OCR Text |
Show j! PEOPLE TO VOTE ON CITY GOVERNMENT ORATORY AND NOISE AT A MEETING HELD BY SENATE COMMITTEE COMMIT-TEE ON COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS IN SALT LAKE DcVINE AND HORN OF OGDEN ANTAGONISTS PARTISANS FOR AND AGAINST PRESENT FORM OF GOVERNMENT ARE PRESENT I Salt Lake, March 4 Arguments for I And against a change In the present I commission form ol government In K cities of the first and second class in Utah were made in the senate chain-I chain-I ber last night before the senate com mtttee on county and municipal enr-! enr-! por.it ions. I Both sides of the argument had I boisterous reiainers in the galleries I and it was a whooping applauding gathering, barked by flichts o! oratorv as well, all the way through. Spc.iW J ers from both S: 1 1 Lake and Ogden ft talked. After it was over the commit- II tee reserved its judgment on senate bill No "45. the substitute measure, I which would elect a commissioner I from each municipal ward, give thc I mayor at large the veto power an 1 I Invoke otlr changes in the present I commission form In rebuttal Frank B. Stephens, ardent ar-dent for retention of the present com mission form, in telling how hard bad h'-r-n the fight to secure the presenl form in Utah, said that the so-called Galveston bill had been "stifled by the speaker of the hou "How do you know that?" demand ed Harry S Joseph, former speaker Joseph Shows Clippings. In rebuttal for those who favor a change in the present form, a minute Infer Mr. Joseph whisked from his pocket clippings from Salt Lai i news papers of that period, reciting hov the Galveston bill had been considered by Salt Lake members of the house, recommending five commissioners Carl A. Badger had spoken at the outset in favor of retaining the prea-ent prea-ent form and against senate bill No 245 He said he came at the request of the law and legislative committ;-'-of the Commercial club. "I don't believe the report of the law and legislative committee of the Commercial has been adopted by the board of governors." shouted Mr Jo seph. "I don't believe the Commercial Commer-cial club is against a change In the law." "Yes, it is." interjected Mr. Stephens Ste-phens " got it from Caine," replied Mr Joseph. "The board of governors of the club had previously voted to oppose a change in the commission law," said Mr. Stephens. Calls Law Counterfeit. "The law we are working under is not the Des Moines law, as has beeu said." exploded Mr. Joseph, "it is a cheap counterfeit " Mr Joseph went on to say that under un-der the Des Moin.es plan the scheme of government is first put up to the people for their approval, the Initiative, Initia-tive, referendum and recall obtain and the mayor is ex-olTiclo member of ail citv departments. "The mayor has no veto power in Des Moines.' suggested Mr. Badger. "I have the floor now, Mr Badger, you had it two years ago, " retorted Mr. Joseph sharply. Joseph Reads Resolution. Mr. Joseph thereupon read a resolution resolu-tion declaring it the sense of the meeting, both of proponents and op ponents of senate bill No. "45. that the legislature provide for the initiative, referendum and recall supplementary to senate bill No 246 Martin K Mulvey and o'hrs on Mr Joseph's own side of the argument protested against this However. Chairman George J Korby of the sen ate committee ruled introduction out of the resolution on the floor out of order. Newspaper clippings read by Mr Jcseph provided an amusing feature of the evening. Mr Joseph read how Col. E. A. Wall was opposed to the commission form, how W. S McCor-nick McCor-nick had misgivings about it two years j ago. And he read a statement by F S. (Feruie) Fernstrom, now right of way agent in the employ of the city commission, then city councilman, op-Ioslng op-Ioslng the present commission form The audience laughed loud and long over this and at Mr Fernstrom. who was seated on the sidelines with a city commissioner. There were interesting developments develop-ments In the meeting from the fit Senator Kelly announced the program giving opponents of senate bill No. 245 opportunity to talk first, then proponents of the bill, and then both sides In rebuttal Carl A Badger, representing the Commercial club committee and citizens citi-zens opposed to a change in the commission com-mission form of government, objected strenuously to this order. Senator Kelly was obdurate. Still protesting that the procedure -was wrong, Mr. Badger launched into his arguments in support of the present pres-ent law and against the proposed new one He told of adoption of the com-f com-f mission form o! government in Galves ton and Des Moines and of its success in those cities: how Des Moines was I iegenerated from a boss ridden city to a clean one. I He told of the adoption of the com- I mission form here. "From the first I it has had opposition here." declared I Mr Badger, "from those who cannot I see anything but partisan politics. Go outside and you will find the peo- I pie in svmpathy with the commission futm of government if tins is chal- h.nged, submit it then to the peo- I P'e. "The last Republican platform in this count v." resumed the ex-senator t from Salt" Lake, "that platform we blood on, recommended that the pres- ent law be amended to give the people peo-ple the right to recall The expression as to :he one remedy is the limit of j that topic In the plattorm. Any one 1 who stands here ana t.ays there sar more i playing false The bill pro-posed pro-posed here wrecks the commission fcrm of government.'' Attacks on Bill Mr. Badgi i than took up senate lull No. J45 He advised against giving minor appoiniineuts to the discretion of the mayor rather than the whole commission lie attacked the bill as taking from the people the right to have a voice in the election of all oiimiissioi)"! - Il aruued against a division of responsibility between the commission and the mayor. Und r the present law each commissioner is responsible to the whole cit . the senate bill would elect him from a single ward and destroy he said, th" sense of this responsibility. He charged charg-ed that the senate bill would put elections elec-tions of city commissioners back into the muck of ward politics "All the good of the commission form of government gov-ernment is eliminated In this bill," he Bald. J A De Vine, former city attorney of Ogden, then spoke in support ol the present form. His arguments were along the same lines as Mr Badger's He presented a petition, Bigned by. he said, more than 200 business men of Ogden, protesting against a change in the present law. On the other hand, A. J. Horn of Ogden, who spoke in favor of the bill, i ballenged the petition presented by Ml Oe Vino. He said that every property owner and tenant in the business district of Ogden wanted to see the new bill enacted into law. George M. Cannon and Glen Miller both spoke against the bill before the time expired Then George W. Moyei of Salt Lake spoke in favor of the bill. Moyer for Bill. "1 have the courage to speak in fa-nr fa-nr of this bill." orated Mr Moyer. "Whenever any one dares to suggest changes in the commission form of law it is charged that they represent undesirable citizens the underworld. And this despite the fact that the city is supposed to be as clean as the streets of New Jerusalem. "We are supposed to be politicians. There are no more prominent politicians politi-cians here than those who speak in fr.vor of retaining the present commission com-mission form, headed by that prince of politicians who spoke first (Mr Badger). "In supporting this bill I have back of me some the most inuous women wo-men of this city. They do not like the present government. If you will Investigate you will find the city commission com-mission as political as Tammany Hall. "Two years ago the greatest friends of the bill wanted the recall. Are you for the recall now?" "Yes," came a rousing chorus "Where is the recall feature in your bill''" asked George N Iawrence "It is not there." admitted Mr Moyer Moy-er In a gale of laughter from the galleries. gal-leries. "It will come in November." In rebuttal Frank B. Stephens ob-Berved ob-Berved that he and other friends of commission government had debated the question before; that he debated it in Ogden two years ago with Mr. Moyer. and Mr. Moyer made the same speech that he had just concluded. More laughter. Mr Horn of Ogden said he came to speak for the senate bill at the request re-quest of Ogden citizens "We are not ashamed of the bill." he announced. He declared that the commission form, as now constituted, had cost the city of Ogden $50,000 more man the previous administration. He said the three commissioners formed the "closest corporation y"u can find " Parley P lensen, Hpeaking along the same lines from a Salt Lake viewpoint, view-point, said ir there had been a recall re-call feature In the present commission commis-sion law the Snlt Lake commissioners commission-ers would have been recalled two weeks after they went into office He charged that there had been an Increase In-crease in crime under the commission form , i i In rebuttal for the other Bide, Mr Stephens said the commission government govern-ment has come to stay in the United Suites He pointed to Us success In foreign cities. If the legislature throws out the commission government, he said, it will give the state a black eye. |