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Show AS OTHERS THINK 1 VALUE OF PUBLICITY PROVED BY TIMES The value of publicity as a means of effecting economies econo-mies in the expenditures of public funds has been amply demonstrated in this county within the week. Last week's issue of the Times contained a report of the proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners, including thier expenditures for the month, substantially as would be required of all tax expending bodies under the provisions of House Bill No. 59, commonly known as the Fry Bill because it is sponsored by Representative Fry. As a result of the publicity it has been brought to the attention of the Clerk's office, from which county warrants are issued, that not less than three individuals who have been receiving monthly allowances from the county, either as dependent mothers or as indigents, are out of the county, and have been for three to twelve months. Some of them even in other states, probably never to return, and a fourth one, who has been drawing a big check each month hs not only been out of the county but has been married for two or three months. And still the county's warrants have been going each month to these people and might have continued to go to them indefinitely but for the publicity which, if charged for by the Times might have cost as much as 15 or S20. The county cannot legally support or help to support residents of other counties and particularly of other states, and of course, had the officers known the facts, a substantial sub-stantial part of this money would have been saved to the county. But the Clerk's office can not know about the movements of all the county's charges, and in the absence of any publicity there is no check! But when the taxpayers as a whole know what is going on, then there is a very definite check a check which is effective not only in the case of county charges, but also in the case of other expenditures, road work, office expenses, ex-penses, assistants, supply purchases, etc. Two years ago the Times published a month's proceedings proceed-ings of the Commissioners and practically the same conditions con-ditions were revealed. One individual who had been out of the county for several months and for two or three -months had actually been an inmate of a state institution at the expense of the state, was still on the county's indigent in-digent list and his monthly warrant was being used by someone else. The officers didn't know it, and no one called call-ed their attention to it because it wasn't generally known that the individual was drawing county money. Another was out of the state as we recall it and had been for several months, while a third one was even in Canada and never did return. We know of other irregularities which publicity would have corrected as no other method could. In one county in the state it is charged that a lump sum is turned over to a bishop each month to be dispensed by him in caring for the poor of his ward and that he "deducts "de-ducts their tithing" from it before delivering it. And it's no secret that in some counties, cities and school districts, whose families arc being fed at "the public trough" by some office-holding relative who sees that they get the biggest salaries. The public is kept from protesting through lack of the facts. We can't believe that our former judge, Thomas II. Burton, and some of his supporters who are so active in trying to suppress publicity can be aware of these conditions. condi-tions. But they exist and can easily be established. Since last week's Times reached our readers the county clerk's telephone has been busy answering inquiries from taxpayers about these various matters and yet many people peo-ple argue that the public don't read such matters and are not interested. In fact the stock arguments of those who are opposing publicity are just two, "that it costs too much" and "the taxpayers don't read it." Both these arc convincingly refuted by the one simple incident as chronicled chroni-cled herein. Warner Mitchell in the Parowan Times. FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE, WHAT NEXT? Some bright member of the Utah legislature has introduced intro-duced a lax measure which, if approved, will gouge still further the small taxpayer the ordinary citizen who is already paying more than his just share of the expenses of slate government. This statesman proposes that an admission ad-mission tax of a'xnit 20 per cent 1)0 imposed, on theatre and amusement tickets. Fifty-cent admission tickets would be subject to an excise tax of 10 cents; dollar tickets, 20 cents, and so forth. The funds to be derived from this tax, which would approximate half a million dollars a year, would go into a fund to be used for the state's building program. In other words, the money wrung from the ordinary ordi-nary citizen who would attend n picture show or a dance, is to be used to construct more new buildings at the colleges, col-leges, universities and other stale institutions. The bi'l is patterned after the government admission tax whieh was imposed during- the emergency of a war, when the most desperate of means were utilized to raise funds. But when the war was over and the nation had recuperated slightly from the staggering costs, the amusement amuse-ment tax was one of the first to be repealed. It was an ' emergency measure, to be resorted to only as a last resort. But this great Utah legislator, who probably thinks it is a sin to attend a movie or dance, would have the amusement tax a permanent institution in Utah exempting only the theatre and entertainments conducted under the auspices of churches and schools. Of all the asinine tax proposals that ever came to our notice, this is the limit. We would like to ask one question: ques-tion: What class of people comprises the great bulk of patrons of moving pictures and similar entertainment? It ' i3 the common citizens; the poorer classes; the people who work hard in the fields, the shops, on the roads, in the factories in other words, the laborer, who works and sweats, and who occasionally likes a little entertainment and amusement following a day of toil. Should that man be required to finance the expensive state buildings, which it is proposed to build, during the next twenty years? The idea, to us, is unthinkable. We marvel that any sane man would give the plan a second's consideration. And yet we imagine this legislator thinks he has made a great contribution to the statesmanship of Utah. Lorin L. Taylor Tay-lor in the Moab Times-Independent. Salt Lake City apparently is getting as dangerous a place to live in as Chicago, because of thugs and murderers, etc. The officials of that city will have to do as they are doing in Chicago, dose up the "speakeasies," padlock the "soft drink parlors" and deport all "rounders" and suspicious suspic-ious characters. S. L. Raddon in the Park Record. YES ! There has been a number of accidents during the past, which in most cases could have been avoided if those having hav-ing horse driven vehicles on the state highway after dark, had only taken the precaution to have a light displayed on the vehicle. We are certain that the law states that any person operating any vehicle on the highways of the state after dark, should display a lighted lantern. To avoid accidents, ac-cidents, everybody should abide by this law. A. B. Gibson in the Nephi Times-News. Some three hundred bills have been introduced in our legislature this term. Some of these bills are about as freakish as the one passed by the Idaho house a few years ago, which classed bull frogs as game fish. A- C. Saunders in the Beaver Press. |
