Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-08-18

in the Times's own figures Q
about So, 900.
: Xxx
The Times, in its role as coun
sci in the matter of the Benton
) County Court VS.. Taxpayers, in
, dulges in a fantastic form of ar
. gument by which a man car
prove a horse-chestnut to be 4
chestnut horse. 1t construes
Outstanding warrant indebted
ness" as actual indebtedness, :"
and otherwise juggles with terms
in manner calculated to con-
fuse one not entirely familiar
with the records, and the con-
struction that has been placed
upon the the terms used.
j ***
It undertakes to teach the Ga.
zETrE the meaning of the term
''net indebtedness, :" as used by
ex- County Clerk Walters in the
county's financial exhibits. The
] GAZETTE has used the term "net
indebtedness" to show the figures
arrived at alter subtracting" to-
tai cash resources from 'total
liabilities" This was the meth
od pursued by Clerk Waters dur
ing Judge Woodward's admins
tration.
| Let us quote from the record.
In Book No. s, page 18o:
''Total Liabilities. $40 383 16'.
''Total Cash Resources. ........ $3.50 O5"
''Net Indebtedness. 49,. .$36, ,574 IL
Throughout Judge Wood
ward, S administration Clerk Wat
tiers used the term "net indebted
ness" to express the figures so
found. With this precedent es-
tablished by Clerk Waters,
what authority has the Times for
saying, tthe met Indebtedness
as used in exhibits are the figures
arrived at after deducting all es-
timated county resources from
the outstanding indebtedness -?
The Times pretends to be at a
loss to know how the GAZETTE
found the tnet Indebtedness
of the county to De $5I.51o.83 in
the April preceding Judge Wood
wards entrance upon the duties
of county judge. We will gladly
contribute this bit of instruction
in the hope that the Times may
have a better understanding of
this matter which it has essayed
to discuss.
Let us refer to the financial
exhibit for March 81, 1898, and
apply the method used by Clerk
Waters in computing ''net in
debtedness" during Judge Wco3-
wards administration. We find:
Total Liabilities ...................$5 $5S, ,226 SO
Total Cash Resources. 6,706 76
Net Indebtedness SOL ,519 83
~
1t is true Clerk Waters in
cluded in his report in April pre-
ceding Judge Woodward's term,
all the unpaid taxes that had
been accumulating for years, and
every mothers son of an item
that could be construed as re-
source, subtracted these from the
total liabilities and called the re-
suit "net indebtedness.' - Buth
changed his method when Mr..
Woodward became judge and
"net Indebtedness was total La
bilities minus actual cash in the
hands of the treasurer and sheriff
applicable to the payment ,of
state taxes and county warrants.
Was there something political in
this manoeuvre on the part of
Clerk Waters?
~
Here is an item that shows
something of the improvement
made in the county's financial
condition in the four wears from
March 81, 1898, to March 81,
~Ieo2. On the former date the
estimated accrued interest on out
standing county warrants was
$6,774.3s On March 81, 1902,
the estimated accrued interest on
outstanding county warrants was
500.
According to this -s'report"
conn:Ied hv Clerk Moses. for