The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-12-02
THAT HELENA COURTHOUSE


The Grand Jury of Lewis and Clarke
County rave at last made their report to
the Court. In reference to TIL Court
House controversy they say:
In compliance with III in49uctiS1 is of tie
Court e looked into til 8hewi Eourts buse mat
ter carefully and with a seropi idea y think.
of our duty to the people, WeS6ied tx9Sget aEs8he
very bottom of the whqA b~uStbness, As1qut itSsaMas
difficult beyond measuk arSf hoN5pter,
unanimous in our unqualified and strict CEN
sure of the Board of Copsky Commissioners for
the loose, careless, inefficient I'D unsatisfactory
way that the whole Courthouse matter has heen
managed.
Iher4 hisnot beet thi spinness fbont It tAat
there should have been. Bids for plans and esti-
| mates for a building to cost not exceeding $125,-
600 were advertised for, and a bid of S1S2,SOO
! seems TO laYebeen TOO lastily,eptertained. Bids
for construction were demanded on fifteen days
notice, when ordinary common sense must have
told the Commissioners that home bidders could
not properly figure on all the materials in so
brief q time. zqhis has, given lise largely to the
many rumors Of collision between the Commits
s s,qSa IF sg re- REsRi!sdt and and the n1.n success wsss
found, during the greater part of the time dur
ing which bidders required them to make their
A1Au Ia II OAANS ia rtAS H-NA~~@
md present Contractors. they should have been
at the Court house, or in some place provided by
the County Commissioners, SO as to avoid embar-
rassment to competing bidders, -. >.
When the day for letting the contract cane 1t
was easily awarded~ for the sum of 1882 800,
and in a very short time thereafter q bond,
drawn by the architect and not submitted to an
attorney subsequently pronounced of question
able validity for the full penalty was accepted at
once and a contract entered into.
We find but one copy Of the specifications, and
they are in the hands Of the contractors and not
accessible to the public. A copy should be on
file in fhe county Clerks Office. .. *.
Throughout these ;proceadinps the Chairman
of the Board Of Commissioners seems to.
have regarded himself as the power. absolute.
One Of the bids made for the. erection of the
building, put in at the suggestion of the Chair:
man, turned out to be a straw bid.
The present architect, Mr.. Hodgsop, has been
in Helena twice since the work began and has
remained about two days each time. 1t is need
less to say that no architectural skill can detect
bad workmanship at a distance of 1,Ob0 mile.
The two; Commissioners, Pope and Cuthbert,
did not think, it appears, that the interests ofthe
county required daily, or frequent supervision of
the progressing work, though the law makes
it mandatory. The work went on, drifts uu-
der the foundation were filled up, as the con-
tractors advised, and this work was subsequently
approved by the supervising architect.
The concrete.sub foundation has in it about
fifty barrels. of louisville cement; whereas the
specifications called formany times that Quantity
of best Portland cement, and all of the bids rec
ognized the fact of quantity. -
Experienced builders and architects, in whose
Judgment We place much confidence have been ,
summoned before us. Not one ofthem is willing
to approve the work already done; while a select
committee consisting of an architect, a.-btilde1
and q stone cutter, made a formal report to Ms
disappearing altogether. of the foundation and
demonstrated to lis that a large amount of money
has, in all probability, been made. by the con- 4
tractors by their departures from the specifca-
tons and plans. In fact, the superintendent for
the contractors frankly, acknowledges such de-
partures, believing them of no detriment to the
structure. The only evidence we had before us
that the work has been properly and well done, is
that of the contractors and the opinions of the
Commissioners. We have Investigated the matter
of a bride having been offered the chairman in
with the plans. He denies it, and the
is insufficient to justify the charge, bit
there is much in his conduct in connection. with
the court house contract and the bids. thereof !
that is unsayory, arbitrary and unreasonable. He
to have regarded the tax payers as utterly
unworthy of any consideration We are willing to.
believe that he has acted in.accordance with his
own idea of his official position, but he has
the duties Ola county commissioner,
and is altogether too dictatoriali in his methods:
After this serious arrangement. !of the
officials, the members OF the grand
inquest, who are. evidently good men and
true" recommended the appointment OF a
to consist ofColonel Hdhnutt,
MI. Mcconnell, Of Deer Lodge, and John
NJ. Croker, OF Michigan, to act as a Conf
Of Experts, whose. report should be
accepted as final, and whose recommenda- I
tions, as to the retention and dismissal of
the supervising architect and other en-
should be promptly carried out by
the Commissioners. The report continues:
We have patiently listened to many witnesses
who have testified in relation to this new court
house, and our Judgment would be. to condemn
of the work done, but we believe it to be a
which can be only satisfactorily !
by the examination and report Of ex- !
perts. In this belief we make the above recon- |
mendation.. And We are free to add that unless it
is ollowe by the Commissioners, SO that the |
people will have n full and accurate knowledge
of the way the work has SO far been'dOne, we feel
that we must demand that the present Board re- |
sign, so as to give the taxpayers a chance to have |
Board to represent and act for them in. which |
hey have more confidence:
The report concludes with the following
charge OF ~defaleations, petit lar
cenies and inefficiency OF officials: 4
In conclusion we insist upon a change in the
general conduct ofcou1ty affairs. Declarations,
oetit larcenies, and the general practice Of vast
ng the county moneys:in repeated acts Of care
essness or ineficiency must all be ..summarily |
2nded. We particularly recommend that trains
ers of public funds from one account to another |
De done with care and always in regular sessions
If the board.
There is not even.a grain OF. comfort in
his report for the p%urloiners OF the public
unds of Lewis and Clarke county. We have
10 doubt that the Court will make. such Or
lers as the interests OF. the public may
eem to demand. The Commissioners
mould resign. Fl
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