Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-02-28

in the Fig Vaults at the Court
House, and Replace Them with
Patent Steel Fittings.
For a week or so past certain mem
bers of the Board of County Commits
sioners have been perfecting arrange
ments to spend several thousand dol
lars of county money in a wholly need
less and uncalled-for manner
The details were perfected several
days ago, and the plan is to bring the
matter before the Board at tomorrow
mornings regular meeting, and put
it through, if possible.
From twenty-five hundred to thirty
FIVE hundred dollars of good money
will be necessary to foot the bill, and
this money will be as good as wasted.
The alleged Improvement is utterly
Uncalled for, and appears to be simply
a device to get rid of a big wad OF
public funds, at a time when both pub
lie and private funds are very scarce.
The gentlemen who are engineering
the matter did not intend it should be-
come public until it was too late to
stop the proposed work That is why
the Register takes the liberty of letting
the taxpayers know what Is going on.
When the present Court House was
fitted ND for occupancy by the county
officials. two large fire-prOOf vaults
1 -, 1,o vet l, act
ton of the building, extending through
two full stories, from the level OF the
basement floor to the level of the floor
of the second story. These vaults are
for the use of the clerk of the County
Court and the clerk of the Circuit
Court. the County Clerks vault be
ing intended. and used for the safe
keeping of deeds in fee, deeds of trust,
the official records of the same, the rec
ords of marriage licenses. OF wills, and
Of probate affairs generally. The vault
adjoining the office of the Clerk of the
Circuit Court is intended and used Tor
the safe-keeping Of all papers pertain
ing to matters of litigation and criminal
affairs and also for the official records
of the several Courts of the county,
hook racks. desks. and all necessary ap-
planes and furniture for the proper
care of the records and for the trans
action of business. Each vault Is hre-
nroof bevond doubt. and no one tamil
iar with the construction of the vaults,
dOubts that whatever is in them con
tanned would be safely preserved II the
entire Court House building was
burned.
The plan which has been hatched IN
nv some of the members of the Board
of Commissioners. and which IS TO ne
snrung tomorrow morning, is to tear
ont of the whole of these satistac-
tory fittings and substitute an entirely
new set of file cases. pigeon holes, racks
and desks. all constructed of steel. The
lob would he a large and fat one, Tor the
contractors. who hail from Plttsours'
and the bill would be of proporuona'e
size. An agent of the proposed con-
tractors has beeq in the CITY TOT some
limo and has worked the thing up 10
q DOint where a favorable report mas
beeD secured from the Committee on
Court House and Jail
The fact of the matter is. that TINS
is q wholly unnecessary enterprise anu
i so recognized by at least two OF the
members of the Board, who have eN-
messed themselves as irrevocablY cp-
nosed 10 the thing in any and every
form and this opposition Will be en-
dorsed and approved by all VINO are
corversant with the facts. The papers
ore os safe i'm the vaults with the pres
or+ fttings as they would be if the MT
fines were of steel and iron. Tor de-
gree of heat which would set the pres
emit wooded fittings on fire would alSo
set the papers on fire II the HL'lllS9
were of steel. There can be no Qou"O
of this proposition. In TACT. with inc
nresent wooden fittings, the papers
would catch fire before the wood ioI
tbav are more inlammable. but they
would be destroyed in either case
Gel fttiDgs would add nothing to the
esfo+v of the papers and documents II
The vaults were not fre-proot ana II
tbev are fire-proof, wood will do as wei
for the fittings as anything else
The county of Ohio has no money 10
tbraw away on enterprises of this sort
and the scheme should be promptly
cbol,ed off tomorrow morning, II II
shows its head. The documents, books
and papers of Ohio county have been
Kent intact from fire for one hundred
and twenty years, without patent steel
onnIiances. and the vaults which now
contain the records are very much pet
fer than any heretofore in use.
The Commissioners had better not
spend the money at this time. II they
do they will rue it.
"PRESTDENTIAL INAUGURATION
AT WASHINGTON. d. c., MARCH
g. 1897.
For the above occasion the B. & O..
company will sell excursion tickets
March /. , and at reduced round trip
,.,+,,7.,f.,cr 0Tarpb 4 n = Tho