The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1873-04-25
FRIDAY, APRIL rs, 1878.
THE COURT HOUSE.

finish the Court House, showing a
majority of one thousand and
thirty-six in favor of the PROPOSE
ton. We are not surprised at the
result of the election but should
have been sadly disappointed
had it been otherwise. This has
for some time been o vexed ques-
ton, and we are aware that many
of our best citizens were originally
opposed to building so large a
house. But whether or not it was
best to build so large a house was
not the question under considera-
ton last Monday. The County
Court considered themselves the
judges of this matter, and contract
cd for the building Of a stone
Court House, 66x120 feet, two
stories high, to be finished off in
suitable style; and in pursuance of
this contract the building was be-
gun, the first story was completed
with all the petition walls, vaults,
&C., tho joists were laid for the
second floor, and large quantity
of rock was hauled on tho ground,
about which time it appeared that
our Honorable Court had creek
oned without their host" The
m oney failed, the work stopped,
and forty thousand dollars was
locked up in unfinished walls,
perfectly useless to any one.
But our Justices, still anxious
to finish the work they had begun,
ordered, by virtue of supposed au-
thority, an election, to sec whether
or not the people of this county
desired that bonds should be is.
sued for this purpose. Tho prac.
tical citizens of our county saw
that this was the only way to COM
plete the house without lovying n
tax greater than they were able to
pay; and, though many of them,
as we before stated, thought tho
house larger than necessary, yet,
in as much as it had been begun
and nearly two-thirds completed,
they at once saw that tho best
thing that could now be dono was
to complete tire building according
to the original design; consequent.
~ the bonds ware voted.
But upon examination of the
law governing tho case it turned
out that tho County Court had no
authority to issue bonds without
n special act of the Legislature,
Consequently petition was gotten
up and signed by n large number
Of citizens and forwarded to our
able Representative; u special bill
was passed giving the authority
prayed for, and every one naturally
supposed that the County Court
would proceed at once to issue the
bonds, which had been so long de-
layed for want of this authority
But it appears that a great reform
alton had taken place in that hon
orablo body, and those who were so
bold to begin a work which they
had not the means to finish, and
without knowing whether or not it
was in accordance with their con-
stituents, are now too timid to COM
plete the work when they have
tho requisite funds placed in their
hands, and the will of the people
expressed, If wo may BIO allowed
the comparison, after they he'd
"spoiled the horn" they hesitatod
about "making the spoon"
They refused to proceed without
another election, because said
they, "the dear people may have
changed their minds since they
voted on this proposition" and
(sotto uoce) our term of office will
soon expire, and then-oh, hooky,
if a Justice Of the Peace was not
such q small officc-we would say
this savored Of demagougism.
We wish here to expressly state
that our remarks 20 not apply to
those Justices who were in favor
of issuing the bonds as soon as the
bills passed. This was Judge
Kerfoots position, and perhaps
also another member of tho court;