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Show A STATE SCANDAL. The Salt Lake Tribune has unearthed an ugly scandal in connection con-nection with the Utah Commissioners at the Seattle Fair. It was generally supposed that the commissioners were acting without pay. It now develops that the commissioners voted themselves $500 each in addition to expense money for railroad transportation, Pullman sleepers, and, also, that each one of the commissioners had one of his relatives sent to Seattle at Utah's expense, and paid $100 per month while at Seattle. The Tribune's story is taken from the records of the auditor's office of tho state of Utah, and appears to be complete. It shows where Rudolph Kuchler of Ogden drew $500 at one time for his expenses ex-penses and $200 again for traveling expenses. ' I . The commission had many other items of expense and trans-tation trans-tation for different people. For instance, Commissioner Rudolph Kuchler had his sister-in-law, Miss Ethel Orth; Commissioner Hull had his daughter, Florence, while Commissioner Jackling had Mrs. Stevenson, a reporter of the Inter-Mountain Republican, of which paper pa-per Mr. Jackling is president, sent at the state's expense to Seattle, and after having had paid the railroad fare, Pullman fare and dining din-ing room expenses to Seattle, each of these relatives were entered on the pay roll as "lady hostess" at the rate of $100 per month. W. H. Rowe, formerly receiver of the Ogden Waterworks company, com-pany, sported the honorable title of director general, and instead of having his expenses itemized and checks made direct to the various contractors, Director General Rowe had the money paid to himself and he in turn with the contractors, and in one instance Director General Rowe received $2,000 for contingent expenses. Billy Rowe must have had a good time with the $2,000 contingent fund. That is not all. The Salt Lake Tribune announces that there is $12,906.47 of the Seattle expense fund missing, and the Tribune calls on the Seattle exposition commission to explain what became of this money. The Tribune also wants to know what became of the $1,500 worth of furniture that was purchased and only used for a covtple of months. The Tribune also wants to know why it required $303.75 for Governor William Spry to make a visit to Seattle. We wonder why the Tribune did not show this matter up before election. It has quite an ugly look, to say the least. Section 7, Article 6, of the Constitution of Utah, says, "That no member of the legislature can participate or accept any civil office of profit under this state which shall have been created while such a member is a member of the legislature." This clearly shows that Rudolph Kuchler and Henry Gardner have violated the Constitution of the State of Utah, and have clearly forfeited their seat in the legislature. Section 6, of Article 6, of the Constitution of Utah, also says, "That no person holding any public office of profit or trust under the authority of the state shall be a member of the legislature. ' ' Mr. Kuchler, having acted in the capacity as a commissioner of the Seattle exposition, and accepted profit for his services, has clearly violated at least two different sections of the Constitution of the State of Utah, and yet Rudolph Kuchler said that he did not get one cent for his services as Seattle Expositon commissioner. The entire commission consists of Governor William Spry, D. C. Jackling, C. P. Overfield, Thomas Hull, R. S. Allen, Henry Gardner and Rudolph Kuchler, and the commissioners, it appears, thought their first duty was to provide some relative a trip to the Seattle Exposition Ex-position at the expense of the state. Speaking of this matter the Tribune said it was: JUST A FAMILY AFFAIR. What a nice family affair it was when .they got to Seattle! Hon. Commissioner Rudolph Kuchler took his wife and her sister, Miss Ethel Orth, who was put on the pay roll ' at one hundred dollars a mouth as "lady hostess." Thomas Hull sent his daughter, Miss Florence Hull, and her maid, at the state's expense and Miss Hull got another hundred as "lady hostess." As a matter of fact, she was the active head of the women missionaries of the Mormon church. The federal fed-eral bunch contented themselves by sending Mrs. Stevenson, Steven-son, a reporter on the Intermountain Republican, who also became a "lady hostess" at $100 per month, while Mr. Chairman Chair-man William Spry had to content himself at the pork barrel by the appointment of Quincy Kimball at $50 per month. W. H. Rowe, the director general, put his grandson, Rowe Smith, a boy aged seventeen, on the pay roll as janitor. He didn't do any work but he drew the pay and saved his grandpa some money." |