The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-10-11
VIEW SESSION IN ALARM
Olympia People Afraid Capital Fight
Is on Again.
LEGISLATURE MAY TAKE SOME ACTION
STATE HOUSE is INADEQUATE
AND NO ADDITIONAL QUAR-
TIERS ARE AVAILABLE.
LEGISLATURE MAY TAKE SOME ACTION

~
pie are nightly afraid that the COM
ing session of the Legislature may
again bring up the capital removal
fight. One reason for this is the fact
that when the-legislature meets there
will be probable trouble in finding
suitable accommodations in the build
ing.
The old building where the legis-
iature formerly met is tumble down
wooden structure unavailable for any
use by state officers. Near it are
the foundations of what was designed
to be a handsome Million dollar struc-
ture, but now used only as sort of
cattle corral by the tenants Of the
property. Of course the state recently
established its title to the lands in
the courts against the heirs of the or
iginal donor The latter contended
that the lands not being now used for
capital purposes, should revert. But
even with title the property is at pres
ent of no use to the state, so far as
caring for the overflow offices from
the present capitol.
This latter structure, the old Thurs
ton County court house, with new
wing added, is a good building so far
as it goes, but is by no means suffi-
GENTLY large. When the legislature is
in session, that body, of course, re-
quires both its meeting chambers, the
cloak rooms and committees rooms in
connection and even all of these were
not sufficient two years ago.
Then as many as three and four
committees had to share one commit
tee room and meetings of commit
tees had to be so arranged that they
were neld on different nights of the
week. because the rooms are large
enough to accommodate only one COM
mittee at a time.
Today many of these legislative
rooms are occupied by officers VINO
must find new quarters before the leg
islature meets. Just where they are
to find these quarters is difficult to
determine, as practically all of the Of
flee rooms in the building, even in the
basement, are now in use At present
the state tax commission, the three
members of which are here almost all
the time, and it's force of clerks. &C.
cupy the rooms designed for use Of
the speaker of the house, for commit
tee rooms Of the house and bill and
file rooms.
The rapidly growing mass of rec
ords and documents of the commission
alone require a lot of space and there
must be some office room, but where
it will be found is a question that is
puzzling Secretary of State Sam H.
Nichols. Mr.. Nichols has charge of
the capitol and has to look after the
providing of offices.
On the other side of the building the
senate rooms, six Of them, are now Civ
en- up to the railroad commission,
which also has accumulated a mass of
records and data. The commission
will probably arrange to cramp itself
and its records and employees into two
small basement rooms now occupied
by the state board of control as SAM
pie rooms when awarding contracts.
Others of the legislative commit
tee rooms are given up to the justices
of the supreme court, including Chief
Justice Mount. the judges have to
have private rooms where they NAV
lock themselves in free from Interrupt
ton and consider the hundreds OF
briefs submitted to them each term of
court. The next session of the legis-
lature will come at a time when these
judges are just considering decisions
- VIC IL. Eases " De submitted AT
this October term, the largest docket
in history. 1t is hard to see where the
judges can be given rooms, for there
are none empty convenient to the
state law library and certainly the
courts work must go ON while the leg
islature will be loath to do without anv
committee rooms.
Others of the committee rooms are
occupied respectively by the state fire
warden, the state highway commits
sioner, and engineers of the state land
office. These officers will probably
have to find Offices outside the build
ing, at state expense, of course for
the two months the legislature will