Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-08-26
THE COURT HOUSE SITE

| THE COURT HOUSE SITE
Now that the $4,000 worth of Al per
cent 2O-year bonds, voted by the peo-
pie Of York county for the erection OF
La new court house, have been sold, in
terest has been revived in the question
as to whether there shall be a change
from the present site, and If so where
1 The matter was not discussed very Sc
| riously at the board meeting last Fri
day, for the reason that only Mr.. Will
kerson and Mr.. Brice were present, Mr.
Anderson being away in the mountains
of North Carolina on his summer va
cation.
There has been a whole lot Of talk
about the site question, some Of |,
throughout the county; but most Of II
in Yorkville. So far as the public
knows, however. nothing has been set
tied, and that there may be good deal
more talk before the work Of actual
building Is commenced is not at all i'm
probable. The commissioners do not
seem to have any definite idea as to
what they will likely do, and as the
public is all mixed up. 1t is pretty diff
ficult to come to a final conclusion.
There are those who say that II the
site question had been injected into
the campaign on the question Ct vot-
ing the bonds, and especially II there
had been a serious suggestion Of q
change from the present site, the bonds
would have been defeated. This ar
gument is made in good faith; but as
| to how much there Is to 1t, Is a ques-
ton. It Is fact that during the cam
paign very little was said on the site
question. The idea Of the possible de-
STABILITY Of removing the building oc-
Cured to very few people, even ir
| Yorkville. They had not studied the
matter a great deal, and most Of them
were giving their first concern to the
seemingly more important matter as to
| whether the bonds would be voted al
all. Since the voting Of the bonds the
question Of site has had great dea
more consideration, and many people
who had not previously dreamed OF
changing the location of the building
have come to the conclusion that moi
to do so would be short-sighted and
unwise.
That the present location is ideal, Is
not to be disputed, and the strong SEN
timent that exists in favor Of 1t is per-
fectly natural. With this site having
been occupied by court house fol
practically one hundred years, and
never a sign Of objection having beer
raised in that time, why should there
be change now? And that looks rea-
sonable. But sometimes facts an6
conditions outweigh sentiment, and
the question Is whether this Is to be
the case in the present instance. 1t Is
commonly conceded that the present
site will bring on the market anywhere
from $4,000 to $4,000. There are lots
Of people who think the latter figure:
are not too nigh. Whatever the pres
ent site would bring over the cost OF
a new site, would be just that much
more money available for the proposed
new building. That Is one advantage
Of removal. A disadvantage Of rebuild
ling on the present site would be the nec-
essity of removing the records and pro-
Touring new offices for county officials
while the new structure is being erect
ed. This would mean not less than one
thousand, possibly several thousand
dollars Of additional expense. Their
again 1t Is argued that II there Is 6
change to a new site, and the present
site goes into private hands, it will
have to be developed at considerable
| expense with the result that there will
be a material gain on the tax books
The new site wherever 1t is, and what.
ever is to be paid for it, is not paying
on more than a nominal assessment
tnow, and there will be no appreciablt
loss on that score.
| So far as is known only one site 1!
being actually offered, and that Is 6
site that Mr.. F. e. Smith of Yorkville
offers to donate as a free gift withou
any strings tied to it. This site is OF
West Liberty street, the same street OF
which the present court house stands
and within three hundred yards. 1t 1!
within one hundred yards Of the jail
Other sites were offered early in tht
spring and pressed with more or les!
vigor, but when the hitch developed II
connection with the sale OF the bonds
the offers were withdrawn. 1nasmucf
as it was understood that the site Sc
lected must be condemned anyway
there was no need of making prices. 1
Is not out of place to observe, however
that condemnation proceedings will
hardly result in the paying Of more
money for any Of the various proper
ties than has been asked by the respec
tive owners.
The site that Mr.. F. E. Smith hal
offered to donate has not received yer!
serious consideration at the hands o
the Yorkville public. At the request o
the commissioners Mr.. Smith put hi!
offer in binding form; but nothing hal
been said to indicate that any of th'
commissioners have any notion Of &C
cepting this site. Among the objections
that are urged locally, Is that while th'
site itself Is all that could be desired
the topography Of much Of the land II
the immediate vicinity, especially t.
the south and west, does not invite de
velopment There is deep depression
across the road in front, and lont
high hill Immediately TO the west. II
other directions desirable building lot
are plentiful, and there is vacant space
Immediately contiguous which, If de
veloped would add very materially t.
the population Of the town. While a.
stated, this site seems to have but few
friends locally, there are people out II
the country who are arguing the ac
ceptance of the Smith proposition ol
the ground that this site would serv'
the county as q whole as well as an!
other, and it would make available any