Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1904-09-01
Exporting County Books.

For the benefit of those who hav
arrived in Idaho county since 1s9
we republish the report Of the ex
pert accountant, Alan A. Cunning
ham, who was at that time EN-
ployed by the board of count
commissioners to expert the count
records.
Il will be seen that the repor
OF Mr.. Cunningham covers ONLY
the Offices Of county auditor ant
recorder and assessor and tax col
lector, and he cites the decision O
the supreme court OF the state ir
the case of Dunbar vs.. Board o.
Commissioners Of Canyon county
as his reason for not completing hii
work.
In this decision the supreme
court laid down the proposition
that no board Of county commits
sioners could authorize the ex-
penditure of more than $1,000 for
any one given purpose without
being first petitioned so to do by
one-third Of the tax payers of the
county; and further, that if the
cost, added to the other ordinary
and necessary expenditures, will
exceed the county's expenses for
the year, the commissioners cannot
contract for such expenditures
without being authorized by two
thirds vote at an election called
for the purpose as provided in Sec.
3, Art. 8 of the constitution.
While the decision OF the su-
preme court in the case in question
applies to the construction of
bridge in Canyon Co., yet there is
good legal authority for interpre-
tation placed upon it by Mr.. Cum
bingham and others. The cost of
exporting the county records is
certainly not an ordinary and nec-
essary county expense. 1t is an
extraordinary expense, and its cost
would certainly aggregate several
thousand dollars; and under the
dictum Of the supreme court in
the case cited, there is but one way
of getting it done; and that is, for
the professional fault-finders to Sc
cure the necessary signatures to a
petition asking the county COM
missioners to order special cleo
tion for the purpose Of having the
county records exported.
Mr.. Cunningham services from
August 2, 1897 to October IL, 1897
amounted to 1928, and he estimated
that it would require about IS
months to complete his work. In
those days the volume of county
business was not a fraction of what
it is at present, and the cost of ex-
porting the books at this time is
pure guess work. 1t is an expense
however, that must be estimated in
advance, and additions made to
the tax levy year by year to defray
the cost. The matter is therefore
one in which each taxpayer in the
county has a direct interest, and if
they care to sign the petitions and
pay the extra tax, they can order
the books exported by signing the
petition which the fault-fnders,
who pay but little of any taxes,
will no doubt at once circulate for
that purpose.
There is no politics in this mat
ter, except such as republican poll
ticians inject into it for the mali
cious purpose of discrediting past
and present democratic incumbents
of the county offices. And we
may remark incidentally, that the
investigation of 1897 was, COM
menced under democratic auspices
when there was not a solitary
republican Office holder in Idaho
county; and that the expert en-
ployed was a republican who had
done good work in unearthing and
exposing the defalcations of repub-
lican officials in Latah county.
At that time the court house
was at Mt. Idaho, and it was ex-
pected that the county seat would
be removed to Grangeyille at every
election, and the commissioners
did not feel justified in expanding
the county money for furniture
and fixtures in those days. And
there is the further fact that the
failure of successive republican leg
islatures after our admission as