Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-09-21
Clear as Mud.
EDITOR Standard


istration. quote from said article a.
follows: "The Auditor started out
with half dozen clerks to perform
duties now done by one; the Clerk of
the Court found it convenient to en-
ploy three TO do work now done by
single deputy and all other depart
ments were conducted with a like
number OF supernumeraries, &c"
(That last word is the best in the lot.
What does it mean?)
Are you then really as big an idiot
as the 4 Pa-liadium says you are, to
believe that one deputy is doing all the
work that those six or those three
deputies did, and all other depart
ments in like proportion? If you will
make a tour of the different Offices
and make few inquiries you will find
out different. The work is not being
all done by that one marvellous clerk,
but he is doing all he can Of it, the
rest is piling up and will have to be
done at some future time 10y an in
creased force. If anybody says he can
run the office of the Treasurer, or the
Auditor, or the Clerk, or the Sheriff
with but one man and do all the work,
he is a" supernumerary" from away
back. 1t cannot be done, and is not
being done. The County Clerk now
has his usual force, the Treasurer has
one more than his usual force for this
time OF year, the Sheriff has but one
and Especial" when needed and the
Auditor has two deputies. / am in
formed by the Auditor that all record
ing has been stopped in his office and
the entire force is busy ON the tax
books and county work made neces-
sary by the frequent sessions of the
Board OF County Commissioners. He
says there are now one hundred and
fifty instruments waiting for record
which will probably not be touched
until after the first of next January
when the tax rolls are completed. By
that time, at the present rate, there
will be at least seven hundred instru-
ments waiting for record. With the
present light force in the Auditors
office it seems doubtful if he will be
able TO get the tax books completed in
the time prescribed by law. Some
thing besides reducing the number of
deputies must be done to reduce ex-
penses, for the work that comes must
be done some time or other, and it
can be kept up cheaper as it comes
than to bring it up after it gets be-
hind. Let some of our wise heads
who have been doing so much talking
about reducing expenses formulate o
plan to reduce expenses and still get
the work done. Let the Commits
siOners quit meeting 60 often and ex-
aiming the roads 80 much. The
road supervisors can look after the
roads; they are elected for that pur-
pose. l am told the Commissioners
sat three weeks as board of equalizs-
ton when the law does not require
them to sit over three days. They
meet just as often and examine just as
many roads as they did before they re.
duced the salaries and number of
deputies. l would propose a plan OF
county government myself, only, like
the other howlers for reform, don't
know how. 1t is unfortunate for the
county that none of these howlers for
reform are running for office this year.
HowLER.
The above communication was
written if not by Charley Moore him
self, by one who is so thoroughly in
rapport with his ideas and wishes,
that it may be considered q part and
portion of the Chronicles" which
gave such a perfect glimpse behind
the curtains a few months ago. It
will be observed that Mr.. Moore does
not deny the allegation that half q
dozen clerks were employed in his
office until the County Commissioners
began scraping the barnacles from the
water-logged craft. He simply
affirms that the work of his office is
accumulating, "piling up, and will
have to be done at some future time
by an increased force" The error we
made is in presuming that Mr.. Moore
would not let the work "pile up"
while little more energy, a few more
hours, a cheerful disposition, and a
reasonable amount OF personal en-
deavor, would keep the work up to
date. 1t is useless to assert that two
men cannot do the work of the Audi
tors office, except it may be for few
months in each year, while the de-
tails OF the tax levy are being arranged,
for he is not the only person in the
country who hes had the requisite ex-
perience in that Offices routine to
estimate precisely how many hours
each day of honest labor required to
properly discharge all its duties.
1t seems from Mr.. Moore's letter
that the major part of the time of the
office is devoted TO loading and firing !
the gun which has laid so many of our
citizens low the past two years, the
levying and assessment OF the annual
taxes. He says thst the tax.books
now under preparation (and with the
of q second deputy will
not be completed till January LIST, re-
curing still one-third of the year in
to the time already spent on
them. This, for a county the size of
Thurston seems astounding. 1t
amounts to the constant labor of one
man the whole year. and in the mean
time, Mr.. Moore says zone hundred
and fifty instruments" must await to
be placed upon the records, and BY
that time. at the present rate, there
will be seven hundred instruments
piled up for record!
Mr.. Moore seems to think it doubt.
full whether with the present light
force in the Auditors Office, he will be
able TO get the books done in the time
prescribed by law" and very little we
presume, he cares now that he must
relux his hold on the teat, whether it
is done or not. 1t seems, like the
balky horse, the Auditor will not make
things move, whether he can or can
not, which is convincing proof that he
has held the Office quite long enough.
Hioh In Uat,,o