Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-05-15
ALetter From Los Angeles.

| LpS ANTILLES, Oal. dhl v, looo.
 The Southern Pacific depot in this
 city IS good point to watch the ebt
 and flow of the daily tlde of Arizona
 travel. and often, when business cares
 are not expressing l stroll over there to
 welcome incoming Arizona friends snd
 to give words Of cheer and encourage
 ment to those seeking Lew homes m the
 ..sun-kissed land." At one. train the
 other day IInet Messrs. Perrin < Land oi
 the Barbscomari. Capt White and Col.
 Gage Of.Tombstone, Monroe Salisbury,
 of the Benson smelter, and many others
 of less note. A few days ago, soon after
 the arrival 0; the train I dropped into a
 neighbOring saloon to vet my whistle,
 and there I overheard an amusing dia-
 logue between the bar keeper and Q re-
 turned Arizonian. The baTkeeper was
 asking the newcomer about mutual
 friends Tn the Territory, and finally said
 to him, "how is old Jim-of Tomb
 stone getting slong?' First rate, first
 rate" responded Arizona, "he gets away
 with a gallon of red-eye every day in
 the year, regular" Good! goodr' ex-
 claimed the mIxologist with undisguis-
 ed admiration. "A gallon Il day Well,
 Jim is a trump" If this IS Jlm's daily
 performance he is certainly worthy of encouragement and his feat of destroy ing so much bad Tombstone Whiskey
 every twenty-fOur hours should elevate
 him At once to the front rank of philan-
 ihropists.
 The papers announce the dedication
 and flight Of the Butte County Treasur- CT, hIs accounts being nearly Sl5 OO0 short. While he Is to be blamed for his dishonesty yet one cannot help feeling a little pity fof him. It scems that
 whenever man gets into county office in this state his friends and political supporters begin to strike hlm for coin, and he must have the firmness of a Grecian stOIc to resist the thousand and one demands made upon his purse. In San Francisco be IS bled by the boss" and In the interior towns he Is the vic tim of every man who voted for him. He must respond. for fear of making enemies and thus ieopardizing bis chanc es of reelection. He must pay his pol Itical assess sments, subscribe to pIcnics and parades. keep open house for coun- ty visitors, patronlZe the saloon men and livery stable keepers, and n short be ready tO yield up his salary CT the great CT portion of 1t tO his party or his friends. Is it wonder then under such l a system that defalcations arc numer- ous. County funds should be kept in l some responsible bank En3 the bank ! should pay q bonus for the use of the | money. As matter of fact our CalifOr- l ma County TressureFs are insuffiCiently | paid. A custodian of funds should be | paid ID proIorIIon to his responsibility. | In this county where the Treasurer han. dles over SJOO.OUO yearly his salary Is | only SljUO. In Fresno County one of l the richest counties in the state the 1 Treasurer receives Ouly SlOUO per year | and out of this he has Co pay clerk hire. | l cannot understand why men scramble | for these offices SO eagerly. l heard of a | treasurer the other day who | made hIs office pay IL was in Cue of | the mining counties. The treasurer 1 rigged up a furnace n the rear O. his l office, and whenever he had S3,OlO or SO | GU hand in gold com ho would melt 1t i into bar and send the bar down tp the l San Francisco mint, representing it to | be tie product Of q certain mIne Tn the i vicinity of the county seat. In a few | days he would ge. his coin back iu ex- change for his bar with the hints re- csipt to the effect that such mine had l produced 1t. After be had melted up | the county treasure half dozen times | and had mint receIpts representing l big production o; gold, he was ready to | spring bis trap. He got hold of a capi- | talist in San Francisco and showing him | the mint receipts made him believe that he had the biggest mine on the coast. the capitalist bit eagerly and without waiting to investigate the mine, he bought 1t, paying the treasurer Sj0,OO0 for the claim. When he did investigate he found ncthiug but an old shaft full Of water. An effort was mnde tO indict tbe treasurer for this rBscaliy piece of business. but without suecess, and he still fiourisbes like 6 green bay tree. Hssta mas yer. MCLINERo.