The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1906-01-19
CITIZENS
STAND UP
FOR RIGHTS
Mass Meeting Inaugurates Fight iof
County Seat and Demands Money
for Schools and Fire
Department

Fol the purpose W
early removal Of the county seat from
Hawthorne to this city a petition con
tanning the, required number 81 sigma
lures win be presented to the board OF
county commissioners at the February
meeting asking the board to cah q
special election for a popular vote upon.
the question.
The opening gun in the campaign Tor
the removal of the seat of the county
government was fred Monday night
when a report was made by the county
seat committee ut a mass meeting OF
the people of Goldfeld held in Miners
Union hall.
F. HI. Lathrap, secretary of the COM
mittee, stated that the committee had
after a great deal Of labor secured the.
reouired number of signatures and all
that remained was the subscription OF
ample funds to pay the expenses of rep
resentatives who would present inc
matter properly to the attention OF the
board of county commissioners.
Judge X. G. Withers, legal adviser
Of the committee, explained that the
statute provided two methods by which
the county seat could be r~emoved-one
by a special act of the legislature and
the other by the holding of a special
election to vote upon the question. In
this connection Judge Withers stated
that the calling of the special election
was mandatory upon the board OF
county commissioners, if the matter
was properly and legally presented
The committee had proceeded carefully
step by step and every requirement OF
the statute had been fully compiled
with. The committee had taken the
utmost care to prepare what would be
a legal petition. Should the commits
~sioners refuse to call a special election,
then the people of Goldfeld would have
the recourse of going before the SUI
preme court and asking for the neces.
sary process of law to compel the com
missioners to act.
During some incidental discussion,
Walter Stone asked County Commits
sioner Lothrop the direct question, ii
he would vote for the removal of the
county seat from Hawthorne to Gold
field. Mr.. Lothrop replied that he
would vote for anything of benefit to
the community which he represented
Mr.. Stone pressed the question and
asked for a direct answer, and Mr.
Lothrop went on record emphatically.
stating that he would vote for the
change.
The mass meeting also appointed a
committee consisting of j.. q. Thomp-
son, j. Sanders and H. B. Lind to look
into the legal status of the school bond
question. Chairman Detch was In
structed to appoint a committee of five
persons, consisting of two women and
three men, to secure subscriptions with
which to run the schools another month,
until such a time as ways and means
could be devised to secure the $4,000
which Commissioner Lothrop admitted
was in the county treasury to the
credit of this district.
Claude Inman, a member of the
school board, stated that the first con
tract for the school building, upon
which work had been suspended by
reason of the boards inability to Sc
cure the money from the county was
for $4,000. The contract to build the
school was let because the board pre-
sumed and had every reason to believe
that the bonds were good and the spe-
cial tax was levied to meet the de-
fciency. The commissioners, however,
in making the levy made it so large
that it exceeded the statutory limit,
and it was thus illegal. The board of
school trustees, Mr.. Inman stated, was
unable to secure the money on the
bonds because County Treasurer Roach
Ado W oASh tnClls Il any b1ulC
the bonds were signed the board could
sell them to either the John S. Cook
& Co. bank or the State Bank & Trust
company for practically their face
value.
Taking up the subject of continuing
the school without money from the
county, Postmaster E. r. Collins, a
school trustee, stated that it was up to
the people of Goldfeld to come to the
rescue of the school board. Unless
funds were subscribed to run the
schools, they would close Friday night.
The teachers were unpaid and many
bills had accumulated, by reason of the
boards inability to secure funds from
the county.
"a good many ideas have been ad-
vanced here tonight that seem to be
principally thought" declared Walter
Stone. Hand / Would suggest that ono