The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1914-10-02
Removal a Business Proposition

of officers, deputies and clerks, travel
ing expenses of officers, court ex-
penses, Jurors, witnesses, maintenance
of court house and Jail, in fact about
everything except the money raised
for schools and for roads and bridges.
Now it has got to a point where this
to be conducted in railroad town,
a railroad. The items Of current ex-
pense should be cut down as much as
possible, and much could certainly be
cut off by having the courthouse down
on the railroad. The amount of cur
rent expense Is now annually so large
that small percentage Of saving will
amount to very large sum.
Now as to the cost of new court
house and Jail at Okanogan. In the
first place the citizens of this town
have put up $4,000 as a bonus to-
wards building new courthouse and
Jail in case the county seat Is moved
here. We are also offering fine site
free to the county. That $4,000 will
build new courthouse with a Jail in
the basement. We don't say that a
commodious building could be built
for that figure, and the architecture
will have to be very plain both in
side and out, but it will suffice for the
present needs of the county and the
structure can be added to and i'm
proved in the future as it may be
found necessary. The old courthouse
at Conconully must be extensively re-
paired, enlarged and bettered If the
county seat is to be left there for four
years more and there Is no telling
what amount of expense that will run
into.
But the greatest saving Of all is to
the public that has business at the
county seat. The above mentioned ar
ticle in the Record says that only 536
persons attended court last year
(1913.) That this number only
amounted to 3 and IL per cent of the
entire population Of the county. We
know nothing about these figures but
conceeding then to be true as far as
they go, we will say that the number
of people who register in the clerks
Office as witnesses, Jurors, etc., as Of
fcially in attendance at court is but
a small proportion that have to make
trips to COnconully. There are the
lawyers constantly going, there are
the litigents, there are those going tc
see the commissioners and other of.
ficers and no end of others who go or
innumerable missions. 1t is a con,
sentative estimate to say that at least
$500 trips are made to Conconully an.
nually by the people Of the county
who have to go there for one reason
or another. Counting the extra ex.
pense and one days extra time in
volved they will average S. additional
expense over making the same jour
ney to Okanogan and transacting thu
same business. That amounts to $12,
600 per year burden on the public tina
comes out of the individual pocket
books of our citizens. And beside!
think of the extra discomfort and ia
ltigue involved in the trip from tn,
railroad up to Conconully especial.
in bad weather.
Besides all this is 1t not a matte
of progress, advancement and i'm
provement to get the county seat OF
railroad transportation. Will 1t no
be a disparagement on the good sens
and business judgment of the count.
If it is said that we retain the count.
seat in such an out Of the way place
Is 1t not good business to move tn
county seat from every point of view
Good business for all the taxpayer
and citizens both individually and col
lectively.
OKANOGAN COUNTY SEAT RE
] MOVAL COMMITTEE.