The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-04-10
TIL TUESDAY. APRIL 10, 1902
THE COURT HOUSE QUESTION AGAIN

The ISLANDERS advocacy OF greatly
improved facilities for the safe keeping
of the public records and of better ac-
commodations for the county officers is
evidently bearing fruit, although the
matter has not yet come before the
commissioners in such "a form as to
Justify them III Immediately taking the
steps necessary to provide suitable
court house ard adequate vault room.
AT the Tuesday meeting of the board
the following petition, originating with
the Roche Harbor Lime Company, was
presented:
To the Honorable Board of Commits
soncrs of San Juan County Washington
Gcntlencn We, the undersigned citizens
of San Juan county. respectfully urge the
IMMEDIATE CONTRIBUTION Of a good fire.
proof vault in or adjoining the county
court house, which shall he suitable ard
sufficient to properly protect all the
county records from loss or danger by
fire, which would he such disaster to
all the property interests of the citizens
of the county that we feel the risk of such
calamity should no longer continue.
We also recommend that an addition to
the court house he constructed which
shall provide sufficient room to make it
unnecessary for the county To rent any
Office or vault room for any purpose.
OF this petition several copies, quite
numerously signed, we're filed, none of
which had been circulated at the county
seat or i'm its immediate vicinity. No
taxpayer here seems to have had
any knowledge that such petit
ton was being circulated until n day
OF TWO before the meeting of the board.
There is no room for controversy as
county vault, and the need of credit
able quarters for the county officials
ought to be equally apparent. 1t would
be sheer waste of public money, how
ever, to make such alterations and add
d tiol to the crumhling old ruin In
which the officers are now cOOped as
would provide the additional room
needed, and the construction of a sub
stantial vault on site never intended
as permanent court house location
would be a still greater folly 1t ought
to be clear 10 any taxpayer that fifty
foot lot in frame range where the
insurance rate is nire and one-half per
cent is not proper place for court
house. The county owns full block
of land, we'll located, which has been
reserved for years as IL court house site,
and whenever the cotlrt house or a
vault is built 1t should be there. But
even if the construction of a vault and
additional accommodations on the old
site were advisable, the commissioners
have not means at their disposal now
which they would be justified in using
for that purpose, and they are express
~ prohibited 10y statute from mourning
debt for the erection or improvement
of any building.
Having been unable last fall to secure
any more of the county bonds for i'm
mediate redemption very low tax
levy was made--the lowest i'm the coun-
tvs history. 1t is not expected that
there will be much, il any, surplus
from this years tax and the present
surplus will necessarily be heavily
drawn upon to defray the expenses of
the Robertson trial and smallpox quar-
antines. Such emergencies cannot be
foreseen and yet they are likely to oc-
eur at any time. The commissioners
are as earnestly DESTROYS as any citizens
can possibly be for the safe keeping of
the public records, and they also have,
what perhaps some citizens have not,