money already balses raised for general municipal purposes cannot be directly dire ocly or indirectly expended except for corporate purposes and it if the appropriation be viewed in the light of a loan it is still illegal because onu sethe the city has no right to collect money by taxation for any such purpose or so BO use any money legitimately ralser raised for corpor corporate to purposes it is equally clear that ma the e city cannot lawfully buy real estate on speculation or for any other than lor for public uses toe the legislature has not lett left these limitations to forest rest on the fundamental doe doc rine of the common law of america on the subject but on the contrary very wisely them in the charter of the city in article iv section 1 of the charter revised statutes of 1888 page it is enacted the bithe city council I 1 shall have the following 10 powers to appropriate money for corporate purposes only this provision to is as terse and plain as the eighth commandment there is no room for the claim of ambiguity as an excuse for its violation the invalidity of the appropriation is conclusively admitted in the admission that it was riot fiot made to buy land for corporate purposes oar oaths as the trusted officials of the city should restrain strain fe us irom from so flagrantly violating an act of the legislature so plain independent of the consideration of the danger of such a precedent the action of the council is illegal because it delegates to the trustees named the power to expend the money appropriated in the purchase of real estate this is a power which the council cannot delegate the section of the charter before quoted vests the city council Counell with the power to purchase receive hold sell lease convey veland and dispose of property real and personal for corporate purposes only the purchase or of real property for corporate orate purposes calls for the exercise of discretion discretion gis and judgment on the part of the council not only as to whether the real estate to be purchased is needed for corporate purposes but whether the land to be purchased is suitable for that purpose and whether the price is reasonable and fair on this thia subject judge dillon lays down the doctrine in this language the principle is a plain one that the public powers or trust devolved by law or charter upon the council or governing body when exercised by it when and in such manner as it shall judge best cannot be delegated to others the action of the council to is illegal and in violation of the act passed by the last legislature entitled an act giving the mayor a qualified veto power the first section of that act provides that every ordinance and every resola tion adopted or contract approved by the city council appropriating or involving expenditure of money shall be presented to the mayor for his approval now the approval or disapproval of any of these things if intelligently made involves the exercise of the sabe same judicious discretion and judgment as is required of the council regarding the same and how can the mayor act intelligently in the case under consideration unless he is advised of the purpose for which the real ecate authorized to be purchased is intended how can he determine whether the real estate is suitable for corporate purposes or whether the price la Is reasonable until the property to is identified the purchase involves the making ofa of a contract which must of necessity involve the expenditure of money yet in violation of the section quoted the council has authorized a committee to make the purchase with the money appropriated without submitting the same to the mayor for approval or submitting the same to the council for ratification although I 1 much desire to see the private p private enterprise contemplated succeed and have personally subscribed for its aid for the reason which I 1 have stated my sense of duty as a public officer will not permit me to give my sanction to an appropriation which in my estimation la is so manifestly against boh bo h law ana and public policy respectfully submitted R N BASKIN mayor moran said he wished the communication laid on the table until later in the evening as he did not believe it w wan right to vote on it directly simply because that could be done he said he be knew how bow he was going to vote he did not hesitate to say that he was going to to vote vot just eJust as ached he did id the other day folland said daid that some of the reasons given by his honor appeared to be very tenable he believed that under zeal and pressure hasty action had been taken by the council he suggested that the council purchase 25 worth of grounds on the north bench and convert it into a park for public purposes there could be no illegality about that nor any unwise expenditure of money moran said there wax was language used in that veto that was personal and objectionable it referred to the eighth commandment what does that mean shrieked mr moran horn it means that Thou not steal 22 there Is no ambi ambiguity gulLy about that Laugh laughter terl moran 1 I wonder it if the mayor knows known what the eighth commandment io ib horn you bet he does laughter and applause frova from the audience the appropriation was then passed over the mayors veto BOND REFERRED deputy dog cog tax collector galleazzi sent in his bond of with H T duke and A H parsons as sureties committee on finance AN ILL ENGINEER the city engineer sent in a corn com muni cation reporting that the expert engineer recently employed to come here from now new york fork and inspect the proposed gravity sewer line was unwell and could not now fill his bis part of the contract referred to the city attorney the same boffl official abal reported his estimate of the cost of constructing asphalt sidewalks on both sides of state street from fourth south to sixth south street the total was the report was adopted and the city recorder instructed to publish notice of anten tion the same official reported adversely upon the petition of J Q liell for a permit to connect four buildings la JIM plat D with the E street sewer re be berred to committee on sewers with power to act FINES ON FIREMEN chief stanton of the fire department reported that he had deposited in the bank the sum of as an fines imposed on the firemen for rules i transgressed during the year 1892 he slaked asked that the money be set met apart as a relief fund for sia aud and disabled members of the department committee on fire department THE BOULEVARD the committee on streets recommend ed in the matter of the proposed boule yard vard that the city engineer be instructed to immediately y survey a driveway from the southeast corner of the capitol grounds into city creek canyon to a point at or of near the waterworks |
