Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-04-24
TROUBLED WATERS.
Mr.. GABY ASKS SOME PERTi-
NENT QUESTIONS.


Citizen Forrest, Attorney Weir,
Auditor Hopkins and Others
Upon the Rack-The .Testimon-
fal'' System scored.
EDITOR STANDARD:
Lydia Pinkham has been succeeded
by Warmers Safe Cure in monopoly oi
testimonials" Shares in the profits
have been given to retiring statesmen
for the use of their names to sell pa.
tent medicine, but it remains for
Thurston county to be disgraced by
an officer whose estimate of his own
reputation is so low that it requires
reputable names to invite attention to
his plea of not guilty.
Owing to the unusual arrangement
OF Mr.. Roots testimonials" l shall
in my answer invert the order and
place the tail-piece at the head. re.
serving the heavy weight for the last
and most honorable place.
G. w. Osborne, take the stand. l
want to ask you few questions. You
say that Root did not write the legal
opinions for the Board OF County
Commissioners; that the pages of the
county record ornamented with the
resolutions of August 1lth, 1894, were
not his handiwork; that you did not
then in the most important and intri-
cate legal dilemma act upon his adj
vice. If the resolutions referred to
were not drafted by him and he did
not procure their passage" who was
the real County Attorney when Root
was nominally SOY
Do you consider it creditable to
yourself to now support for Judge of
the Superior Court man whose coun'
sci you ignored at that critical time in
our financial history? had right
to presume that you were obeying
your oath and was guided in legal
matters by the officer the law pre-
scribed and the people paid.
Next in the upgrade is H. L. For
rest, and you, Mr.. Forrest, may, at
your convenience answer q few ques-
tions. At the time OF his woe. when
Root sought your Office to find bal m
for his grievances, was it not q little
odd when discussing between your
selves the question of an indignation
meeting" that it should require your
joint efforts, taking" strong grounds
against it," to prevent the Governor
from being denounced. Who were
you two strong men holding down?
Was it Allen Weir? He was the most
indignant man / saw that day, except
perhaps Root himself, who met my
smile with q baneful and despairing
look.
Mr.. Root carries with him another
certificate of yours in which you &C.
knowledge that he had done right
when you had charged him with
wrong-that would make interesting
reading at this time.
Still ascending, Allen Weir appears
in evidence. Hear him: Whatever
talk may have been INDUCED in by
disappointed ones about holding an
indignation meeting, it met with nc
encouragement from Judge Root"
What applicant, Mr.. Weir. did you
hear, always excepting Mr.. Root, who
advocated an indignation meeting?
Charles Aver, James A. Haight and
O.V. Linn, you and 1 know, cheer.
fully acquiesced in the action of the
Governor; neither of these gentlemen
were hunting up their FORESTS and
Weirs to keep them from making fools
of themselves. The people OF Olym-
pia were uneasy for fear that few
freaks would embroil tho whole town
at . time when unity of action was
imperative upon matters deemed more
important than the elevation of Root
to the bench. Who were the mar
plots? Was it those who now excuse
each other?
Still going up stream, we now come
to county officer, and George s. Hop.
kins airs his views, not so much, it
seems, to help his friend Root, as to
show his knowledge OF law. and he
says "other counties had been and
are yet maintaining an incidental
fund" Now, George, as you are SO
we'll posted in county management
will you name county in the State
that has not had an incidental
fund.-? And while testifying for your
salary friend Root, will you cite a
county in the United States that has
diverted money to the incidental fund
to dig artesian wells ? AS you assume
the responsibility and egotistically
say the only reason I had in refus'
ing to draw the warrant was that 1
wanted the courts to pass upon the
question and settle the matter con.
clusively, one way or the other, and
the first Barton suit was in the nature
OF friendly suit for this purpose" ii
would appear from above quotation
that (Hopkins) runs the whole
county machine. Why pay S. pei
day to County Commissioners, and
81 400 per annum to County Attor'
ney, when Hopkins can attend to il
all and the Auditors office included!