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Show H fill 111 ! Salary Rcifces and ' fpping the Tajces ' I lil An evening publication with a circulation that ill ! might be increased, made some reference to cer- i ta Sanpete members of the present legislature m ' . ' which were conspicuous for their directness and H j, 1 I clearness. Substantially, the paper called them m jf i asses. Naturally the ntembers referred to were : ! indignant, and their indignation was shared by B i 1 kome others members who were of the same in- B ' b W tellectual calibre, and a resolution was introduced m 11 i which passed strictures upon the paper in question M mm for the freedom with which it expressed its views m jj(j& anent the Sanpeters in question. And, lest the B i Si i paper might not survive the censure passed upon K ''ij . I it, and doubtless fearing future generations might H j 1 1 not know what one very frank writer thought of j , i the legislators criticised, that august body B j'i ' adopted the resolution of censure and directed m ltl that it be spread upon the minutes of the lower B jli " i branch of the legislature. And so, as Dogberry Hj k has it, they were writ down asses. The one no- B ;ji J j ticeable feature of the whole affair is that no H fm one not the paper, not the friends of the legisla- m M&'j tors not even the legislators who had been called B u'H t asses denied the allegation. ) I ill M HI i)' I J v Lord, Lord! What a scramble for more offices HI and higher pay. The cny council proposes it; B I and that unbridled ass, Pernstrom, of the Third I )) municipal precinct, advocates it because, as he Hj !j I! gives it, he wants to put the Republicans in a B j I hole. This is politics with a vengeance. Taxa- 1 jl I tion is to be raised, on Democrats and Republicans 1 1 I alike, his own constituents among tne rest, bell be-ll j j fi cause he desires somB political advantage for his 1 1 1 alleged Democratic party. If ever senseless ass S jl were engaged in the intellectual occupation of I hoisting himself with his own petard, it is this K ' 1 same Pernstrom. But such a one Is a fitting rep-Kj rep-Kj E resentative for those who elected him to the place t fi he exhibits himself in. ' "ii I1 ji If ever people were prey to a horde of howling B 'j m grafters, those living in Utah are that people. H si' m Ground to the dust by trusts and corporations who B ji ft are fattening on their industry by unbridled exac-B exac-B m tions to which, in most cases, they submit because HI ;1 1 high ecclesiastical individuals are connected with iBIffjj jl them, they are also constantly being taxed more B and more to meet the insatiable rapacity of office- 4 1 seekers and salary grabbers. The Judges are to .1 w be paid more because good men will not accept jl 1 office at present cut rates. There Is truth in the b declaration that capable men will not forego per- i Bj sonal business for the sum paid judges by the II i Hi state. But the advancing of this argument is a B $ Jl I begging of the question, because it does not follow IB !', j I that good men and capable will be the only ones IB s I to seek these 'offices once the salary is raised. Hi: 1 1 j; Verily, where the carrion is there will the vul- IH1 &! 1 f tures be gathered together. The more carrion vflE I Ji the more vultures; wherefore it must follow, that jwg t if the salaries are increased more dirty work will BHk I m be done to secure the positions, and to such work BBH!iw the capable and fitting man will not descend. The Bp II j consequonce is that even more unworthy men HBEfJ m ' than are now in place will, as a rule, be the suc- Hr! mm cessful aspirants. The higher compensation does Hl gjSj not remove temptation. Its effect, 99 times out of Hnfj Ijflj 100, is to increase a man's avarice; and if position ER mm is to be sought more after because it pays more, HBpf mm, then it follows that more work will be done to se- HftiH mm cure tne place, more expenses incurred by the HiDhX ' successful one to recompense him for his efforts hBbIkI! ' and outtoy Is not a strange thing that men kBbBI Avlao pri(e tliemselves on being guided by their HB BW reason, and who, on that guiding, decline to believe BbkBJ money is a cure-all, nevertheless turn first and HBH last to it as a means of initiating the immediate HBBR' evil sought to be removed. The existing economic HBhB and industrial system is at fault, and it cannot be cured by any present money method. Meanwhile the citizens of this state living in Salt Lake, are paying over 3 per cent taxes. Now 3 per cent is interest, and when it costs a man more for a home than average interest amounts to, he ceases to want a home, and a people that do not want homes is anything but a safe people to live among. As fast s possible the idiots making our state and municipal laws in recent years, have, by imposing greater and greater burdens on the people, been striving to kill the home-owning Instinct in our people, and every recommendation of the governor, and every act of the several legislators has involved some additional burden of taxes beyond the material increase in wealth. The evasion of taxes by the big corporations and large capitalists is notorious. The several messages of the governor may be looked through and no earnest suggestion sugges-tion for a reform in this direction is to be found. And we have a board of equalization, mainly directed by a man whose office-holding record rec-ord is a close second to that of the governor, which meets and sputters and charges per diem and rides on passes and charges the state for mileage and makes a greoUshow, by directing in. flnitesimal changes in' theninequally divided burden bur-den of taxation that is borne by the poor. Any system which makes it profitable to a man to do wrong is a system that is hard o commend. Yot this is our civilized system of taxation, and an asault on it is unworthy and would provoke vastly more excitement and antagonism than a denial of Christ, the Holy Ghost and God Himself. y fc? The members of the present legislature were early interrogated as to what subjects were In most pressing need of legislation. Not one suggested sug-gested the equalization and minimization of tax-ation. tax-ation. Not one, and yet the people of this state are so badly taxridden, that, despite the alleged prosperity, the personal increase in wealth is insignificant, in-significant, and many, at the close of the year, have not saved enough to preserve their homes from the tax gatherer. And in face of this we have demands for appropriations for increased salaries; for sending off for worthless exhibition a lot of products the pecuniary return from which will never be visible, and never has been visible,, save in the personal display of some old fossils. "We have demands for mine inspectors, for railway commissioners and associates, with consequent opportunities for corruption; for wide and more exclusive education; for everything that some grafter sees a way ot making a dollar out of with-H with-H out earning it; and net one man in the legislature M to raise his voice against it, all the public stand-H stand-H ing meanwhile, like a safe old cow, and being pall pa-ll tiently stripped of every drop of milk while there II is no one to provide her with iood out of which H she can make more. The public is a cow that yields its milk, but has to rustle tor its own fod-K fod-K der. Bah, it disgusts one to think it is so sense- less as not to kick sometimes. I THE PESSIMIST. |