The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-10-30
SOME TWISTED FACTS.
Rochester Fires Off His Much
Heralded Cannon.
THE ORATOR AND THE TRUTH
Entire Ammunition OF the DemoRats
Fired on ut One Blaxt-A silly
Rhodomentade Of Fiction.

Rhoo0mentode OF k1ctions
The announcement that Judge Rochester
would, to use the words of the announcement,
"expose the extravaganza of the King county
administration" drew a large crowd to Pioneer
place last night. stand had been erected,
upon which were seated John Collins, A. d.
Warner, Fred Rice Rowe,l, j. 7. Blackstone and
Others. Alter the last named had hsrangued
the audience in very vague and genera. terms,
Junius Rochester was introduced.
Mr. Rochester gave wha. he called an expos
of the 'crin nal proaigacy'' of the present
King county officials. He banded figures
about recklessy, taxing totals from the audit
or's report and comforting them in his usual
ford and irresponsible way. Throughout, his
speech was pleatiiully besprinklsd with yitu-
peration, and the words .'skunks," "shieves,"
"blackmailers." 'liars," ETC., were il constant
use.
His mtsstatements have already been fully
demonstrated, but il is due to his audience to
point out wherein he attempted to mislead
them soon after he began speaking the Saliva
ton Army paseed through the square, as it does
every night in the year, and this Mr.. Rochester
declared TO be So dirty trick OF the RepuD-
Leans" although the weil-meaning reiigionists
passed on their way as usual and did not at
tempt to halt within sound of his voice. While
he was speaking the crowd suddenly broke
away, and this, in another imaginative flight,
Mr.. Rochester attributed 10 Republican machln-
atoms. The fact ia that Joe Gavelaiu, the DEM
ocratic deputy superintendent OF water WORKS,
got into fight on the outskirts OF the crowd
and caused the distraction of interest
Mr.. Rochester spoke for over an hour, chiefly
giving figures to prove Republican extraya-
gance. He declared that the county commission
ers had either "sQaudered stolen over
81, 5000 OF the peoples money. The fact is
that the commissioners collected that amount;
but the entire disbursements over which they
had any control was $354, Dos so The following
shows how the money was distributed:
General school fund, discussed by
school oirectors...... .-.-.......-...$ 63,ol2 "a
State fund, turned over to the state
intact NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 17s,9OS 43
Soldiers relief fund, paid out by G.
A. ................. 1855 50
Military fund, turned over to the state IL $50 o.
Special school fund.- District No. l,
turned over to the directors -. 52,.oss 50
State bond interest. turned over TO the
state ............... 1876 IS
County bond interest fund - 49,. 1880 81
salary fund .....-.......:........-.-. 9S,912 81
These figures are taken from the auditors re-
port but Judge Rochester deliberately sup
pressed them and said: 'Where has this money
gone to? l don't know"
He contended that thousands and tens of thon-
sands had been taken out of the county treas
ury sin wholesale robbery of the peoples
money" He told the people that under the fee
system county officials had grown rich; and
that now the officials were paid by salary Yet
these Offices, which were so profitable TO their
incumbents, were now costing the people more.
Referring to the sheriff 8 Office he declared
that the salaries were sI6.S53. Is and the fees
only $l0.796 A. So that the people paid over
5000 more than the Office brought in. He did
not complain that ali the fees formerly paid out
for the county to the sheriff, and which still
earned by that Office, are not now credited to
the sheriff Office, but the cost of earning the
fees is included in the salaries of the office All
these figures ana facts We're fully set out in the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES last Sunday aud Mr.
Rochester, when his attention called to his
error, promised to give credit for them in his
speeches. He never once referred to them last
night.
Mr.. Rochester said that under Woolery the
charge for feeding prisoners was so cents a day.
He did not mention that under Democratic
Sheriff Cochrane the cost was 81 day Mr..
Rochester, referring to the newspaper reports OF
last year that the sherifs deputies at the mines
were being paid by the Seattle Coal and Iron
Company, declares il infamous that deputies
should be paid by private corporation" and
then condemned the county commissioners for
| paying them out OF the county funds. "These
| figures show" he said ''tnat the people pay
10000 more than the cost of the Office This is
absolutely untrue the report shows the actual
saving to the county, by the abolition OF the fee
| system, nearly $4,000 a year.
1.-THE treasurer's Office" he continued, "is not
so bad; II is not good office for politicians SO
| that IL doesn't cost the county quite so much
| The salaries We're St, "a and the fees sll 0J0"
| MI Rochester did not tell his hearers that
| during the past two years the old cumbersome
| and perplexing system OF keeping books has
been entirely abandoned, and that now the
| most complete system OF book keeping in the
| United States has been adopted. All the old
| delinquent taxes for past years have been care.
" ava raaa y-3 t-.rht
| compact set OF volumes. If the county admin.
| istration had done no more than this it would
| be Il lasting monument to the efficiency of the
| present county treasurer. Mr.. Rochester pre-
| tended TO be very indignant because, in effect
| Ing these reforms, new books had to DO pur-
| chased
| Mr. Rochester, in criticism of the county
| auditors office, said Forests receipts for two
years were $4,000 and his expenses only 81 900 a
month. lie said that was only an estimate, but
| II WAS based on affidavit OF AL employe.
| Charles otto, who says he Was discharged about
two years ago because he would not contribute
10 TO the campaign fund Utto's reason for re-
| fusiug was that he had been electioneeriug for
| IWIchell. aud iwichell stopped his salary for
| that time so II seems Twicaeil doesn't object
| to a man eiecsloneering, but he objects 10 the
| county paying for II even in Twohelrs own in
| terest.
| Mr. Rochester gathered from other source,
| partly using the auditors report aud partly
guessing that the cost OF the auditors office was
S2,Qo0 mouth, with only three fourths OF the
| worA Forrest had 10 do. lie said Twicheil paid
his chief deputy sl25 q month, others 500 and
| others $50, while Forrest only paid so week
| Mr.. Rochester praised Judge Lichtenberg Tor
giving his bsliif double pay, but Rochester con.
| deinued other officials for paying lair salaries
! "GlTis who a'e hanging around the county
| clerk Office are getting So0 aud SIS; Spencer has
| had two deputies al $3.50 month, one other
clerk a. sl25 month and Others at sl1J, the file
CLERK gets s., and ii is not worth moro than s.0
| al elevator boy could do the work as we'll"
| Nj Rochester is al attorney doing business
| in the county CLERKS Office, and no man know.
better than he how vitality important il Is To tina
| public 10 have exceptionally we'll qualified
| Clerks 30 attend TO legal papers. He has psy.r
! made single charge OF iueficiency This ha
| cannot do, because every Lawyer in the eifv
| would contradict him. Cheap aud incou nsatar,
| clerks coAid DO untold mischief
| The assessors Office got OF very easily NJ
| kochester's chief point being silly sheer ha
| cause Twlcheil couldn't teal him in Oetohar
| what the cost OF the Office would Be up 70 De-
/ eeGabsr. st the end oi the year
| Mr.. Rochester was particularly sevara -, 49,
4 prosecuting attorneys Office, DECLARING So,
| John +. Miller was not lawyer, and giving "a
| al instance that the supreme CONT bsd 60.
| eised his action III tie Friedrich case whers
| Miller has been in error once Judge I;chrs-
| Judge Rochester does not conclude frnr, -
| tina. IAcntenberg Is lawyer. Bu, i ~
| were not drst-class lss yer-sr.tcla.s }s,-,.-
DONE work for s., 6oo year-the aues,i,7, 80
whom do the Democrats propose 70 rep.ace him
| with