The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-07-18

Attorneys oEI aid 1S S.--.-------..~-. S.sso
Costs, etc.--.-.-..-... ..-..............-. 100
Loss 20 taxpayers .......ssla 100
TIE exporting Job awarded by the beard
% education 10 Douglas Young. who has
been commissioned 70 ascertain Eae pen
atty ard interest due the school fund on
account OF delinquent taxes. VII cost the
taxpayers Of King county no less than
s.. 10. The highest estimate OF the sum
acknowledged TO be due is 81 1ee. If the
expert, who Enasmuch as he works on the
percentage basis viii strain every nerve
70 rnd al that may re due should report
that sum TO Be correct. he would De paid
s-.Ig9. II the suit that Is % fellow. the
seaool beard void be obliged % pay
fee % its attorneys. Old and new. OF not
less than SS.ests. and the court costs. which
would have 10 be paid by the taxpayers
would reach 5000 mora total OF So 100.
There IS no end OF criticism OF the beard
OF education for lis action. ard sorne tax
an oft-and-0ut steal. Assuming that the
woy< is necessary, which Il Is not" vas
remarked yesterday. Il would ike 10 do
i for Ssss. To show that the work Is rot
necessary Il is only needfui 20 say that
County Treasurer Maple could On twenty
minutes notice furnish figures that
woa.i Approximate the sums due within
squander s6oeo Ia order. as is said 10 the
public. to secure absolute certainty.
But in the transfer OF money from one
fund 20 another. as . man would shift his
purse. not only VIII the county lose. bur
the school district viii also lose. Al
though the school beard has never yet Of
fersd 20 compromise. X IS thought the
commissioners would be willing 20 settle
by the payment OF $4,000 in three annual
iHstailmsnts. II everything WORKS out IN
der the exporting scheme. the school dis
irict would receive the difference between
s2l.0o, the sum assumed 10 be due and
ss.iea. the cost of exporting and litiga-
tion-that is. si4.90a. Under the proposed
compromise the school fund would receive
$4,000. or at least 500 more than under
the exporting job. while the $500 would
be saved.
An Outrage, Says King.
As Is well known. the only member OF
the board Of education no, in favor or the
employment of Young. is George II. King.
He was asked yesterday what he thought
OF the matter.
Il think ii is as great an outrage as has
ever been perpetrated upon the taxpayers
OF Seattle" he said. 1--WE are doing with
out many things which. while not abso-
lutely essential. would still be useful and
beneficial to the schools and 10 the chill
dren: we are charging teachers with fifty
TO sixty scholars where they formerly took
care OF but thirty TO forty. all ia order 10
save money and be able to run the schools
as long as possible. and in the face OF ali
this 10 Incur an obligation OF some 5000
without ascertainng whether or not IL is
fair or reasonable compensation for the
work. without inviting competition. and
when the necessity for any work OF the
kind could IN all probability be avoided. is.
In my opinion. an outrage on the tax
payers.
IF the board of education had an agree
ment with the county that the commits
sioners would pay the amount Young
found 10 be due, there might be some rea-
son in employing him. but there Is abso-
iutsiy no assurance that the county, who
Is the other party 10 the controversy, or
the judge who will try the case will ac-
cept Mr.. Young's figures AT all. They may
not have as high an opinion OF his ca
pacity as the board of education has. But
even If his figures were binding, that would
be no excuse for employing him without
competition and at price greatly in ex-
cess OF what, as I am told, other persons
fully as competent would do the work for
'.But / stiil maintain that there Is no ne
cessity for employing him at all, for in the
first place Mr. Gasch assures me that the
matter can. ne believes. be settled be-
tween the two boards without lawsuit
and secondly, because Mr.. Padden OF the
treasurer's Office has made an estimate
which Will not vary greatly either way
from the actual amount. The matter
should be comprouiised--sach side con-
eeiing something 10 save the expense OF
a litigation. for which. whatever the term
ination may be. the people win have TO
foot the bills
County Could expert for Nothing.
Deputy Treasurer 7. p. Padden does
~ h.
has acted. He says the figures wanted by
the board could De obtained by a proper
application TO Mr.. Maple. and the nom
sense OF exporting done away with
Mr.. Pa6dsn said yesterday:
Referring 10 the claim OF the directors
Of school district No 1 for their share OF
the penalty and interest collected by the
county treasurer on account OF delinquent
taxes. / feel satisfied that they are en-
titled 20 their claim. and that every other
school and road district Is entitled 10 its
share also. This being the case, il ap-
pears to me that the proposed plan OF
school d!stric. No. / and other districts OF
sending accountants into the treasures
Office for the purpose Of determining what
they are entitled TO is not in accordance
with practical and orderly business meth
OILS.
The treasurer OF King county Is the
treasurer OF every school district He is
the custodian of the books and does the
accounting, and s. aprears TO me that =
there are any statements 90 ne made or
Information TO be furnished the county
treasurer IS the proper person 10 apply TO-
Should the directors OF the various dl%-
srlcis and the county commissioners fail
10 compromise. an acguai statement is
necessary not only Of one particular dis
trscs. bat OF All. and Il the county treasurer
is xufF GENTLY reliable 20 collect taxes ana
care for the Interest Of the county he Ger
talniy Is 20 make this report.
at the request os the county commits
raizsioaers I made report approxirmaflng
he amount due school District No. J.
figuring from March a. Tsag. 10 he sls-
gpae. and estimated that should they
figure from March. 1871. the amount woalE
he 81 co. Considering that there was a
question as 70 how far back the account
fng shoasa 20. / suggested that a settle
rnent be made for Is sc, ana I am in
elIned 20 believe that the directors ana
their attorney we're az that time disposed
20 accept s."
u IS not beyond PROBABILITY that the
county commissioners Egl yet. in The In
tevest of taxpayers. make an offer 10 the
beard Of eaueatlon. II such az offsg ~
made Il will veTy likely provide for the
rsvrrsmt % szsa8 n taFe@ annual install
merits "Ih case the offer IL made and
F@3ectsa." remarked Commissioner fiaasc1s
yesterday. 'sthe hlause FOR wasting the
saxpaysrs' money wiM ~ on the scao3l
beard. and on no ore else"
LOST IN sHTsEiTrSA RIVER