Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-10-29
WHO Is In FAULT ?
Old and important CitYRecords
Covered With Dust
They SHOULD Be CARED FOR
Suit al Law Causes the Uns2Tihing
and Oshss Records IN Heap.

Where are the Old records of the
city Perhaps they are considered as
useless rubbish 10y some, but however
useless they appear there comes time
when the apparently most useless rec
ORD Is factor OF prime Importance IN
deciding q case in the courts- There
IS now case pending in courtin which
Michael Colleton Is Interested. Ii be-
came necessary TO know 10 whom =
certain order in 1873 was paid. lie WIS.,
lied tho city comptrolier's office and
asked 10 SEQ tao stub order boo for
1878. He was told that the comp troller
had never seen the old stuo books.
They were not IN the office when he
Was elected, and ne had never seen
them. The books were OF great import
ance TO Mr.. Collector. aud no asked that
diligent search be made for the records.
B~gan q search
A son of the comptroller began q sys.
tematlc search for these old records.
Tie visited ali the vacant rooms In the
basement and IN the garrett OF the city
AalAs At ldtt TIC tdlhr W tlC QuI
room In the south west corner of the
building in which the city engineers
and their assistants make their blue
prints. In one corner he found u heap
of dust and cobwebs beneath which
VAS several hundred volumes.
papers, public documents, court
records and books of record, all
piled together to decay In = confused
heap. tie found many of the order
books running back to 1861, but many
OF them are missing. and 10 one has
any idea where they have been put. In
one of the old order books was found
and order for 500 which had never
been cancelled. Had It been torn from
the book and presented to the treasurer
1t would have been paid without =
question. 1t frequently happens that
old bills of back date are presented
for payment and An old date would
not have aroused the suspicious OF the
treasurer. Nearly all these old order
books have some orders left IN them
which might have heen stolen at any
time, as the key to the room in which
they were found could be obtained at
any TIME.
other Old Records.
The books, as many OF them
as could be found, have all been re-
moved TO the comptrolier's Office and
VIII toe be placed IN the vault where
they properly belong.
There are still IN the dark room, in
the dust and DIRT, the justice dockets
for many years past, and books of sta
tstics and other documents of value.
One book shows the population In 1856
TO have been but little more than
5000. 1t is III the handwriting of the
city clerk Of that date, and gives the
name of every useholder IN the
city. with the see of his family. w.
L. Powers was then mayor. 1t shows
but five wards and ten aldermen. The
aldermen were such men as Aaron
Dikeman. Leonard Covell, II. III. Ives,
Amos Rsthbone and K. c. Luce. There
is also in tins heap all the old reglstra-
ton and election returns, and other
records which ought to be preserved.
The orders and resolutions relative to
the paving and regarding of Monroe
street IN 1876 were found, as we'll as
many more documents of this order
which should be preserved and be kept
where the citizens could have the ben
eft OF them when needed.