The Springdale news., 1906-03-16
To The Democracy of Washing
 ton County.

ton County.
 By request of large number of taxpayers, am aga1n before l you for the office of County Judge The reason assigned for asking me to take this step k. that the county may again be placed on d cash basis. This 1 am confident that would dc promptly If cleo ted. There is. ln my judgement, no reason why the county should not have been paving cash during all this last year Itis claim ed that the building of the new l Court House has caused It to go on d script basis. This k clear l ly not the case. The new Court was built tt d cost of o101, 711.s s4 and not ole dollar has been paid on this except S9,12S.s4. which was paid. as all the rest of this debt will be paid, out of the spec ial court house levy, provided by the wise foresight of tie justices of the county in tile Levying Court. and had nothing to do whatever with the current eXpen- ssS of the county. There was the furniture at 5000 and the elevator at S1, GOO with few other small items, to be paid for, that had been contracted for by the outgoing County Judge All the other expenses on, and i'll connection with the court house grounds We're entirely at the dis cretion of the present County Judge, aud could very well have waited until We had the money to pay for them.
 When Judge Williams went in- to office. Oct. 51, 1904, there was in the County Fund Cash 96, 445. : 80 and collections from Excess Salary etc, paid in soon after, and before July, amounting to S6, ,531.1s, making cash, practit- ally available. S12, 10. x.
 Only twe-tbirds of the two year term has passed, ard the money of the county fund K all gone he entire special White River Bridge fund las been taken improperly and paid out for cur rent expenses. and k all gone. Since JaIylst. 1905. more than Slo.0oe las been taken improper ly out oi tie special road levy and paid for feeding the prisoners, guarding. etc. This las been used. largely in connection with the workings of the prisoners on the roads 1t few points. But the mone7 Vas paid in the sever al Road-DiStriets and belongs to them. and can be paid cut legally onlyon the approval of tie road oyerseer.
 In addition to all this. the County Clerk S report shows Sep tember 1St, warrants outstanding against tie General County Fund s5, 565.oS. and the Register oi Warrants shows warrants issued since that date. SIS. 5.90s.o5 mak- ing total of S17.27S.6S issued since there was any money to pay with.
 The expenditures for tile first two-thirds of the present County Judges term, are by far the lar geSt and most eXtravagant the county has ever known, and this, without any reference to the cost of the new Court House.
 The money that has been talk en from these funds should be re- placed, but when the settlements are made in July there will be nothing with which to replace 1t, as large amount of the taxes, that should go to pay the eXpen- ses of tile county for the twelve months beyond next July 1st. is already being advanced to the treasurer and used to pay this old scrip.
 When became County Judge, Oct. 51, 1899, there was not a dollar iu tile county fund, and there was S1S,000 of scrip out standing. selling at 65 to 75cts. Before the end of my first two years, the scrip had all been paid; tile new jail was in process of erection, and the money was III the treasury to pay for 1t; and a very substantial improvement had been made in the county roads, although no specific road tax was being paid at that time.
 During my administration, the tax rate was, for the first time in the history of the county, reduc- ed from five mills to three and q half mills.
 The prisoners were, for the first time put to work on the |