Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1873-05-17
Mae'' 'natsa s t.'','',,,s~'':.
Cur Agents.
OLYMPIA. SATURDAY MORNING. NAy Il. 1913.
EXTRAORDINARY POWERS OF THE
NEW BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

NEW bUAhD VI 1hUSl LIS
By reference to the published pro
ceedincs of the Town Board OF Trust
ees, we find that upon recommendation
Of the Street Committee. the Board has
adopted the "survey of c. a, White OF
Olympia and Swantown." The notes
Of Mr.. Whites survev, on hle with the
Clerk, contains the following e1plana-
ton:
T5ta Nlyor aud Board OF Trustees cftfc city
the survey of Main and Fourth Streets. have
according to your instructions Of September
5th, so changed the survey in Swans Add
ton to Olympia as to interfere as little as pos,
Swans Addition. Having removed the points
of my survey twenty feet eastward, and max
ing the difference in Cherry Street. making
il eighty feet instead Of sixty feet. The cor
ners are established and located as shown by
the accompanying notes OF the survey.
CHAs. A. While, {. T..
TIE action of the Board virtually
amounts, therefore, to removal of the
landed estate of every property holder
in Swan.own from its original position
and placing it upon somebody else's
property. One of two positions is cor
rect: the gentlemen composing the
Board must be culpably ignorant of the
facts in the case, or they must have as
sumed greater powers than those con-
ferred by law upon similar bodies.
The town is now buldened with two
"oficial' surveys, one executed by Mr..
Francis Henry (Which was adopted by
the Board under which it was executed)
and the survey of Mr.. White, which ap-
pears to have been made for the espe-
cial accommodation of Messrs. Holmes,
Ruddle and two or three others.
Mr.. Henry's survey threw portion
of Mr.. Riddles house into the street
and deprived Mr.. Holmes of few cher
nv trees The difference between the
original survey made by Mr.. Swan in
plating his Addition, and the author
lied survey of Mr.. Henry, is explained
by Mr.. Swan himself, who has stated
that an error in the length of his chain
causes the discrepancy between the
corner marks and the plat. The ex-
PLANTATION fails to satisfy either OF the
gentlemen, however, because while one
must live in the street if he resides upon
the lot he purchased, the other would
Just as surely witness the demolition of
his cherished fruit trees.
In response to the repeated solicita-
tons of these gentlemen, new survey
of Fourth Street by Mr.. White was Or
dered by the last Board. But this did
not mend the matter. The new survey
placed the width of the block lying upon
the divisional line between Olympia
and Swantown at 240 feet, instead of
$50 feet the uniform width of other
blocks, and put both Mr.. Ruddle and
Homes houses in the street, Here
was satisfaction with a vengeance,
and Mr.. Holmes fruit trees appeared
to be doomed to certain destruction.
But Moses sometimes appears at the
right time, and SO he did now, when
hope had we'll nigh fed. We believe
it was the fertile imagination of Mr..
White which conceived the brilliant
idea of throwing all discrepancies into
the bay, the same way that profane men
consign their grievances to the devil.
The present Board jumped at this
prospect of easy deliverance from the
dilemma of their predecessors. That
it involved new and untried powers
added zest to the action, especially of
the new members. If it gives a CLEAN
Of satisfaction to Messrs. Ruddle and
Holmes, or affords thrill of exultation
to the Chairman of the Street Commit
tee, it has served the only purpose for
which it can ever be applied.