The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-07-21
THE COURT HOUSE MATTER.

THE COURT HOUSE MATTER.
Yesterday morning the MINER
gave several reasons why 1t would be
better for the county to erect Its
buildings as it's financial condition
would permit rather than incur an
Indebtedness Of the magnitude pro-
posed in the loan asked by the COM
m~issioners. The Inter Mountain
joins issue with the MINER in its
general conclusions but agrees with
us in one proposition; that it is I'M
wise for q community to run in debt.
Having conceded that point our
neighbor will certainly agree with US
IN the next proposition; that if it is
unwise to run In debt. it is m
safe, and if unsafe it should be
avoided. Communities like indi-
viduals should live within their
means and not mortgage their
future for the present If they desire to
prosper. This is a self-evldent prep
osition and calls for no elaboration.
"But," says u cotemporary, IAN
occasion frequently arises, in the life
of communities as well as individ-
uals, where a iudicious expenditure
of money, even if it has to be Dor
rowed, advances a useful end, and is
the means of saving expense" This
is true, but that occasion is not gre
scented to this county at the present
time. 1t has NIT no exigency which
demands the borrowing of 500, 600.
It saves no expense by doing it. The
interest upon this loan is $1,000 a
year. The county is in possession of
buildings which answer all present
purposes for which it annually pays
only about half that sum. W. have
heard of no losses incurred by the
county by its occupancy of these
buildings and they eel to serve its
necessities quite as we'll as a $15O,OOO
or q $175, 900 court house.
Our neighbor says the project Of
building q court house was approved
by popular sentiment. This may be
true or it may not be true. The mat
ter was not submitted to the judy
ment of the people of the county.
But we will hazard the assertion that
if the proposition to build a court
house and Jail to cost $l50,00O,
coupled with the other proposition to
borrow sl0O, 900 of the money at 7 per
cent. interest, had been submitted to
the people of Silver Bow county it
would nave been voted down by an
overwhelming majority. Our cotem-
porary further asserts that "two-fifths
of the estimated cost has already
been expended" If this is SO why
do the commissioners ash for a loan
of $1OO,OO 0 Fifty thousand dollars
have been expended thus far upon
the building. If $50, 900 be the two
fifths ofthe estimated cost, the whole
cost should be exactly SIPS, 600 hence
a loan of $75, 900 instead of SlOO, 900
should be asked for. There Is some
thing about this estimated cost we
would like to inquire into. A MINER
reporter, not long since, interviewed
Commissioner Jack in regard to the
estimated cost of the proposed county
buildings. That gentleman, as the
reporter understood him, and as he
reported in this paper, said: 1.-THE
cost of the buildings will be about
$4,000, certainly not to exceed $751;
OOO." There is such a wide dlscrep-
ancy between thu estimates and the
actual cost of public buildings now-a-
days that the average taxpayer is
apt to multiply the estimates by tive
and sometimes does not miss it
far when he increases it three-fold.
Estimates in the matter of building
public works are not near as certain
as taxes, and as property owners
have to pay the taxes they will be
pardoned if they are sometimes a
little skeptical in regard to the accu-
rateness of estimates.
The Hnt-r Mountain thinks the
camp would receive a ''black eyer
if work be stopped on the court house
building. 1T would" says that
sapient sheet, ''be a public announce
mems to the world by vi citizens of
a want of confidence" Such argu-
ment is an appeal to the pride rather
than to the reason of intelligent men,
and If it prevailed in the manage
ment of county aftails it would carry
that management outside the line of
all rules or principles of business. If
the argument is a good one then the
building of a court house and Jail
costing 81, ZOO, QUO, although every
cent of it was borrowed, would ''be a
public announcement to the world
by our citizens" of most supreme
confidence. BUTT would not inspire
that same confidence in the hearts of
strangers as to the discretion or even
the sanity of the taxpayers. Nor
would it induce capitalists to invest
in our mining properties. Men whs
have sense enough to acquire capital
have sense enough to inform them
selves as to the Indebtedness, rate of
taxation and current price of the
warrants and bonds of a county be-
fore they invest in its properties. A
heavy debt resting over a county, a
high rate of taxation, and depreci-
ated warrants are poor encourages
of capital. It would rather enter a
county free from debt, a low rate of
taxation, and with its warrants
cashed on presentation. Capital,
seeking investment in mines, takes