Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 4; No. 22. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, FEBRUARY 11, 1905. Piucic 5 Cents 91
I I SloTMachines and Other Grafts
H It seems as if an epidemic of fraud
H and corruption had broken out in
H Utah. The fraud and corruption has
H from all appearance been in existence
H for a considerable time, but its pres-
HJ enco has only recently been made
Bj manifest by eruptions on the body pol-
EHJ ltic. The bounty steals, the collection
H from tho stato of largo sums as pre-
KJ miums for the slaughter of wild ani-
HJ mals which did not exist, were tho
HJ first to be brought to light. Then came
H the utan Worl(1's Falr commission
IH scandal, the details of which strenu-
H ous efforts are being made to covei
IH up. Several other things of consider-
IH able moment of a similar nature are
IH brewing, and then there is the admin-
IH istratlon of the civic affairs of Salt
IH Lake, which have been a standing
IH reproach for a year. That the prese-
19 ent city administration Is not only no-
IH toriously Incompetent but strikingly
IS corrupt is a matter of common knowl-
II ea6e. Tho policy of tho city govern
IS ment la one of graft. Tho city coun
IV ell has a large proportion of grafters
IH and the example sot by tho council
H has permeated other departments of
IB the administration. It is to bo fer
Hj vently hoped that tho legislature in
Hj its desire to reduce the number of
II elections will not inflict on the people
ill of this city an extension for a year of
IH the terms of office of the present city
administration. It would be an un
Ug mitigated calamity.
J One abomination which has been
jHJ fostered and chorlshed by tho city
J eovernmont in which there is a big
J Eraft participated in oven by some
)HJ members of tho city council is tho
J slt machino plan of gambling. It is
the most pernicious kind of gambling
that exists, mainly for tho reason that
It separates from their money youths
III and poor people who can ill afford to
squander their hard-earned coin and
I Implants in tho youth of. tho cty a
ove of gambling to. which heretofore
I tney have been strangers, a school for
I gambling.
I Few people have any idea of tho
I wi t0 whlch thls system of gam-
M oiing Is practiced and tho amount of
money which is lost by tho public and
J won by those who have a monopoly
'n supplying tho machines, and who
H "Porato thorn. Thoro are approximate
H n a Jlundreu' slot machines operated
I iif sa.Ioons cigar stores, etc., in tho
II i,,,V ot Proflts from which exceed
oy far ?1Q0,000 a year. Tho fact that
II o k concern offered tho municipality
II M,,Mn"3 of ?50-000 a year for tho ox
I! v. PrIvllSO of supplying these
II S i, n0Sx,n th0 c,ty Gives some idea
SI ZlJ extent to which tho people are
I wjmg rob,bed by thQ device. Those
I clnf Wy the machines get 50 per
Lnt or tho net gain and the person in
whoso place of business tho machino
Is placed gets tho other CO per cent,
and tho city, by way of fino or Hcenso,
gets $9 a month for each machine.
Just why tho city should openly foster
and encourage, as it has done and is
doing, this form of gambling is in one
sense a mystery and in another sonso
it Is not. That tho city officials fostor,
aid and abet it is beyond question. It
is also well known that tho "Industry"
is flourishing. Some of, tho machines
in operation "take In" from $100 to
$150 a day, tho major part of which
is clear profit. In some cases the city
Issues straight licenses to tho parties
who operate the machines, and in oth
ers $9 a month is collected without
any formal license being given. Tho
operation of these gambling machines
is clearly against the law. Tho city
would havo just as much right to is
sue a license to a man to steal horses
as to operate a gambling slot ma
chino. But tho city administration
fosters and aids that form of gambling
because there Is graft in It. Is it not
a scandal that tho man who collects
tho Hcenso or flno for tho city for tho
operation of tlio machines should bo
directly interested In supplying tho
machines and should, with his part
ners in tho business, receive half tho
profits from tho machines supplied?
It may bo a legitimate business to
furnish tho machines, but It Is, wo
think, not very seemly for tho city
license collector to bo In tho husienss.
It is n flno paying business, however,
ono which would mako a man Inde
pendently wealthy in a very short
timo. Why does Hie mayor allow such
a thing? Why does ho permit those
machines to bo operated at all In tho
face of tho fact that tho city attorney
has given It as his opinion that tho
operation of slot machines aro abso
lutely contrary to law? ' If tho city,
as tho mayor said, needs tho money
so badly that it must break tho law
to get It, why does it .get only about
$10,000 a year fo"r tho one hundred
machines in operation when it could
get $50,000 a year just as well?
Theso aro a few questions which
many people would like answored.
Another thing about theso machines,
trade machines, as some aro called, Is
tho fact that it dpes not give men In
business who want to do a straight
business on business principles a fair
chance. They aro placed at a disad
vantage, compared with those who
havo gambling machines as trado
bringers. Mayor Morris, as Truth has
remarked before, is a weakling and
lets himself bo run by othors. It Is
a well known fact that any ono pre
senting a petltlo'n to tho mayor must,
before ho can hope to succeed, havo it
Indorsed by some of thoHo who com-
pose tho mayor's kitchen cabinet pre
ferably by tho chairman of tho said
kitchen cabinet, John Ilalvorson.
At this writing tho Joint committee
of the legislature Investigating tho Ir
regularities In tho accounts of tho
Utah World's Knlr commission has
not reported. Tho commit! co Is moot
ing with much difficulty In tho pur
suit of Its inquiries. It Is said tho
shortage which existed In the casn
has been partly mado good by tho
conveyance of coitnln sums into tho
treasury, and that the books very re
cently havo boon "fixed up" so that
discrepancies aro hard to traco. The
air has been full of rumors of a con
templated arrest, but so far no stop
has boon taken In that direction. It
seems to Truth that It is tho duty of
tho members of tho commission to see
that tho guilty parties nro dealt with
according to law. They know, or
ought to know, moro about tho nffalr
than any othors, nnd to clear thorn
selves of suspicion of complicity, If
for no other purposo, ..they should act
vigorously. Certain parties havo been
urging Sheriff Emory to mako com
plaints and arrests, but it Is doubtful
If this is in good faith. Without tho
active help of tho commission convic
tions could hardly ho expected. Let
tho commission demonstrate its good
faith by taking tho initiative. It owes
that to Itself and to tho public.
u
GO AttMED NOW.
A West Tcmplo establishment since
tho recent anti-Mormon mud-sllnglng
campaign Is reported to havo laid In a
stock of firearms and ammunition.
Thoro is no reason assigned for tills
strango move. It Is believed, how
over, that tho head of this concern,
who also packs a gun, Is prcpnrlng to
put down any rovolt among Its em
ployes with a stern hand, or possibly
tho establishment of nn nrscnal is tho
forerunner of somo sonsatlonal dis
patches In eastern papers under a
Salt Lake date lino.
(With apologies to tho alleged hu
morist on tho Dcsorct News.)
Tho bottle-scarred veteran sat in tho
Innermost bomb-proof chamber of tho
citadel. Slnco tho defeat of tho Mcr
rycat division on November 8 ho had
boon subsisting on frlcaseod hierarchy,
and oven that lndlgostlblo diet had not
wrecked his cast Iron constitution.
Whllo dead soldiers wero strown
around In fantastic attitudes at his
feet, General Howitzer still survived.
True, his curls were somowhat grayer
and tho puffs beneath his oyes betoken
sleepless nights; but ho was tho samo
old Howitzer tho biggest gun of them
all vlndlctivo, tricky and over ready
to flro on tho n , Cross flag.
Outside tho oor paced the faithful
sentry, who never deserted him In his
wildest days.
Suddenly tho brooding silence was
broken by tho sharp challongo: "Ad
vanco friend; glvo tho countersign."
PO M B ' Hill HI O !
"To Tophot with tho Mormons," III
camo tho hoarso rcsponso. Tho doer
swung back and Lieutenant-Colonel HI
O'Grouch, 1C. C. T. S. (knight com- HI
mandor tub of suds), strodo Into the III
room without deigning to ncknowl- 111
cilge tho sorvilo saluto of tho sentry. 851
At his heels clattered BrlgadlorGon- III
oral Zaugwlll Joey, formerly of tho n
'Stconlh Jorusalcm HoozoIIors, whllo T
Major Flipper II. Insortlon tripper in fill
daintily in all tho regal glory of glad HI
raiment nnd gold lace. flwl
Tho Hlg Four went Into star chum- JR9
her session to plan tho last desporato Iff I
sortlo cro capitulating. HI
Gciiornl Howitzer motioned thorn L ffibl
ho scaled, and then pressed a button. Mr I
In rcsponso tho ordnnnco officer np- HI
poarcd. am-M
"How is tho ammunition?" sharply Bill
queried liis commanding officer. WfM
"All that Is loft In tho magazine" faM
camo tho curt rcsponso, "Is 5,000 itf
rounds of 'hleiarchy' 13-Inch shells, 10,- till
000 rounds of rnpld-Hro 'serfs,' two nil
cases of 'Mormon peon' pom-poms and LJ
1,000,000 smnll-arm dum-dum cart- Snl
ridges comprising assorted 45-cnlIbor all
'Logan lies,' Mack Mormons,' 'npostato wil
Gentiles,' 'rum guzzlers,' 'John D. Leo' fill
fnkes,' 'Smoot a polygamist' slugs, 'am- UM
nesty' misrepresentations and 'church "(II
corporations' hot air. All tho ammu- fffll
nltlon Is decidedly muddy and slimy. il
Thoro Is enough to last a few days ill
longer with enro.' fill
"Vat vo vant is help, aindt it," Ul
snapped irlgadicr-Gonoral Jooy. "Got JJ9I
omit Kllppor, mako a sortlo, nudt Join jl
your forces vld do Shcntllo relief ar- jjl
niy'" 3s
"It is no uso," slghod Major Inser- ja-l
tlon, "I have tried It and they all laugh II
at me. Thoy say that they camo to J I
Utah to mako a living among Amorl- il
cans, not to fight." Ill
"Americans thoy aro not jVmoii- ill
cans!" road O'Grouch, the commander l
of Graphllo point, as ho kicked a dead fflm
soldier under tho table. "Chargo 'cm, Vl
hlc with shot and 'hell!" ho shouted, ft I
as ho rolled tho big cannon into ac- ill
tlon on old Graphite. II
"Amorlcansl" fairly shrieked Gen- ill
oral Howitzer. "Well, whoro's tho pew 0
ront? Why don't their bishops get off jjul
tho map and dress up in coal scuttlo igU
hats and flowing robos like tho priests 1 M
thoy ought to bo? What right nave ill
thoy to homy hands liko tho sons of '
toll thoy nro. And whoro's thoro an- ill
other Amorican choir that's willing to VI
work for nothing nnd pay its own all
board liko tho Tabcrnaclo singers? II
What business lias a United States II
senator saying his prayers on Sunday HI
and then bo doing business at tho old Hi
stand on werk days? It's infamous," 91
ho concluded, with a gulp, as ho ranged HI
tho big gun far across tho valley where MM
a Mormon bishop was teaching somo ll
nowcomors how to till tho soil. "To 'ill
bo frank with you," ho hissed then ho HI
Inndcd a hot shot In tho carp pond of SI
his forefathers and blow tho roof off II
tho old homestead "I am In this bust- HJ
nesfl for tho pelf. I'm a Hessian, I am. nil
. m.i "jmI
