The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1904-03-18

The building complete, ready for the decorator, costs s8s, LA.
Into the construction nothing short of first class material was al
lowed to enter. You can see for yourselves the fine quality Olive
oak used for doors, door and window frames. An expert wood
worker told me it was the finest lot of oak lumber ever brought to
this city. @E.&
When it came to the decorating of the walls, an artist of re-
pute vas engaged at a cost of even $4,000. and that corridor out
there and this courtroom, marvels of beauty, attest the skill Of
the decorator.
The steel furniture OF the various Offices and vaults, as good
As could be secured, cost Sc, 22O. s
The wood -urniture, Including the wood and glass screens in
the various Officers, also the platform and chairs for the Judge, jury
and clerk, the 200 opera chairs which you occupy, the chairs in
all the rooms. the desks and these beautiful tables, and last, but
by far the finest of all, this handsome panel behind the bench,
cost s3993. Hnndsomer grained oak was never seen.
The gas and electric fixtures for all the rooms of the build
ing, in harmonious keeping with the other elegant appointments,
cost just S1775, thus linking by an accident the lighting of the
S ructure with the same historic number to which is linked the
lighting of this land with Liberty's torch.
This lenoleum which carpets the floors of every apartment from
the courtroomto the farmers room, the best grade of the material
to lie obtained, costs $1543, As.
must touch upon one more feature of the furnishing of this
building. That is what is called the johnson Service Company
s 1stem of temperature regulation. By mears of this system the
heat is automatically regulated I'm every Office and room in the
b Hiding. BY those little arrangements You see in every room
t,e> are called thermostats-the temperature desired in each
room is fixed, above or below which it can not 60 1t does every
thing necessary to regulate the heat, except DING down to the eng
CINE room and shoveing in COAL IL the fireman puts in too much
9 ,l On leaves the draught open too wide, it closes it up 50 that not
"a pound more of coal is burned than is necessary to keep up the re-
quired temperature. Tie putting in Of this system costs $1,000.
The architect who planned our courthouse has been paid in the
neighborhood Of $4,000. a5 @s
For every contract. let in furnishing this building there have
been numerous bidders and i baHeve close figures have been made.
/ know it looks as if money had been paid out on a rather generous
scale, but our commissioners have demanded throughout that every
thing most be of the besr, deeniing it always the poorest economy
Ito let ANYTHING shabby enter into the construction.
Nov, our courthouse is q marvel of elgance INCONVENIENCE,
and has cost q good sum Of money, but I am going to make q state
ment that is going to surprise many of you. The records in the
auditors Office show that over onethird, nearly two.ffths Of the en-
tire cost have been paid in cash by the leyies of 1902 aud 1908, be-
sides paying $4,000 interest on the court house bonds. Now let us
60 hack to 1901, q year when nothing for courthouse construction
was included in the levys What was the rate for county purposess
" was As mills. Now what was it in 1902, when $4,000 were
raised for courthouse construction just III more, or SO mills.
What was it in 1908, when $4,000 were raised for courthouse pur
posess just IL mills more than in 1901, whom no money was
, raised for courthouse construction. But you say your taxes arc
) higher than ever before. Wen, the levy for state purposes IS one
mill higher higher than i year ago, and 10 mills higher than in
1901. The state tax has increased one tenth mill more in two years
than our county tax has, while We paid over ono third Of the cost Of
I this building. Again, II You look NJ yonr tax receipt you may find
that your school tax has increased more than your county tax. An