The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1910-12-08
WILL CONTEST ROAD BONDS


District Attorney-Elect W. S. Wall
has announced his intention of fighting
the redemption by the county of the
more or less famous Churchill County
Toll Road Bonds" This announce
ment was made by Mr.. Wall after a
careful study of the legality of the Act
of Legislature authorizing" the
issuance of these bonds. Mr.. Wall is
firmly of the opinion that the bonds are
invalid and should not be paid by the
taxpayers of Churchill county and he
bases his opinion chiefly on the circum-
stances surrounding the handling of
funds derived from the sale of bonds,
which amounted to $4,000. The ex-
penditure on the ''toll road" ceased at
this stage of the game, although the
legislative act passed during the 1907
session authorized the expenditure of
S25, 900. The act having to do with the
toll road, which in reality never ex-
lsted, the money having been spent on
the public highway at point between
Fallon and Fairview. generally desig-
mated as "Sand Springs Flat" was
pliable in the extreme, Section II, page
$50, 1907 session laws reading as follows
The county commissioners shall
have the supervision Of the construction
of said toll road" and may let same
out oy contract or otherwise. as they
may deem for the best interests of
the county,"
Nov, it will be remembered that the
contracts were not let out under the
terms of the otherwise" provision.
but by private contract, and that some
thing like $4,000 was expended, not
upon toll road" as authorized by
special act, but that all work done for
this sum was performed on the public
highway connecting this point with the
mining camps, road by the way, that
has been used by the public for many
decades. When the $l3. 600 Of the s25,-
900 authorized for the toll road" con-
struction was spent, halt was called.
From the outset there were no bids re
ceived for the bonds, except from those
who are presumed to have profited
from the work inaugurated. In this
connection it is interesting to note that
the |. H. Kent Company was the
distributor of all supplies for the road
work and sort of county bank was
maintained there. where all workers
employed by the county contractor were
paid.
Now, Mr.. Wall, as the peoples at
torney, believes that it lies wholly
within his province to take official ac-
tion directed at estopping the further
disbursement of public monies for the
llquidating this debt which he holds is
illegal, for the reason that the money
derived from their sale was not ex-
pended upon ''toll road, as authorized
by special act, but upon public high
way of this county.
He believes that if there has been a
mistake made in the disbursement of
county funds, that the effects thereof
should not fall upon the taxpayers Of
the second and third generation.
Whenever the issue is precipitated, it
will doubtless be hotly contested, and
it is not altogether improbable that the
legislature will be asked by those most
deeply concerned to make valid every
procedure connected with the toll
road" bond issue.
This paper does not believe that one
member of the board that sanctioned
the expenditure of "toll road" money,
benefited to the amount of one cent
individually, but it does believe that
grossest mismanagement of the funds
existed, and that the taxpayers of this
county received so little in return for
the sum taxed against them that it is
little wonder that tongues have been
wagging ever since. And in view of
the fact that the status of the bonds is
mooted, we are confident that District
Attorney-Elect Wall will receive the
support of every fair minded taxpayer
in this county in his effort to clear the
muddled condition once and for all.
We do not claim big corner, but we
| n IL l.. hat Of nak nf