The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1910-05-06
"Offices are full of cracks"

"Offices are full of cracks"
''Pocket books are being drained year
after year to bolster up old county
shacks at Pembna so they won't fall to
pieces and e.danger the lives of their
occupants" =
1.-The poorest, cheapest, most unde-
sirable and unsafe in the state.''
''And that the size of this drain cost
of repairsl coupled with the excess
mileage of the county form an expense
which reaches an aggregate every
twenty years to build new and mod
ern court house."
"Exclusive of the furnishings the
county buildings were worth less than
$1,000. The furniture and fixtures
are worth more than the buildings"
"Conceded by officials and everybody
that new court house must be built in
the near future"
''The old shacks will not hold together
that much longer -.
':New county buildings must be built
within ten years whether moved or not.
There is no lodging that expense"
"Ihe buildings are worth less than
$4,000. The furniture and fixtures
are worth more than the buildings"
NOT WORTH $1,000 BUT SELL FOR $4,000.
AS will be noted Editor Fairchild's
various valuations hardly agree with
each other, but they all seem to call
attention of the buying public to the
fact that IN his estimation the county
buildings are not worth $4,000, and
in one place says they are only worth
from $4,000 to SS,000-and yet he thinks
he could sell them after the county
seat was removed and the buildings of
no farther use to anybody except to
pull down for old lumber, for $4,000.
That is, they are only worth about
S., 900 to the county which has use
for them and yet sell them for $4,000
to somebody who has no use for them.
EXCESS MILEAGE,
When Editor Fairchild can say moth
ing else, he always rings in "excess
mileage" as sort of continuous per-
formance, or as chorus to every song
he sings. Since we showed by official
figures, that the total court expenses
of the county, perdiem, mileage, neces-
sary and excess mileage all together
for the last ten years amounted to less
than S17O0 a year, and hence his oft
repeated chorus that excess mileage
alone would build a court house in
twenty years. is nonsense because all
the expenses altogether would only
make $4,000 in twenty years. But
since the Chronicle could not dispute
these figures it has of late changed
the "solo' to "duet" and now it is
1.-THE excess mileage and some other
expense together will build new court
house." The latest addition being the
"excess mileage plus the saving on
janitor's salary" Both being equally
ridiculous.
The change in his "excess mileage"
accounts is signiied by the following
extracts from the last two months
issues of the Chronicle
The excess mileage fees paid out the
Il
equip new county buildings as valuable
as the present ones. An excess amount
has been paid in the last twenty years
to pay cost of first class modern up to-
date court house and necessaries.
The mileage saving item is q matter
of large intelligent consideration.
The Pioneer Express makes the
statement that the total court expenses
of the county were only about S16.976
1--WE SAID total in ten years and that
excess mileage could only be about
500 per year.) But that is the Pioneer
Express statement lit is the official fig
ures of the county auditory There
is all the same a large forced expendi-
ture for excess mileage sufficient in
amount every twenty years to pay for
new county buildings.
II this (other expense) is added to
the excess mileage which the county
has to pay, enough would be saved
during the next twenty years to build
one of the finest court houses in North
Dakota Sa
QUESTION OF TAXES.
To the great mass of the county the
county seat question cuts no figure
Except as a personal matter. It is
evident that both Cavalier and Pembi-
ma have local reasons for the possession
Of the county seat which have but little
Interest to the bulk of the taxpayers.
The Chronicle says
.'The tar question cuts no ice ia the
1controversy.' &