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Show Published Every Saturday BY GOODWIN8 WEEKLY PUBLISHING CO., INC. FRANK E. SCHEFSKI, Editor and Manager SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: In the United States, Canada and Mexico, $2.50 per year, Including postage $1.50 for six months. Subscriptions to Union, $4.50 per year. o all foreign countries, within the Postal Payments should be made by Check,. Money Order or Registered Letter, payable to The Citizen. Address all communications to The. Citizen. matter, June 21, 1919, at the postofflce at 8alt Lake .Entered aii second-clas- s under the Apt of March 3f, 1879. . City, Utah, Phone Wasatch 5409 311-121- 3 Ness Bldg.. r .. ' Salt Lake City, Utah - FLIMSY DAM BREAKS The Sunnyside dam, better known among the knowing ones as the water sieve and "subirrigation project" of the east bench, let loose its confined waters and millions of gallons of fontana aqua spread itself all over the hills and among the homes of the people, doing considerable damage to lawns, private gardens and flower beds, as well as flooding some cellars. The people are to be thankful that it was comparatively a small reservoir. Had it been a large storage reservoir, the loss of property and life would have been considerable. The breaking of this dam ought to be an object lesson to the people. It is nothing short of criminal to construct such an apparent flimsy structure upon a gravel base at the backdoor of our most ideal residential district of the. city, and it also confirms our former statements regarding the failure of commission form of government. There should be no excuses to offer, or to be accepted by the people, for disasters of this character. The building of reservoirs at most is a very ticklish job and they cannot always be safely built. Therefore it is imperative that where large bodies of water are to be confined, it should be done in localities where little or no damage can be done if a break does occur. In regard to this reservoir, it was constructed at a first cost of $33,188.44, apportioned as follows: excavation, $3957.77; lower portion of concrete, $17,615.66, and cost of upper portion of concrete $11,615.01. According to reports in the daily press, some officials and some of our citizens knew the reservoir was unsafe and needed urgent repairs, and in line therewith our city engineer asked for $42,000 to make repairs upon a $33,000 reservoir. We cant comprehend why repairs should cost so much more than the original cost of the dam, but not being engineers, "we hear but do not understand." If the manager of a downtown office building were to ask so miQil more for repairs upon an office building than the actual cost thereof, he would be immediately investigated for his sanity. We take it that the dam "eggshell" was recognized as a joke immediately after construction and the water department wanted another donation for a new reservoir to replace the old. Hence the request for so much money for alleged repairs. No wonder that taxes are high and never enough money in the treasury to pay! In constructing dams and reservoirs, our state, county and city officials, that may be concerned in the erection of such projects, would do well to consult the engineers of the Utah Power & Light company. Th() company constructs reservoirs that do not wash out and from general experience, their advice upon intended improvements would be well worth the price paid for their services. Where the lives and property; of the people are at stake, nothing should be overlooked to guarantee safety; better still, not to build where there may be danger. There is no safety from a huge wall of water; it sweeps everything in its path and leaves destruction behind. STOOLPIGEON The "stoolpigeon", whether in the army or in a police department, is the most despised "creature" on the face of the earth. In the army, , a spy is stood up against a wall and shot, but in police departments there is no penalty attached to spies, and for some reason there has been tolerance of such individuals. God. made man with a principle, but when man loses that principle he sinks to the lowest possible depths of degradation and self respect is farthest from his serious consideration. When we lose principle, we lose everything we have, and men without principle should be shunned by society as is the most poisonous vipers on the face of the earth. As Judas swore away the life of our Savior for thirty pieces of silver, so will the "stool pigeon" betray his best friend. As a rule the "stool pigeon" has been a criminal, as but few decent people would stoop to do the degrading work required of the "stool pigeon." There may be some very good people, innocent of what they are really doing, who allow themselves to become "stool pigeons," but in our long experience in the newspaper game, we have never met one with a reputable character. In some cities, judges immediately dismiss a case where only the evidence of a "stool pigeon" is given, and such spies are hated by nearly every police officer on the force. The work of the "stool pigeon" is the betraying of confidence and the making of criminals in order that he may show his chief that he is "making good" on the job. A "stool pigeon" rushes into a place of business and "mercifully" pleads for a drink. He says he has a very sick friend who must have a drink or he will die. If the business man is a tender hearted man he may even put himself out to go and get some liquor to relieve the cited sufferings of his unknown fellow man, and the kind hearted man is arrested because he is human. A "stool" will sneak into a doctor's office and beg and plead for a "shot" of "hop," and if the doctor has a heart he is arrested. What can be more degrading and dispicable than for one to seek help from a friend, talk them into a technical crime to relieve pain and suffering, just to make an arrest. That is the reason why a "stool pigeon" is the most despised and miserable creature on the face of the earth, and that is the reason that in a majority of cases, only crimnials will stoop to do this dirty work. Glaring illustrations have come to public view during the past month, where respectable businessmen of this city have been arrested under one pretext or another; hailed into court and branded as criminals, only to be discharged because of his false arrest and no proof or incriminating evidence of the violation of any law. But their wives and children are at home, sobbing themselves sick because of the disgrace, which naturally follows every arrest. However, the greatest disgrace of all is that some of our public |