The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-07-24
AS TO COURT HOUSE
PROPOSITION LIKELY TO BE SUBMIT.
TED TO VOTE THIS FALL
Great Need of New and Substantial
Building With Fire-proof vaults-Jail
Also Needed-Easy to Pay for $4,000
Building.

AS noted in the ISLANDER last week,
in the report of the proceedings of the
county commissioners, several addi-
tional petitions were presented to the
board asking for the construction OF a
fire-proof vault adjoining the court
house and for the erection of an addi-
ton to the present building. AS the
petitions were merely cnpies of those
presented at the April meeting of the
board, except as to the signatures, the
board of. course could see mo reason
for reconsidering the findings as then
recorded" The order entered at that
time was to the effect that the plan
suggested was impracticable and un-
wise and that in view of the fact that
the commissioners have no authority
to incur any Indebtedness for public
buildings or office accommodations
without the previous authorization of
the people expressed at the polls, it
would be the part of wi.dom to submit
the whole matter to vote at the fall
election, taking care to acquaint the
taxpayers with the needs of the
county IN order that they may vote in
telligently upon the question of sup
plying them.
In the first place it hardly. seems
conceivable that any citizen who has
any pride in the county or genuine in
terest in. its welfare, aud who knows
what a rickety old rookery the present
'court house" is and the disadvant-
ages of its location, can favor~such an
expenditure of public fun' upon it as
would insure the safety or the public
records and make the old ruin habit
able for all the county officers few
years longer. To do this would prob
ably involve an outlay of three or four
thousand dollars, and then the county
would have only an awkward, ungain-
Iy looking building upon lot only
fifty feet in width and where the in
surance rate is the highest paid in the
county and in fact within one-half of
one per cent of the highest rate at
which any "old line" insurance COM
pany will accept the most risky risk.
If brick and stone building was to be
erected upon the lot the insurance rate
would of course be very. much less, but
it would cost good deal of money to
do that and it will be pretty generally
conceded that such all expenditure
would be unwise, to say the least. 1t
would require only few thousand
dollars more to provide for the erec-
ton, on the full block which the coun-
ty owns and which has long been re-
served for the purpose, of substantial
and in every way suitable structure,
large enough and good enough to sup
ply the county's needs for quarter of a
century. Two or three fire proof vaults
are needed for the safe keeping of the
public records, especially of the offices
of the auditor, treasurer and clerk. and
WlLOln OF as III duuCA W uhO ouiiOAuSs
there should be Jail, containing one
or more steel cells where the worst
criminals can be confined without i'm.
posing upon the county the expense of
guard hire day and night, as in the re-
cent case of Robertson, or make it nee
essary as an alternative 10 send prison.
ers away for safe keeping, as In the
case of the murderer Straub.
Such building as the county should
have can be erected at an expense not
exceeding $4,000. The total assessed
valuation of the county is little in
excess of 81. .OO0, 900, SO ten-nill tax
would produce approximately $4,000
in one year, while a two-mill annual
tax would do 1T In five years and one
mill tax in ten years. If "a building
erected at at the cost mentioned were
TO be entirely paid for in a single year
o person paying taxes on an assessed
valuation Of $1,000, which is much
higher than the average, would be re-
oulred to contribute $40. III paid In
five years the same persou's tax would
be 50 q year, and If the bonds were
:, A. -.,., -, voova fho ANIMAL