Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1912-01-09
THE ARMoRY AND ITS USES
Available For Public Purposes Aside
From Military Purposes.

matters concerning the new armoi
in Dallas that | believe will be {
interest to the many citizens in Pol
county interested in our new builC
ing.
In the first place, this buildin
will probably be accepted by tn
state Of Oregon next week, at whic
time, the same will be turned owe
to me as captain of the local com
pany Of Militia. From that time on
& in military circles, this armory will
be deemed military post, under full
: charge and control Of the command
ing officer of the local company Of
militia. All requests for the use Of
the building for other than military
purposes, as well as for military
purposes, will be addressed to such
commanding officer.
While | was endeavOring to secure
this armory for this city, and even
though | considered the outlook
bright for the successful termination
of my efforts, still you will remem-
Der that my strongest argument was
that Polk county needed building
of this kind to house its many fairs,
shows and conventions. | did not
make this argument merely for the
purpose Of gaining friends for the
cause, but because | was sincere; be-
cause | felt that Polk county could
well afford such building, and Il
knew that once it was erected, the
citizens of the county would feel
very proud of it and consider the in
vestment as money well spent. The
complete success of the recent goat
and poultry show held in the armory
well heated, lighted, and comforta-
BILE as it was, and the many favorable
comments on the building / heard
from outsiders, l feel completely vim
dicated me for the efforts put for
ward on my part to secure the same.
l also feel that the city council of
Dallas and the county court of Polk
county have also been vindicated for
the outlay Of money. Had our city
council and our county court been
composed of less public-spirited and
business men, / am afraid
that our armory would still be a mat {
ter Of imagination instead of pleas
ant reality. ,
However, | am straying from the i
point a little. Primarily, this build t
ng is military post, and is to be e
lsed for military purposes. Things e
must come first, because the t
'tate of Oregon demands that, and 9
n this matter the state is supreme. a
however, when not being used for d
military purposes, the same NAV be e
Ised for any county purpose. for 81
which same is desired. The people
4 this county have pat their good "
noney into this building, and back il
these people should the benefits d
t having such a building go. The +,
mldng may be used for public pur- p
oses free of all charge, except act rt
al expense; private meetings, etc, el
course, must pay a reasonable in
entail. II is expected that every W
'unty event, such as the goat show, m
he poultry show, the school chill "a
rem s fair. the fruit-growers' fair, on
Dlitical meetings, and public con la
shall be held in this build Ia
z. That was my argument with sh
e people while endeavoring to Sc ST,
IRE this building, and as long as l ga
aud at the helm, that agreement te,
u be lived up to. fr
Before closing, / want to call at tn
ntion to the fact that, contrary TO pl,
c expectations and predictions of do
any pessimistically inclined per- sv,
MS, the floor in the armory was not ali
lured IN any respect by the hold IN,
OF the Goat and Poultry show un
ere. People interested in this show Ian
ould know, however, that it was VIII
entirely TO kindness Of Mr.. Os- wit
Holmes and Glen Grant. of the
n of Holmes & Grant. the con .
etors, that this show was held in sbo
5 building this year. for they were aro
! responsible for the building and pro
any INJURY 10 the same. they still uns
ng m full charge and control of cat,
and under bond to deliver il in real
class condition 70 the State of ear
gon on or before February L. dew
? For this reason, il for no Won
er considering the chances these Won
he-spirited men took in this re- Won
i, it Is most gratifying 10 learn pssI
no damage was done. 6el5
hough I have spoken in this CON- bv
ieaiion regarding my efforts in aite
iring this building for tins county q
1 do nov want Il understood bv take
e who DO not know, that I alone ieee
all this Though perhaps I. sBa,