Goodwin's weekly : a thinking paper for thinking people. [volume], January 20, 1912, Page 3, Image 3

About Goodwin's weekly : a thinking paper for thinking people. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1902-1919

Image provided by: University of Utah, Marriott Library

                
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GOODWIN'S WEEKLY 3 I
SMOKE FROM THE WEEKLY PIPE
AN OPEN LETTER.
To the Honorable Mayor,
J Of Salt Lake City.
Mr. Mayor:
F On Sunday last we had an example of a closed
town a town tightly closed by the orders of the
chief of police following a session of the com
missioners on Saturday morning.
The promise is that, under the state statute,
such Sundays are to continue and that the obso
lete law which was never enforced except as a
remedial measure, is to be enforced to the let
ter. There have been mutterings to the effect
that this has been done on the advice of the
brilliant legal department of the city as a means
of taking such laws off the books. If that is
the real reason, what is to be expected? That
we are to suffer for a year under this absurd
t "blue" measure, or is it the wish of the mayor
and the commission that the governor call an
extra session of the legislature in order to allow
j a supposedly civilized community to gratify a
few innocent wants on a Sunday?
Now, the whole thing is up to you. Are you
going to be mayor of the city, or are Dick Mor
ris and "Coffin Nail" Korns to dictate the policy
of the administration and play peanut politics at
the expense of the whole community? If you
were correctly quoted in a daily newspaper pub
lished here last Monday morning you state that
you heard "several hundred citizens express
opinions on the enforcement of the Sunday clos
ing laws and practically all of them had nothing
but praise for the action of the city administra-
Ition. We are doing nothing unreasonable, just
asking for a reasonable compliance with the ex
isting laws, and I understand that most of the
merchants are gladly assenting to the order.
The people during my campaign for offi o asked
for pledges that the laws be enforced and we
are merely carrying out our pledges to enforce
the laws."
You say that no complaints reached you. If
they did not, you must have been in hiding, for
there were loud and bitter complaints from hun
dreds and hundreds of men of standing in this
city and most of them were -praying that the
time would come when it would be possible to
recall incompetent and weak kneed officials.
You and some of the brilliant gentlemen
elected with you were named by business men
i and elected by business men for a business ad
ministration, and to date the only one of the
whole commission who has shown that he has
a hard head and the best interests of the city
at heart, is George Keyser. However, one com
missioner is necessarily powerless against four
who seemingly have a desire to pull up the pave-
ments and sewers and pull down the trolley lines
T and revert to the dear old times when the mule
cars dashed along one or two thoroughfares
every two or three hours and the grass and
weeds, unhindered, grew luxuriantly in the streets.
What do you think those business men who
elected you are thinking and going to continue
to think if you sit back and let somebody else
be mayor? They elected you as a very good
prospect and now that development work has
been going on for three weeks, they expect to find
below your calm exterior at least a small pay
streak of intestines. Use them, if you have
them. Assert yourself and go ahead with the
y work of making this a city administration free
from the influences brought to bear by the two
fanatics who are running the commission. There
wasn't a newspaper or a man or woman in Salt
Lake City who was not with the administration
heart and soul when it began its work, and it is
with disgust and disappointment that they are
noting the lack of sterling accomplishments and
the reverting to the policies which for so many
years made a village out of what promised to be
a city. Of course, they are censuring the chief
of police too, but most people understand that
he is just a poor cringing, abject slave first ready
to do the bidding of his Mormon masters and
more than willing to carry out their policies
when they are endorsed by the commission.
What is the matter with you, Mayor Park?
Have you been talking around these Mormon
meeting houses every Sunday for so long that
you are beginning to believe your own stuff?
That is a serious fault with many young men
when they begin to publicly exploit anything
they have in mind. If you entered upon your
work as mayor to spread the gospel and prepare
for a stake presidency somewhere, you are ap
parently doing exactly what is required, but as
an American citizen who has sworn to do his
duty by an American city with the understanding
that he is going to work for the betterment of
that city and assist in harmonizing its citizens,
your administration to date has been a joke. It
is high time that you reorganize your methods,
and if you need help in doing so, the place to get
it is not within the narrow circle of the commia
sion, but among hundreds of well balanced citi
zens who elected you as they do any man antici
pating that you would probably make a few mis
takes, but not dreaming that you would let your
self be driven by such fanatics as are running
the town.
The commission has been in power for a mat
ter of about three weeks. Not such a long time
that you cannot change to the broad path that
everyone expects you to take. Take it in time,
Mr. Mayor. Be the mayor in fact as well as in
name, and you will have nothing but the good
wishes and help of a waiting and expectant com
munity. Harry Shearman, the new city auditor, says
that he is frank to state that he does not read
GOODWIN'S WEEKLY, as he "doesn't consider
it fit to read."
He has cleared a great mystery. There have
been thousands of people who wondered why this
vestal virgin was elected. Now they know, as
he gives every evidence of being a perfect pro
tege of "Coffin Nail" Korns.
POOR TASTE.
From the views expressed by a good many
members of the Commercial club following the an
nual election of governors a week ago, the pro
cess by which the ticket given members to vote
from, is made to include the names of public ser
vice corporation officials whose residence in Salt
Lake dates back over but a few weeks, met
with but little favor.
The appearance of Mr. C. G. Seelye's name on
tho ticket was a decided surprise to the majority
of the club members, as the manager; of the local
Bell company is a new arrival here and in the
very nature of things ho could not have felt qual
ifled to assist In intelligently directing the work
of an organization so essentially an Integral part
of this community's financial and industrial inter
ests, however successful and capable he may be as
an individual.
Despite Mr. Seelye's excellent qualities as a
prominent citizen we believe he would have shown
better judgment and certainly much better taste
had he refused to permit his name being placed
on the club's ticket.
Poor old Main street!
Tunnel black from dusk to moon rise; clut
tered with waiting delivery wagons during the
day's busiest hours; its traffic under police sur
veillance when it doesn't need it and left to its
own sweet will when at its thickest.
Two dingy arcs for tho four corners of the in-
" " iw mamfmani w mkemwj Bi-v-T- r ""
tersections of Main and Second South
Great, isn't it? H
H
In the election of Louis Simon, J. F. Bern. I fl
J. H. Manderfield, George H. Dern and Frank '!.
Stephens for three year terms cm the board qt go M
ernors of the Commercial club, that organization M
has secured the services of five thoroughly repre- fl
sentative business men. and the club Is to be con- M
gratulated on the result of the choice of its mem- H
bers. M
The new governors are too well known to war- M
rant extended comment on any one. Mr. Simon M
and Mr. Bennett are at tho head of prosperous M
mercantile establishments, Mr. Dern is a capital-
1st with many important and varied interests, Mr.
Stephens Is one of the most prominent and sue- M
cessful attorneys in the state, and J. H. Mander- M
field, assistant general freight and passenger i
agent of the Salt Lake Route, is one of the most
capable and popular railroad men in the west and
is possessed of unusual executive ability. M
The choice of these men cannot help but M
strengthen the club. The entire board of govern- H
ors will choose the officers for the ensuing year fl
in the immediate future. M
H
To Mayor-Commissioner Park, "Sweet Caporal" M
Korns and Commissioners Morris and Law- fl
rence: M
You state that you are not "vindictive" in the
matter of enforcing Sunday blue laws in Salt H
Lake; that you are merely "carrying out a
signed pledge exacted 'before election to enforce IH
all the laws." C
Inasmuch as the recall was stricken from the
state laws putting the commission form of gov-
ernment into effect here, the citizens of this com-
munlty cannot force you to submit to such an M
election. Therefore this journal would like to H
submit to you this: If, as you say, it is your
fixed conviction that your enforcement of the Sun-
day blue laws is a fulfillment In either letter or H
spirit of the pledges exacted from you by the
voters of Salt Lake prior to your election, and if, M
as you say you believe, you think your present M
course meets with the approval of a majority, M
just a bare majority, we will say, of the law-abid- B
ing citizens of Salt Lake, are you willing to vol- M
untarlly submit to a special recall election that H
shall not cost yourselves or the city one cent? H
In the event that you can screw the courage M
of your convictions to the sticking point, it is our M
belief that it would take just about an hour and M
a half for a committee of business men to raise M
from among the citizens who voted for you In the H
belief that you were broad minded, sensible bust- H
ness men, who would give Salt Lake the business M
administration it has so long needed, tho money M
necessary to defray the expenses of such anelec- M
jj
If the Mountain States Telephone & Tele- M
graph company Is operating its lines in Salt Lake M
under a franchise, what is that franchise, what M
are its terms, what is its date and what are its M
provisions? M
WM
LET US PRAY. H
Well, it has come! The Chief of Police wants M
the club bars to close on Sunday and the all-wise M
commission concurs, or the commission wants it M
and the slave chief concurs. M
The wonder with the toupee up at head- IH
quarters hns also said that all tobacco stores in IH
front of saloons and in hotels and in drug stores
must close and refuse to sell on Sunday. H
Now the thing to do Jr. to stop the street cars H
from running on that day, stop the telephones H
from operating, stop every sign of life in the H
town and advise all good citizens who have the H
price to purchase a lawn mower to cut the grass 9