The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1908-10-23
PAID ADVERTISEMENTS
SECOND DISTRICT OPPOSES OTIS
Statement of facts by Second District
Square Deal Club

II AAS OSNOho OAotAASh O1ASoS DSSN
Club, a non-partisan organization o.
voters and tax payers of the Second
Commissioners district of Chelan
county, which was organized for the
purpose of defeating H. w. Otis for
reelection to the Office of commits
sioner from the Second district, desire
to place before the voters of Chelan
county, especially those of the First
and Third districts, plain statement
of facts, as to why they are opposed to
the reelection of Mr.. Otis to the Office
which he now holds. The membership
of this organization is composed almost
entirely Of ranchers and laboring men
of the Second district who are entirely
dissatisfied with Mr.. Otis administration
Of county affairs during his present
term of office and particularly as re-
CARDS the disbursements of the road
and bridge funds of the district.
Mr.. Otis has expended large sums Of
county funds in an extravagant and
lavish manner upon roads and bridges
on and near his own property at Pc
shastin and Merit while, at the same
time he has absolutely neglected and
refused to make even the most insig
nifcant repairs upon some of the most
important roads and bridges in his dis
trict. To give the taxpayers of the
county an idea of what Mr.. Otis has
done for himself while in office we sub
nit the following:
He has been in Office less than two
years and in that time he has built and
completed steel bridge across Peshas-
tin creek at the northwest corner of his
ranch, at a cost to the county OF
$2566.25 and an additional sum of
about $3.50 for grading of approaches
etc., making a total of more than
$3400. At the meeting of the county
Commissioners at which the construc-
ton OF this bridge was ordered, peti-
ton in remonstrance, signed by twenty
seven resident ranchers of Peshastin
flat was presented to the commissioners
court, protesting against the location
of this bridge on Mr.. Otis ranch and
requesting that the bridge be built on
the old bridge site but Mr.. Otis and
the other two commissioners totally
ignored these twenty-seven petitioning
ranchers and with arbitrary arrogance
refused to receive their petition.
Mr.. Otis was also very successful in
having the county commissioners order
the construction of another steel bridge
across the Wenatchee river near the
southeast corner of the above men
toned ranch. Mr.. Otis worked very
strenuously to have this bridge located
at a point on the Wenatchee river
where the west end of it would strike
about the center of his ranch, but as it
would cost the county between $4,000
and $4,000 more to place the bridge
on Mr.. Otis ranch where he wanted it
than to locate it short distance below.
Messrs. Darnell and Sanders, the other
two commissioners sat down on Mr..
Otis and ordered the bridge built at its
present location. The contract price
of this bridge is $7343 and with extras
and building of approaches etc. the
total cost will reach $4,000 or $4,000.
Besides these two steel bridges that
Mr.. Otis has had constructed at this
ranch of his at Peshastin at total cost
to the county of about $4,000. He
also had another steel bridge built
across Mason creek at his ranch near
Merritt at a cost to the county OF
$3087.15 for construction of bridge
and about $500 for building approaches
thereto. Now, here we have grand
total of about $4,000 of county funds
that have been spent for the ediication
of Mr.. Otis, while he has neglected
nearly all the roads and bridges of the
balance of his district. Particularly is
this true in regard to the western por-
ton of his district.
During his present term OF office he
has never spent single dollar on either
of the two roads leading from Peshastin
to Leavenworth, Notwithstanding the
fact that both of these roads are in a
deplorable and dangerous condition
and several ranchers have asked him
to do something with them in the way