, 1873-08-06
THE COURTHOUSE PLANE.

Oommittooa hayo Ind these plans Under conHid-
Grafton, and tho taxpayers Of tho city aro no
noaror tho now Court-1Iouao to-]ey tllan thoy
worc whom tho mattor WAS frat broachcd. Tho
record Of tho deliberations over those pinna In.
1nnrked throughout by groaB Ignorance aud
wrotchod bnngling. Early in April last, tho
Joint Committees mot to examine tho forty-Tino
plans which Ind boon submitted. Prior to TINT
timo, tho public lad examined thom and dis
| cusHcd tl1om; tho newspapers havo Ind their
any, aud worry naturally no two OF thom agreod
upon anything. THO architects themselves
rushed into print, and no mon aro 70 1ncrciloss
ngalnat cacll othor as those In tho Ha1no profcB-
nittcos Ind boon selected Of practical mon who
Ind Bomo l,now1odgo of architectural drawing
and building, md woro therefore, competent to
dooido upon tho ro1atyo morita Of the plans. It
may bo possible TINT whom thoy undertook tho
tnak thoy understood thoir dutica. If 10, t1len
their hcadH woro turned by tho nofao
! and jnngling which Ind boon going on
ali around thom. They got together and thoy
| speedily threw out thrty-ono OF tho planH alto
gethor, leaving but eightoon for consideration
It is easy enough to decide wlnt is bal p1an.
It ia not so easy, however, to decide upon a good
plan. Tho Committee, howover, got on swim-
mingly. Tho oightcen p!ans wcro reduced to
nine, tho nino to six, and tho SIX to tlroo. This
looked like business, and tho tax-pnyorB con-
| grAtulatod themselves tllat at laHt t1loro was
r,roaroc& TIM 1orrt IIonoo 1,;r},t In b-f1t .vi+
tho prosont century. With the throo plana boz
foro them, however, tho Committee shrank
from tho responsibility Of choosing ono,
and, like tho schoo1-boy puzzled with
Ills sum, who in sheor despair rubs tho figures
oil out md begins anew, 60 tho Committee
rubbed everything out and commenced dc noco.
In other words, the Committee still had tho
forty-nino plans before them and had dono noth-
ing ut all. This was tho signal for architects,
amateurs, buildors, Aldermen, roal-cstato deal
ors, and ecribblors Of oyory description to rush
into print, defending their favoritoH, assailing
t1ioir enomios with personalities, making charges
OF corruption and undorlandod dealings, md
throwing tho Committee, who woro already Hnf-
ticiontly bowi1dorod into tho moat distressing
Btato of imbecity. Sleovc-bnttons began to
appear in tho case, and gifts Of moro valuable
description wore charged upon sundry architects.
In tho midst Of allthis l1nbbub, tho dazcd Commit
too went through tho form Of attending to thoil
duties. BY and by tue clamor died nwny, ant
tho whole subject was being gradually forgotten
when tho Committee, having recovered from itt
stupor sufficiently to remember that 1t Wi
Obliged to make somo Kind Of report to til.
Common Council, finally determined to make
decision. On tho 17th Of July, therefore, afto
sitting over throo months on tho plans, thoy 60
together, and, selecting fonrtoon out Of tn
forty-ninu pInus, bul1otod for tho tlaroo plan
which should havo tho promiums. Til
first WIS awarded to hlr. nIatz, US beinl
, tho best plnn; tho second to hfr, Gay
and tho third to Mr.. Tilloy. Once more tho ta1
payers began to congratulate themselves tia
eomo progross had boon made towards getting
Courthouse, but once moro thoy woro doo1no
to disappointment. at tho last aossion Of Il,
Common Council, tho report Of tho Committe
WIS presented but was not tnken up, nlthong
tho Council woro ns roady to not then III tho
j, ovor will bo. 1ts consideration was postponed
: wool, which will give another wook for obfus
eating everybody. To still further muddl
tho NATTER tho Corporation Counsel aer
in an elaborate opinion to Tho ofrct
, that tho Joint Committees OF the Counc
4. and County Commissioners Ind power give
thom to nwnrd tho premiums for tho planB, GIL
that toir action bound tho Council, Eo,far as IL
r, premiums woro concerned, without, 1owovo
binding it rs to tho selection Of plan by whic
to build tho Courthouse. This is probably tr1
). as matter of law, and It amounts to this, TIM
although the Con,mitteoa havo decided that N
II Nlatz's ia tho best plan, tho Council Is n
n obliged to accept tho be6t plan. This virtual
n lcayoB tho question nil opon again, and tho mi
a ago of tho now Court House, wl,icl, haa bet
4 showing itself go brilliantly, onco moro Ill
il solves anl disappears. What shapo it will tal
It when it appears again, no ono CT
u tell, but 1t will probably not +
- scmblo any OF its former aspect
Az tho Common Council ia not bound by t
n action of tho Committee, tho who1o forty-ni
,o plans onco moro como into tho field, and, na
II. two Of tho Council haTo tho same mind or KIT
n anything about tho matter, in all probability
n }avo got to 60 through tho snmo old wranf
NJ agnin. Looking Mt tho fnrco from this point
N view, tho question ut once suggcstn itao1f. it
y, dociSion of the Committee ia q moro abstrs
!, ono carrying no force with it, what t-was t
;. necessity Of having tho Committee ut all 7 "
=, it merely for tho purpose Of paying out seyo
- thousand dollnrs In pronaiums for plans.
80 QUO ia bound to accept or oven to cc
ailor? Pooplo who arc not mon'bt
of tho Common Council will ask, il Mr. Mat
)y ulan in The bcst ono, why il 1t not accoptad2
as 1t Ia not the best ono, why WIS ho laid tho pr
II Of s5,000? THO whole nattor is now doferr
D. for week, and II tho same policy is pursued
II. the Council VII ich waB pursued i'll tho Conn
| S3$f Ii