Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-11-02

HarbOr been handed a lemon, or
rather couple of lemons, in their
nominees for county commissioners?
Have they been playing into the
hands of bunch of county seat con-
:SpiratorS? Those questions have agi-
tated the minds of our republican
friends deeply during the past week
and most of them are now wonder
ing why they did not see it before.
That there is scheme to anchor the
county seat at Montesano by the erec-
tion of court house, costing between
100000 and 100000, is more than
suspected by all who have cared to
observe recent events in republican
county politics.
Chas. w. Arland and Geo. l.. Da-
Wis were county commissioners two
years ago when the county seat re-
moval election was on. They both
opposed it's removal to Hoquiam on
the ground of the expense of build
ing new court house, saying the
present building was good for twen-
ty years, and while they were MAX
ing this plea, actually had North
Yakima architect prepare plans for
q new building at MOntesano to cost
not less than 100000. They paid
for those plans with the cOunty's
money, and were only restrained from
binding the county in contract for
the erection of the building by Mr..
Davis getting cold feet.
After the senatorial ambitions Of
Davis were slaughtered two years
ago, it will be remembered that he
sold his large land holdings in Che
halls county and invested the pro-
ceeds in Oregon timber. This left
him in position to secure revenge,
leave costly court house as mon
ument to Geo. l.. Davis at no expense
to himself, and move to Oregon,
where his interests were. There is
no doubt that this was his frame of
mind when those plans were order
ed, as he made no secret of his in
tention to leave the county. One can
readily see what the vote on county
seat removal would have been, had
the people who were to pay for this
new court house been advised-as
they should have been-of the inten-
ton to build it.
The circumstances surrounding the
present candidacy of Davis has been
called to the attention of the voters
ON Grays Harbor, and tend to streng-
then the suspicion of this court
house conspiracy. The circumstan-
ces are these: Mr.. Davis early in the
primary campaign said emphatically
that he was not candidate, and the
contest apparently laid between Dr.
Watkins and Mr.. Thurber in the
Third District. Then, suddenly, his
candidacy is launched by w. H. Abel
whom Davis paid $4,000 of the
county's money for thwarting the
will of large majority of it's people.
We have the undisputed statement
of Mr.. Thurber for the fact that he
was offered $500 to get out Of the
way of Davis; that w. H. Abel fig
ured in this attempt to purchase the
nOmination-just as he did in the
offer to purchase B. r. Williams out
of the way of Arland in the First
district. Mr.. Thurber has also told
of the rascally methods adopted to
force DR.. Watkins off the ticket, so
that the people of Grays Harbor find
the following state of affairs to JUS
tify the suspicion of this conspiracy:
That the project to build the
court house two years ago was only
the same old triumvirate. Abel, Ar
land and Davis, fathers of the
scheme. only require to carry the
elections tomorrow to be again in
the saddle, and that the vote for
Davis at Montesano at the primaries
indicate clearly the expectations from
him in that quarter. When the
project was dropped two years ago,
it was carefully figured out that the
result could be secured without caus-
ing the political death Of Arland and
Davis-which it's consumnation at
that time would have rendered sure.
The triumvirate figured that no steps
for removal of the county seat could
be taken for four years, and that a
national election intervened, at
which It would be strange II Boss
Abel could not so manipulate poll
tics so as to insure two friendly
commissioners. 1t should be borne
in mind that In Montesano this mat