The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-02-15
COLUMBIA. s. G..
Thurs!ay Morning. February ID. 1872.
Another Door to Fraud.


Another Door to Fraud.
There is bill which has passed the
Senate. and which will come up for se-
cond reading in the House, under q
special order, il our information be cor.
rect, at O'Clock P. NJ, TO- day, which it
may not be amiss for us to notice; for it
doubtless is intended to afford another
sly opportunity to enrich some few IA
vored rasoals at the expense of the pub
lie. The bill is entitled "a bill to pro.
vide for the construction Of new Court
House in and for the County of Rich
land." The ostensible object Of the bill,
al set forth in the title, is not an impro-
per one. All of the Acts OF the Le-
gisluture, indeed, designed to cover
fraud and swindls the people. have fair
sounding titles that tend to deceive and
give no intimation Of the rascality that
underlies them. The objection to this
bill rests in the mode by which the de-
sired end is to be effected. Richland
County is without Court House. It is
highly desirable that one should be
built. and though the burdens upon the
people in the way OF taxes are already
heavy, and will probably be still more
onerous and intolerable. the taxpayers
of Richland would not be vehemently
OPPOSED to contributing q proper sum
for that purpose. What they do desire,
however, and what they most undoubt-
edly have right to demand and to have
assured them. is, that no more money
will be required of them than is abso.
lutely necessary to accomplish the pur-
pose proposed; that every possible guar
antee be given that the funds raised will
be honestly applied. and that the work
to be done will be carried out in the
most economical way. Now this bill to
provide for the erection of a Court
House, in its first section, proposes to
"direot, authorize and empower" the
County Commissioners to sell and con-
vey the large and valuable lot on the
corner Of Main and Washington streets.
where the old Court House was situated,
as the first step in the business. The
second section "directs, authorizes and
empowers" the said commissioners to
purchase some other suitable site for the
new Court House.
In the first place, assuming that the
sale of the old lot and the purchase of
the new would be transacted in bona
.f,le manner. and for the best interests of
the County, we hold that change in
the location of the Court House is both
undesirable and will occasion serious in
convenience and loss. There is no more
central, convenient and in every way
suitable site in the city of Columbia
than that on which the old Court House
stood. Besides this, most Of the legal
fraternity have offices on that square.
These Offices ore unfit for any other use
than that which they are now put to,
and if tho Court House il removed.
there will be entailed upon them very
serious loss, and without. es we can see.
any commensurate benefit to the public.
But what possible advantage is there
to be gained by the sale of the old lot
and the purchase OF the new7 It is spe-
ciously argued that the old lot, being
very valuable. can be- sold for high
price, and another site, equally eligible,
can be obtained for much less sum.
That the old Court House lot is very
valuable one is true. and for that reason
we maintain that it should remain the
property of the County; that an equally
eligible site can be secured for less
sum, We doubt most emphatically.
The whole scheme is nothing more, as
we veritably believe, than put up Job
to enable some greedy speculator to pos
sess himself OF valuable piece of pub
lie property for less than its worth, or
to enable some no less greedy speculator
to sell u worthless piece of property for
fabulous price, or both; and in either
event, to furnish handsome little COM
mission to the parties who engineer the
scheme through.