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Show . Ptibiished Every Saturday x BY GOODWINS .WEEKLY; PUBLISHING CO INC. f: A. W. RAYBOULD, BU8INESS MANAGER : SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: V O peryear, Including pottage in the United 8tate Canada and Mexico, six months. Subscriptions to all foreign countries, within. the' Postal $1.50 for Union, $4.50 per year. i I S Registered- - Letter, Payments should be made by Check, Money Order 'pr :i- ft i payable to The Citizen. :S'. j, l: to The Citizen. Address all communications Entered as second-clas- s matter, June 21, 1919. at the postoffice at Salt Lake . ; MuTiih , city Utth, under the Act of March 3, 187.V. .. vr. . i 3 Ness Bfdg. a 8alt Lake,'lCity;.Uta Phone Wasatch 5409 . r-j-" . , . i , i . - ,5V"'-!- - . . 1 31-12-1- : 48- r i : COMMISSIONERS '"O.UT..OE STYLE . The Municipal League of Utah, a minority organization which believes itself big enough to advocate the proper government under which we shall live, has indorsed the managerial form of city government, which it believes will cure our present ills. Several years ago the people were talked into our present- - commission form of government and the tapayers were told that if' they would endorse this new fad, for fad it is, that their taxes would be lowered. It has been a dear lesson to the taxpayers and about one lesson in a generation is sufficient. There has been much dissatisfaction with our present form of city government. Under present methods we have five governments. Each commissioner is the kingpin in his department and no other commissioner dare interfere. In order to perpetuate themselves in office, big political machines are organized and the taxpayers foot the payrolls. Under our present form of government there is ten times as much money wasted than under the old council form and no one has any right to stop it. A comparison in the cost of the two governments is sufficient to relegate the new fad to the scrap heap. There is no doubt that many of those who are now advocating another form of government were among the most ardent supporters of the commission form of government. The managerial form of government is entirely at variance with our system of a government of the people, by the people and for the In the first place it is monopolistic and the manager would people. be the sole dictator. We have five dictators now and they demand more taxes every year. A manager would surround himself by his own friends and relatives. Who could oppose him? If he is to make a success he must be allowed to select his own help, and there you are human nature will do the rest. Our old council form of government was the best and most satisfactory that we had. The people could secure redress upon all just complaints, but under the present system no one appears to be sponsible. One shifts the blame to the other until the complainant incomes so utterly disgusted that he retires with humiliation and dethere was always a Ferney feat. In the old form Fernstrom to upset any star chamber stuff, and the people got better service than they are getting today. If there is a change to be made in our present form of government, by all means let us return to that good old tried and satisfactory system which a few reformers killed. Their new government has proved a failure, and now they come forward and ask for another system, which smells more like the Czar of Russia than anything else we have tried. It is triie'that big business has managers, but these managers j;rew up with the business and thoroughly understand their work. IiPWould be utterly impossible to select a businessman in this city and place him at the head of the Union Pacific system; he would be just as big a misfit as was the inexperienced McAdoowhen he tried to handle the railroads and his experiment cost the people of these United States several billion dollars. To select, some man and make him a business manager of a city, as they say, and secure good results is not to be expected. Just because a man is a real estate dealer, or a bookkeeper, or an engineer, or a jack of all trades- - is no indication that such person can handle all the combined business interests in his community. However, when a dozen or more business men are placed in charge of the municipal affairs of any city, it stands to reason .that their combined ideas will bring better results than will some fellow who is given a big salary to work out some pet and untried theory. Successful business was never made possible by theory, and the men who are at the head of our biggest corpora-- ' tions and largest institutions sprung up from among the ranks because of their fundamental knowledge and experience acquired through years of service. I- - SAMUEL GOMPERS Labor loses its fighting leader. Samuel Gompers is taken' in death when he appeared hale and hearty. He had gone to Mexico City to attend a convention and while there the higher altitude affected his heart and he was rushed back to the States, where he wanted to die, if die he did, and he breathed his last at San Antonio, Texas. In plain words, Gompers was a level headed labor leader. There was no radicalism about him and he did the best he could to pilot labor through all industrial strifes, which at times appeared to render labor asunder. His leadership was always recognized by his able solution of all questions, no matter how little or how great they were, and he was continually working for higher ideals among the laboring classes. During different periods of his administration when- serious charges were laid against labor, Mr. Gompers invariably stood for the right, cleared labor of all deceitful charges and there is no doubt that he has kept bolshevism from gaining Control of one of the very largest organizations in the United States. All vital questions concerning labor were always carefully considered by Gompers before he would render a decision or give an answer, and few mistakes, if any, has he ever made. Labor has lost its greatest friend and its most staunch supporter, and there is mourning in the nation because of their great loss, l or over forty years has this mighty leader fought the cause and just rights of labor. While his labor has been finished on this earth, there - is nodoubt that his great work begun long ago will live in the future, and it might be said of him, Well done, thou good and faithful ser vant. COMPULSORY INSURANCE. The Manufacturer is working up publicity in favor of compuldesory automobile insurance. The editor says that it is a subject reaserving of serious consideration, and that there may he sound sons for the state requiring automobile owners to carry liability insurance to protect the public in case of accidents. e hac Why limit such freak legislation only to the automobile? so many donts in our law today that it takes months to try an ordinal case. |