Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-05-29
EvADES AN ANSWER.
The Times Does Not Exp1ain-Cone, Be
STRAIGHTFORWARD.

STRAIGHTFORWARD.
EDITOR GAZETTE:--1 notice that the
Corvallis Times does not answer my ar.
ticle regarding Mr.. Waters claiming te
save the county money by registering
the voters of the county without ex-
ira cost. He lauded himself for doing
this extra work, and the Times praised
him for the same, when upon lnvestl'
CATION it was found upon his own sollcl'
tation he was doing this work with
view of getting extra pay, although he
was then getting the princely salary OF
$3.50 per month-nore money than many
farmer earns during whole year.
If he had time to do this work, he should
do it without extra pay; if he did not
have time for it he should allow some
other person to earn the same. Still,
that is not the worst; he and the Times
were misleading the public. They
wanted it understood that Mr.. Waters
was hero, that he was doing this work
of registering when Linn county had to
employ special deputy for. that purpose.
The explanation is the clerk of Linn
county is willing to live and let live,
and also not to sail under false colors.
Again, Mr.. Walters does not deny
through the Times Article that he re-
quires the lawyers to prepare all the
journal entries in the several cases
tried. Honorables B. w. Wilson and
Ira Hunter did not have to get the at
torneys to prepare these for ms for them,
neither does Mr.. Crabtrse, of Linn
county. A ffteen-year-o old boy can keep
the records of the courts if some one
hands him the business transacted all
written up so that he has nothing to do
but copy the entries into the books as
Mr.. Waters does. Anybody who has
been in court during Mr.. Wilson's ad-
ministration, and also in Mr.. Waters,
knows that Mr.. Wilson was always hard
at work during scourt times, while Mr..
Waters sits by nearly all the time
listening to the cases tried, with appar-
emily little to do. This is because Mr..
Wilson was clerk of the court proceed
ings and wrote up the same while in
progress, whilst Mr.. Waters waits for
the attorneys to get the ''copy' for him.
Mr.. Wilson was clerk as was Mr.. Hunter.
Again, as was said before, the present
clerk is not satisfied with big vault. a
big, long working room, and another
big room to do the work of the clerks
Office in, when the offices are supplied
with cars, desks, files for papers cover
ing nearly one side of the main Office,
absolutely three times the room and ap-
pliances of Linn county, while that
county has more than three times the
amount of business, but he must inn
perfume the court for more files. Mr..
Waters was not satisfied when he got
this order for new files, but wanted
more. The law has unwisely placed
the purchase OF supplies for clerks Office
in the clerks hands, and especially so
when the people have clerk OF the
buying propensities of Mr.. Walters.
The firm with whom Mr.. Waters
deals are not to blame for securing Or
ders without competition. They are un-
der no obligation to US, but Mr.. Waters
is with" US and is our clerk and he
should protect our interests. No one
blames this firm for charging $50 for
book sold the clerk for Benton county,
when after the court allowed only 500
for it, it was found it could be duplicated
for SIG by Mr.. G. Gerhard, local dealer,
and he then to get commission. This
same firm talked of suing the county
for the.$3O. however, and yet Mr.. Wat
ters never. raised his voice against the
extravagant demand.
If We remember rightly, Mr.. Waters
himself sued Benton county once for
$50 month deputy hire in the clerks
Office. He evidently believes in county
law suits, for besides suing the county
himself he advised the county court that
the controversy between it and the city
of Corvallis regarding taxes due the
city collected by the county would be
better settled by lawsuit. Lawsuits
cost money and the taxpayers have to
pay the expenses when the county is a
party.
The Times knows that when in q
former article we said "Mr. Waters is a
costly appendage to Benton county,"
We referred to his dealing in this sta
tionery business and supplies for the