Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-02-06
rnn rnnn STATE OF way zAnpr
Pays Man in rali to nund a court
House.

House.
Dallas, Tex. Feb. s.--It has become
a well settled idea in the public mind
that 1T is a cold day" when Van zandt
county doesn't come 10 the front with
something unique and original. And
almost everything that Van zandt
county does is directly or Indirectly
identified with county seat contest.
before the war. when Texas passed
the ordinance OF secession, because OF
being free and independent state. a
part of the population Of Van zandt
county held a mass meeting and re-
solved that II n state could secede from
the union a county could secode from
the state. and inasmuch as Texas had
seeded from the union, Van Zandt
county would secede from Texas aud
establish the Free State of Van
Along in the latter part OF the '7o's
van Zandt plunged herself into a small
olNll war over the rival claims Of Can
ton ana Wills Point TO the county seat.
IL required all the military genius and
physical force demonstration OF Inc
Dallas militia to keep the belligerent
factions from wiping each other from
me lace of the earth and leaving the
ton.
That county seat wer spirit of twenty
years ago has never entirely died out.
ana now II is beginning to crackle, pre-
patatory to another blgZing up
Lhe Hon. It. r. Yantis, ey-county
luuse OF Van Zandt county, is at the
oriental hotel, He is here consulting
with the Hon. Jerome C. Kearbv az
/ llGllQg and 1n NJ
OF WaNahdcnie, with view TO untang-
mug another Van Zan1t county tangia
On the surface appears n miNed-uD
contract Tor court house. beneath the
SURFACE is concealed another county
sent contest, with Canton nnd NIvrtie
Springs as the candidates,
Last Year while Judge Yantis WINS
county judge, he and the other county
commissioners. with a Democratic ma
Jority on the board, refused to order an
election on this county seat matter. be-
nsSiis the question permanently set
tied III favor Of Canton They also lat
contract 10 Otto T.. I<rooyer OF San
Nntonlo for a court house % cost si0-
OOO. Van Iandt county was the owner
OF a lot of Archer county bonds OF the
permanent school fuad. Judge Yantis
ana MS official associates transferred
theso permanent school fund bonds 20
the general fund and replaced thtm
with Van Zandt county bonds Com
tractor kroeger was given those Archer
county eonds In fun pnyInent az Ia
c1ur: EouHe contract, and was ga 10
&c ahead and build the Era, stare" "a
temple OF Justice. Mr.. KroeSer pcld his
bonds. got full payment Tor tile w,rx
ne had not done. and proceeded with
his Job He got the foundation well un-
der way, when the election of last Mo-
Vemher swept the Democrats out of
power In Van Handt and placed the
- RrNf LIT Al
keeping OF a fun Populst county adj
minlstration
Right there Van Zandt again showed
! her ability at originality and unique
ness. The Populist county commissions
ers got out an injunction to restrain
| Contractor Krocger from building the
! court house, on the ground of Illegal
application of the Archer county per-
manent school fund, Mr.. Kroeger
! stopped work. Then the Democrats
1 went TO him and said: Here, you must
move to have this Injunction dissolved
! and no on with the court house,
Not much" said Mr. kroeger ''rhIs
\ thing suits me well enough. / have
\ full. pay for the court house, ana
! don't propose fighting the county for
the privilege of building 1t. n the eoun-
| ~ doesn't want II. " the Injunction Is
/ dissolved I'll not be to blame for II, /
don't care II Il is made so permanent
| that II lasts forever"
| Mr.. Kroeger, at the Oriental hotel.
] said to the Gazette representative.
1 "This is the first time in my career as
n contractor that have ever got paid
| in full for my Job before beginning II.
! and now they won't let me finish II.
] Things are COMING pretty smoothly for
/ me in Van Zandt.'
! Judge Yantis said; 1.-THE old county
! seat fight Is at the bottom Of all this.
The contract is legal enough. Those
! Archer county bonds could be used for
the purpose they were diverted to.
| These Popullst county commissioners
/ have taken their position sinyoly as a
| pretext. They wish to keep Van zandt
] county from building court house al
| Canton, because tina. would settle the
| county seat question In Canton's favor
/ for all time. Canton is Democratic.
Myrtle Springs Is Popullstic. These
/ Populist county commissioners consider
I II an ideal spot for county seat. But
we will beat them, and the court house
/ will be built"
That's why Judge Yantls ia consult
| ing with Megsrs. Kenrby and Temple
ton-to lind out a way to beat thamyr
There's fun ahead in the Free