Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1912-10-10

ton, buy the same Burnett tease, having
but little over four years of life, at $4,000.
We cannot help but believe that the
County Court thinks that values are ma
terially increasing. II they will look out
OF their Court House windows, they can
see the new Postoffice building, the new
Opera House, new Telephone building,
and the new department Store-over one
hundred thousand dollars worth OF build
ings on property that few years ago
was assessed at less than six thousand
dollars-2,0O0 per cent increase-and this
is not an isolated case. There rs more
and more building going on every year in
Charles Town, Ransom and throughout
the county, substantially increasing our
assessments year after year, and so II
will continue.
Now to return to what our County
Court has paid for extraordinary ex-
penSeS, without increasing our levy, since
March IL, 1910:
Order No. 100, Geo. T. Light $4,000
Order No. l02, Geo. M. Beltzhoo- -
Order ven No. 5l 90, Frank Beckwith 5000
James M. Mason. IT,. N5.W
Total lEfo'U
Various orders in addition to these for
construction and heating County Court
House, aggregating over vi ,oOO-OO.
Light, Beltzhoover, Mason and
Beckwith l,ZI5.W
Paid county bonds from Oct. |,
1911. to Oct. l., l9l2, 9UOO.OO
Total, Sl, 1880
Here is over 100000 spent by our
County Court in little over two years,
and the sheriffS statement shows good
balance in every fund. From the TACT
that we have very material increase in
our assessment every succeeding year,
our revenues are constantly increasing
and the very action OF our County Court
proves this fact concluSlvely.
Successful business menas they are, keen
traders, alive TO the county'S interests,
and dealing as close for the public as they
would for themselves, they pay $4,000
cash for Burnett'S lease, four years to
run, when the same lease sold at public
auction, Is years to run, at $202.00. Thus
by their actions they prove concluslvely
the material increase OF the aSseSSable
property OF our county.
Now the County Court did not make
fair statement of the financial condition
OF the county of Jefferson, and we quote
their own records to prove the same.
Now, one OF the best business men of
our County Court, MIR. n. r. Roberts,
told US that this bridge could be built
without increasing Our bonded indebted
ness or raising our assessment, and from
the investigation and search OF the rec
ords and orders, and for what purposes
drawn, that we have had made, and from
the facts presented to you voters, to-wit.
that since March the 18th, 1910, orders
for extraordinary expenses have been
drawn as follows:
Light, Beltzhoover and Mason $l,275.00
Court House addition, oyer Il, 500 90
Paid on Bonded Indebtedness
from Oct. l, 1911, to Oct. l, 1912 100000
Total, Sl 1880
This has been done and can be done
in two years without raising our assess
ment, for they have proven beyond the
shadow of doubt the material increase
in our assessment.
This bridge can be built just like the
addition to the Courthouse was built,
without increasing our bonded indebted
ness. Our present County Court is COM
posed OF farmers. OF countrymen; now
over one-fifth of the truly countrymen
of our county are on the east side OF the
Shenandoah river, and ii looks like they
are entitled 10 one member OF the County
Court, or they suffer taxation without
representation, the same as our Revolt
tionary forefathers, and their lords and
masters are to weeks distant from
them at times by an impossible river,
during which time several trips could be
made to our mother country and return
Another material increase that the County
Court can count on from June the Isl,
1914, and that is, the rent from six double
offices in Lawyers Row, worth at least
$4,000 per annum, which will pay over
one-eighth OF the present interest charges
on our bonded Indebtedness.
These offices are worth at least $4,000
rent per annum, considering that they.
the County Court, are good business men
and that they paid $4,000 cash for four
years and two months lease on one set
OF offices, so here is revenue that they
can count on as sure as two and two is
four.
When our county voted the two hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars bond issue,
our assessed value, real and personal,
was about Sc, 0OG. 10000. II is now nearly
SIG, 0O0, 10000, and rapidly increasing.
The fathers of our constitution in their
wisdom considered 5 per cent OF our
assessed value conservative debt for us
to carry, so you see you could carry a
$500. 10000 bond issue on sic, 000, 10000
assessment.
Our present bonded Indebtedness is
only Sl72, 10000. Add the present asked
for bond issue, Sc, 900, making $222, 900,
less than we carried when our assess
ment was only little over one third
what il is today, and constantly increas-
ing.
There is still another view to take of
this bridge proposition: The Jefferson
county citizens residing on the east side
OF the Shenandoah river or on the west
side thereof have right to demand a
bridge across the Shenandoah river
wherever the river crosses a regularly
established public road. Whenever a
citizen of Jefferson county follows a reg
ularly established road and finds an inn
paSsable river spanning this road, and
when the regularly established county
authorities have not made adequate ar
engagements to cross the same, the citizen,
in our humble opinion, is entitled to re-
muneration for all damages that he SUI
fers from delay, and he can. in our opin-
iOn by DrODer legal methods com,ei the