Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-10-20
ENTHUSIASTIC
MASS MEETING
People Deeply Interested Listen to
Able Speeches.

easlons, mad rendered its services
for the meeting and after rendering
few selections on the street rem
dered one in front Of the pavilion.
When the strains of the last selection
had died away on the evening air, the
time had arrived for the meeting to
convene, and by then every available
seat in the large pavilion was taken,
and standing room was at
premium.
Misical Selection.
The evenings program commenced
with a selection by the Occur d.
Alene Musical club, and then r. L.
Black, the first speaker Of the even
ing, was introduced by Rev. w. H.
Fry of the committee on arrange
ments.
Blacks Convincing Argument.
AS Mr.. Black advanced to the
stage to commence his address he
was loudly cheered and applauded
He commenced by paying a few com
pliments to the large audience for
their interest in the county seat
campaign, and the question that was
to be discussed during the evening,
and then he launched off into his
address. Standing on the stage
were two miniature paper buildingss.
One represented the magnificent city
hall of Occur d'Alene, three story
brick, with its three modern fire.
proof vaults, and the other a pine
building constructed years ago with
innumberable inconvenience and its
one miserable vault, inadequate in
room for the county records, and alb
solutely valuless against fire. The
speaker commenced by making a
comparison of the two buildings
He pointed out the danger of the
present court house as a fire trap
and the valuelessness of the present
vault, and showed that but a small
portion of the records are kept in II
because of the lack of room, and then
dwelt upon the conveniences of the
city hall, which the city is offering
free to the county as a court house
and the absolute safety of its three
vaults against the destruction of thu
records by fire.
BY the use of a map he ther
pointed out the location of Rathdrun
and the relative positions of the vari
Gus other towns in the county anC
showed that Occur d'Alene was thu
only city that was geographical!
situated for a county seat. He thei
drew a line running east and ives
three miles north of the city, ant
showed that the population to tn
north of that line was 1000 and tina
the population to the south wa
10000, and maintained that tn
present county seat benefited onl
one-ffth of the population and tina
were 1t situated in this city four
fifths would be benefited.
He then made a comparison @
the expenses incurred by jurors traN
cling to the present county seat, an
money that would be saved wer
the county seat located here, and pre-
ceeded to enumerate what the cit
was Offering to the county as
inducement for the removal OF tn
county seat. The city, he said wa
offering to the county for its FIRE
use until the taxpayers should 50
fit to build a court house, the ne
city hall, and citizens had offered an
had placed in escrow, instruments
that end. one of four different col
yenient court house sites. free as SOC
as the people should decide to bull
a court house.
He next discussed the taxes pa
nv the county, and showed that u
total tax paid is 900. and TIL
the telephone. telegraph. railway
and Washington Water Power cor
many and lumber companies pay oF'
half of that tax. or s65,SiS leaTiE
less than half for the rest Of Il
N. county to pay. 4he taxes. he sal
In would not be raised the least BY q
X removal of the county seat. and
!. conclusion he summed mp his arg
ment Of the evening and made