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Show Published Every Saturday BY G00DWIN8 WEEKLY PUBLISHING p.GALLAGHER, Editor. ri CO., INC. JAMES P. CASEY 8UB8CRIPTION PRICE: Business Manager Including postage in the United 8tates, Canada and Mexico $2.50 per year, Jjfor six months. Subscriptions to all foreign countries, within the Postal 5ajif $4.50 per year. Single copies 10 canta. Payment should bo made by Cheek, Money Order or Registered Letter, pay able to The Citizen. Address all communications to The Citizen. Entered as second-clas- s matter, June 21, 1919, at the Postofflce at Salt Lake March 3, 1879. of Act under the City, Utah, Ness Bldg. 8alt Lake City, Utah. Phone Wasatch 5409. 311-12- 13 STA TE 'S FUNDS FINANCE PRIVATE COMPANY " jThis week we shall tell how the state built and equipped a power ansmission line for a private company, the members of which are rouiinent Democrats. Already more than $36,000 has been paid by the state of Utah this private company and the state has received no benefit. All it to show for its $36,000 and for an additional debt of about $4,500 'a. contract by which it can obtain electric current from the com- if , any for a price. ; is not often that individuals can finance their schemes out of a j .It tate treasury with the approval of the governor. There are many mining companies that would be willing to pay the state officials a commission if money could be obtained out of the treasury to sink hafts and drive for ore. In fact, any company wild-cor otherwise --would pay liberal commissions and donatives if they could use the j i ? 1 1 at tes money for promotion and development. jThe Dixie Power company officered and manned by influential Democrats was even more fortunate. It obtained the state money for nothing, and unlike Mr. Bock, in a similar situation, they obtained 8 contract which, they think, will make it unnecessary for them to apy anjrthing back. They took the states money, built their transmission lines and now are transacting business for themselves at the expense S of the state. A little matter of about $4,500 is still in dispute, but that jrqbably will go the way of the $36,000 already paid. Recently Auditor Ririe made a protest to Attorney General Shields on the ground that the contract might be void because in violation of the constitution. The attorney general says that it is .unfortunate but the obligation of the state remains the same. lie yos bolds that the state is legally and morally bound to pay the balance. rhe attorney general when he employes the word unfortun-jee- l; ate' is alluding to the fact that the road mentioned in Precontract, probably will not be built. In fact, it is fairly certain that i hard-surfac- ed nt be built. Thus we find the state with a $40,000 or $45,000 power line which tfc.can be used, and is being used, only by the Dixie Power company. that company the state built the line, pretending that a cement road would be built, and now that the line is finished the project jforj the road is abandoned. i Unfortunate, remarks the cheerfully irresponsible attorney genie attorney general ever hear the word dishonest, or the ii' wil graft or the word theft? If his construction is correct the necessary to render the constitution null and void is for (( sfate to sign a contract violating the constitution. j The interest alone on $40,000 or $45,000 would produce annually iir road enough to supply rented electric power to build a for many miles. But the state actually built the line for a corporation, whose- chief stockholders are prominent Democrats, and agreed to pay the company ordinary rates for the power. And it paid its money as the work progressed, thus losing the interest. Now the capital and interest are gone and the company has the line for its own use. Soft for Democrats. Soft, pleasant and lucrative for our most prominent Democrats. In analyzing the terms of the contract it is necessary to keep some salient points in mind. First of all, no attempt was made to let the work of road building by contract to the lowest bidder. . In fact, two California men offered to build the road without the use of electric power. At the very least, as Auditor Ririe pointed out in a letter of protest, there was no certainty that the state would ever use the power after it had built the transmission line. The contract, therefore, simply amounted to this the state built and paid for the line ; turned it over to the. company and agreed to let the company sell the power on a line that had cost the company nothing, while, at the same time, the state agreed to pay for power and allow the company to purchase the line by making payment in this way. In a word, the line was to cost the company nothing. The state might just as well have agreed to build a beet sugar factory for a private company and to let the company buy the factory by making payment in sugar. The road commission entered into this contract in direct violation of the state constitution. Section 31 of Article 14 of the constitution provides : The legislature) shall not authorize the state or any county, city, town, township, district, or other political subdivision of the state to lend its credit or subscribe to the stock or bonds in aid of any railroad, telegraph, or other private individual or corporate enterprise or undertaking. The contract, signed by the state road commission per Simon Bamberger, was entered into by the commission and the Dixie Power company on July 8, 1919. The state road commission agreed to build a power line from Cedar City to St. George to supply electric power for the operation of pumps, cement mixers and other road building. The power company owned the y paralleling a highroad way on which the commission proposed to run a from Cedar City to St. George. The commission agreed to build on y this a high tension transmission line approximately forty- hard-surfac- ed - right-of-wa- hard-surfac- right-of-wa- ed |