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Show Mattson An Able Official i fi & & t& t jfi & & Record Shows Progression Secretary of State Candidate to Succeed Himself in Present Capacity. Achievements Those Helping to Conserve and Upbuild Utah's Resources. David Mattson, present secretary of. state, and candidate to succeed himself, him-self, has been a prominent figure in Utah business and political circles for a score of years. He began life with few advantages. Obliged to work on the farm and herd sheep while boys of his age were going to school he patiently bided his time and finally by dint of his own pluck and perseverance ho managed to educate and prepare himself to assume as-sume a notable place in the affairs of his home and community and in the state at large. Mr. Mattson is of Swedish descent. Ze was bom in Ogden, Utah, in 1S75, and is of Mormon parentage and belief. be-lief. His father died whilo he was still quite young, and he was placed largely upon his own resources. The necessity of earning a livelihood prevented him from regularly attending attend-ing the public schools. However, by tne time ne Decame or age ne saveu sufficient means to enable him to enter en-ter Weber Stake academy and spend three years in pursuit of an education. educa-tion. Once Weber County Official. In 1S99 Mr. Mattson was chief deputy in the office of county recorder re-corder of Weber county, and served in that capacity for four years. In 190-1, he accepted a responsible position posi-tion with the Ogden State bank. The same year he was elected to the office of county clerk of Weber county, and two years later he was re-elected to this office. In 190S he successfully launched into state politics, and was elected to the office of, state treasurer. Four years later his party nominated him for secretary of state, and in that year, 1912, he was elected to the office of-fice he now holds. Mr. Mattson is a Republican in politics and for years he has been a factor in shaping the policies of his party, and in winning Its battles. When he was county clerk he uncovered un-covered the notorious bounty frauds which were filching thousands of dollars dol-lars from the people of the state annually, an-nually, and through the prosecution which he instituted this pernacious practice was successfully stamped out. As state treasurer he drove sharp bargains for the state in the sale bonds and the handling of accounts. ac-counts. Dnrlng his term in this office of-fice the law had not yet been put into effect requiring the payment of interest inter-est on public funds, nevertheless, Mr. Mattson, by judicious control of the state's finances, effected a saving approximating ap-proximating two per cent of the average aver-age dailv hnlnTinnq rnrrierl during his entire administration. Good Roads Enthusiast. During his term as state treasurer, Mr. Mattson was aiso a member of the State Road Commission, and took an active interest in its affairs, xne has always heen a good roads enthusiast, enthu-siast, and" in this position he found a splendid opportunity for turning his practical ideas into actual results. He has long ibeen an active promoter of permanent road construction work along exnetsive lines, and of expending expend-ing every available dollar of the state's revenues for this purpose, and it is safe to say that no public official or private citizen has been more staunch in support of the good roads movement. Since entering the ofllce of secretary secre-tary of state, Mr. Mattson has effected decided improvements in that department. depart-ment. The office has been thoroughly thorough-ly reorganized, and placed upon a sound business -basis. In point of arrangement ar-rangement and organization, the secretary sec-retary of state's office now has nq equal in the state, and although - the work of the department has doubled in the past few years, it is being handled with precision and dispatch, lar character. During Mr.. Mattson's encumbancy the corporation laws have been so amended as to afford greater protection protec-tion to domestic corporations and to the public in general. Foreign corporations cor-porations of a "wild cat" nature have been refused admission to the -business of the state. Upon the recommendation recom-mendation of Secretary Mattson, the laws have been revised so as to permit per-mit of a more close scrutiny and supervision su-pervision of building and loan associations associa-tions and Investment concerns. The annual an-nual corporation license tax schedule has been redrafted, thereby competing compet-ing large corporations to pay a proportionate pro-portionate share of the tax and incidentally inci-dentally increasing the revenues to the state approximately $50,000 annually. an-nually. The motor vehicle law has been rewritten and made effective, and from this source alone an additional addi-tional revenue of appjtJximately $10,-000 $10,-000 annually has been obtained for road building purposes. All told, by means of the new legislation the secretary sec-retary of state has increased the total annual receipts of his office upwards of $150,000. As secretary of stale, Mr. Mattson is a member ex-officio of the State Board of Examiners, the Slate Board of Land Commissioners, the Capitol Commission, and the Board of Regents Re-gents of the University of Utah, and the Board of Trustees of the Agricul tural college. These live boards, covering a wide range of duties, occupy oc-cupy considerable of his time and attention, and he has entered heartily into the manifold labors attendant to each. Advocate of Efficiency. Secretary Mattson has always -been a strong advocate of efficiency in the administration of the state's affairs, and believes In keeping the cost of running the state government down to a minimum consistent with such efficiency. ef-ficiency. He believes that the state government should bo put on a purely business basis, that it should operate strictly within Its means, anrt that every available dollar should be devoted de-voted to substantial road building purposes and to the development of the state's resources. In other words, In so far as it is practicable, he would make the state itself a direct party to the upbuilding of its resources re-sources and industries ,and the increasing in-creasing of its population. Heavy Property Holder. Mr. Mattson Is a man of affairs as well as a public official. He has been a large real estate holder and taxpayer tax-payer In Weber county for yenrs. He is also a real estate holder In Salt Lake City. He erected the Marion hotel property at Twenty-fifth street and Lincoln avenue, and is president of the company which now operates it. In his many enterprises, Mr. Mattson Matt-son has been a heavy employer of la-hor la-hor and a pay roll "builder. Due to his democratic manner and fair-mindedness fair-mindedness he Is just as popular with his employes as he is with his business busi-ness and political associates. His personal associations are to be found in all corners of the state and among all classes and conditions of men, and wherever he Is personally known he Secretary Mattson is a man of family. He was married In 1903, to Blanche Allison of a prominent Utah family. Three children have blessed their marriage Marcus H., a boy of 12; one daughter, Marlon, aged 7, and David, a four-year-old son. |