Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1912-10-10
COMMITTEE FAVORS
new COURT HOUSE.
Body Appointed al Last Term of Court To
Suggest Improvements to Present Build
ing Tells Supervisors TazeWeII Needs
A New Court House Throughout.

mittee to advise as to what repairs
would be necessary to the present court
house. The committee met on Satur-
day and drafted it's report which was
presented at special meeting of the
Board Of Supervisors on Monday.
At this meeting E. L. Greever read
the order of the court to the committee
after which Attorney r. o. Crockett,
on behalf of the committee, read the
committees report, which is given in
full below
To the Honorable Fulton Kegley,
Judge Of the Circuit Court of Tazewell
County:
To the Honorable, the Board of Sup
ervisors OF Tazewell County:
The undersigned. s. C. Graham, j N.
Harmsn, +. L. Greever, r. o. Crockett,
J. Powell Royal and A. G. Kiser, were
appointed, by the Honorable Judge of
The Circuit Court of Tazewell County, a
comittee, in which said order the fol-
lowing directions were given:
'It appearing to the Court that the
court house is inadequate in this:
That there is not sufficient vault room
to properly take care of and protect the
records of this court; ann that there is
also needed additional rooms therein;
and that the court room should be i'm
proved, with such modern conveniences
added as the exigencies require and de-
mand, together with such additional
rooms adjoining said court room on
the same floor as may be necessary for
the convenient or orderly DISPOSAL of
the business of the Court"
Today q majority of the committee
met and made general inspection of
the premises included in your order;
and, before proceeding further, we wish
to say that the order you made is a
timely one, and should be speedily heed
ed. We expect to confer with Board of
Supervisors, as you required US to do,
about the 7th inst or as soon thereafter
as possible. Besides being utterly in
adequate for the purposes for which it
is needed, the structure itself is now in
bad condition; it leaks badly; the
broad and heavy cornice rotted and
really des troyed; the court house is
badly kept, and the basement is simply
disgrace.
The court room itself is badly ar
ranged, and, so far as it is concerned,
could be greatly improved and made
much more convenient and habitable
than it is.
The vaults of the court house are
not large enough by one-hah for the
purposes for which they are used even
now, not to mention the fact that valu-
able records are continually increasing
with rapidity each year. These vaults
were constructed and built many years
after the court house was built, and il
is very questionable, indeed, whether
they would stand fire and the heat
that would be generated should the
court house be turned
We looked over the court house care
fully on the outside with view to see
ing what additions, if any, could be
made to the present structure. If any
such additions can be made, they will
have to be constructed on the east and
west sides of the court house, for the
purpose of enlaging the space for the
two clerks offices, situated respectively
on these two sides, as well as for the
enlargement of the vaults. The trea-
surer S office is exceedingly small, ham
pered and cramped, and there is no
vault in it, and none that is used by the
treasurer.
Any additions which might be made
to this old structure will obscure lights
and render the building very insight
ly one, and will be difficult of access
from the old structure as it now stands.
There is an attempt to heat the court
room from the heating plant in the
jail, which necessitates conveying the
heat long distance through pipes,
which is very costly proceeding, if
kept up, but is, inadequate for the COM
fort of the court room itself; and what
ever may be done, plans should be tax en-
to heat this whole building by a steam
furnace and plant in the cellar. There
are many times during the season when
the Court cannot carry on its business
in an expeditions way on account of the
want of heat in the court room 1t is
positively dangerous for the Court,
jurors, witnesses and people to stay in
that room; and there are known instan.
ces where jurymen, who were compelled
to cit there, have lost their lives in con-
sequence. The floors of these rooms,
and of the whole structure, are wooden,
and there is a great deal of wood used
in the structure, and it is a wonder
that it has not been burned before this
time; and when fire does occur, as il
is not improbable it will do, it will en-.
tail untold loss and damage to the peo.
pie Of this county, for fortunately, there
has been preserved the records accumu.
lated since the formation of this county