OCR Text |
Show er j f j Published Every Saturday BY G00DWINf8 WEEKLY PUBLISHING CO., INC. r i JAMES P. CASEY Business Manager p. GALLAGHER, Editor. as i 1 SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: in the United 8tates, Canada and Mexico $2.50 per year, Including postage ;r. six months. Subscriptions to all foreign countries, within the Postal gfor n. nlon, $4.50 per year. nr nr .1 . 1 M 8lngle copies, 10 cents. Payment should be made by Cheek, Money Order or Registered Letter, payable to The Citizen. Address all communications to The Citizen. Entered as second-clas- s matter, June 21, 1919, at the Postofflce at Salt Lake City, Utah, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Ness Bldg. Salt Lake City, Utah. Phone Wasatch 5409. 311-12-- 13 4 i TIME TO TURN CITY HA LL INSIDE OUT s t. Bock for the prosecution of is forgeries and thefts while auditor mystified the public. Instead of being placed behind the bars as soon as he had he was allowed his freedom even after he had confirmed his ;uilt by reimbursing the city treasury in part for the money he The scandalous delay in ex-May- or : con-ess- ed : j, m id I ad'jpurloined. j fThe public is in a state of acute curiosity which does not confine self to Bock. The public is anxious that the whole city administra-onjb- e investigated officially. jFor nearly seven months Bock wras head of the department of lublic safety and under his protection gambling, bootlegging and all tianner of vice flourished. Was he the only one who profited? fjThere are questions which Herman Green, the commissioner of lubjic affairs and finance, might be expected to answer. it true that he sent City Attorney Folland with Bock to obtain he money, interest added, with which to reimburse the city and is t true that he used his influence to help Bock obtain the money? .yj f I It is generally reported that Commissioner Green, three years igrij suspected a shortage in the auditors office, that he recommended mludit at that time to Mayor Ferry, and that later he suggested ;hejmatter be dropped. Is that true? Is it true that Bock has agreed to maintain 'silence on many things if he is granted the amount of protection previously agreed to ? j "Jj Who promised this protection and who is to deliver the goods r Why has no investigation been started of the mayors administration of the department of public safety, a department which opened the way to almost unlimited grafting on the part of Bock? "J Why are vice, gambling and bootlegging permitted to flourish S' tls I ; ; unchecked? j j Is the Democratic the! forces city-coun- ty machine more powerful than all of law and order? Will Mr. Green explain his attitude toward this machine which helped elect him and to which he lent the power of his personal organization? Are Mr. Green and the other Democratic commissioners willing to' investigate Bocks administration of the public safety department? If Jo, will they immediately arrange for a thorough and impartial investigation? And while the commissioners are about it are they willing to tell what becomes of the moneys all the moneys derived from the Warm .Springs resort? i Will they explain why the citys automobiles are used for joy ? fK is and less joyful rides by commissioners and lesser dignitaries I Will they explain why three workmen were taken the other day from the city cemetery work and assigned to work at the home of one of the commissioners at a cost of $12 a day to the city treasury ? Is this a common practice? In the treasurers office is one of Bocks I. O. U.s for $150. We are told that lending the citys money on I. O. U.s is a common practice. If so, will the commissioners inform the public whether this practice is to continue in that pleasant official city hall family which cherishes such liberal views of life and of meum and tuum? We suggest that Mr. Bock be questioned concerning the affairs of the city. Perhaps he can be persuaded to tell all. The voters of Salt Lake City did themselves no credit when they ignored all warnings and elected Bock mayor. We believe they are repenting and that they are sternly determined that the city and its administration shall be cleaned up. If we are correct in this inference some of our leading citizens should form a sort of public safety committee to see to it that a thorough-goin- g investigation is begun and maintained until the white light of publicity shines into the darkest corners of the city and county building and until the brazen operations of the vice ring have been laid bare. Let me have one term as mayor and I wont care for any man in Salt Lake, said Bock mysteriously to one of his friends in the period between the primary and the election last fall. As soon as he was elected Bock began fishing for the department of public safety which can be worth easily thousands of dollars a month to a dishonest executive willing to accept money to protect gambling dens, disreputable houses and bootleggers. The element of imbecility which marks the course of a criminal was absolutely staggering in the case of Bock. Had he remained auditor he might have guarded himself somewhat against discovery. And if, after election, he had taken charge of the department of public affairs and finance he could have prevented the special audit which was ordered by Commissioner Green, who accepted that assignment. It was an amazing exhibition of audacity when Bock stepped out into the limelight as a candidate for mayor, but he showed still more audacity when, in his greed, he sought to control the department of public safety. On the day that Bock confessed his crime, Commissioner Neslen, expressing his regret and sorrow, remarked that Bock had made an excellent head of the department of public safety and added that the city never before had been so free from vice and crime, or words of that purport. It is astonishing that Mr. Neslen should be so |