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Show THE UTAH COMMISSION. : The discussion in the Senate yesterday on the new Edmunds bill brought the Utah Commission into prominence. Senator Sen-ator Van Wyck offered an amendment to the bill dispensing with the Commission. He estimated the Commission at its true worth. It is a cumbersome and expensive expen-sive piece of governmental machinery, and should be abolished. Senator Van Wyck said that the officers of the army: could do the work just as well as the Commission. This is true, but the plan: is objectionable because it places the administration ad-ministration of civil affairs in the hands of the military, a thing justifiable only under the most critical and extraordinary circumstances. The plan which we have advocated all along is far more preferable that the work of the Commission be done by the Governor, Secretary' and Chief Justice of the Territory, with perhaps per-haps the aid of the Probate Judge in each county when appointing election officers for the county. The work which the Commission do is almost entirely clerical work, and whatever responsibility there is attaching to the work of the Commission, Commis-sion, save the disbursements of funds, falls upon the County Registrars and Deputy Registrars. The offices of the Commissioners are nothing but sinecures ; in fact they are as much sinecures as some . of the Royalty offices of England. The duties pertaining to the Commission are almost nominal, while the expense at which they are had is enormous. The expense is a thing which concerns the General Government and not the Territory, Terri-tory, but the Government should none the less reduce this useless expense. What a magic change there would be in Utah if the Commission were' abolished and the same amount of money which it now takes to run that institution were applied to the creation of more courts and an increase in the prosecuting force, i If the Government would but apply the f75,000 which it now expends on the Utah Commission to the enforcement of the laws against polygamy ! If this were done, these thousands so applied might save the country many millions jret. The Commission is highly ornamental, while a more extensive enforcement' of the laws against" polygamy would be most useful and beneficial. If the Government Govern-ment has $75,000 to spare, let it apply that amount to increasing the courts and the prosecuting force in Utah. |