Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1914-05-22
WHAT BECOMES Of
OUR TAX MONEY!
FARMERS COMMITTEE CITE
SEVERAL .NCiEE<I.5 II
CALLS ENL!GHVENINCs

| sAtAAo I'm EsSE1EN ING
The following seif-explanatory ar
ticle is submitted by Fred W. Lewis
a member Of the farmers special com
mittee of IS which has been invest
eating the county's affairs, and is au
thorized by the committee Under
the title of where our Tax None
Goes" this member of the committee
says by way of answer:
1.-The question is often asked
What becomes of our tax money?
and with view of showing where {
part of it has gone, with little or nc
value to the people at large, | give
the following facts, taken from the
records in the courthouse, and froI
facts as well known by residents il
the neighborhood:
Rock CrtGsIiei' Bought in 1911.
"On November 6, 1911, I find tina
$1,000 was paid for q rocbcrueher
bought Of Beal 6 Co., OF Portland
This crusher was set up near tho
highway on tire Tenino road, In q To-
cation where there was large
amount of boulder rock, intermiXed
with smaller gravel and earth. Wher
the crusher was tried it was decided
that the roller, which was purchased
with the idea that L could be used r
run the crusher with, as we'll as to
roll the roads after being covered
with the crushed rock, was not fur
nishing power enough, so the traction
engine belonging to brewery & Soy
was hired for d day or so, but eve
yet the crusher could not be got tc
work satisfactorily and so the ma
chine was abandoned for the time.
'The roller cost $2,750 and the ey
pense of setting up and trying the
crusher amounted to no small sum q.
this time, but that was only begin
ming, as you will see.
New CruSilef in 1913.
ION April Z, 1918, 1 find that
$1,S2150 and the old crusher were
paid for another one, which was set
up in the same location, at another
good-sized expense bill, but only E
few loads of rock were crushed, al
though a full crew of men and team
were on hand waiting, making ur
another expense bill for no service
performed.
"On one of the trials it was found
that certain iron pan used in the
machinery was too short SO it was
taken to town to the repair shop Of
McBratney Bros. to have an addition
made to it. The repair was made all
right but when the commissioner
came down the next day they forgoi
to bring it along and so they SEN
back after it and said it would bt
there by noon, but at the return OF
the messenger it was found that al
though some barrels that had beer
ordered to be brought at the same
time, were there the pan had again
been forgotten, so another days ex-
pense Of full crew of men and teams
was gone with no results. The next
day the crew was ordered out but the
pan failed to show up until about q
o'clock, and then after special call
by telephone. The commissioners
made two trips out to the location OF
the crusher with an auto and both
times left the necessary pan in town.
and probably the expense OF the auto
was charged up to the county or to
the road district.
Gas Tractor Comes Next.
'''The expense up to this time
amounts, to somewhere near $500
but even yet the commissioners
thought they saw plan whereby
some more machinery could be
bought of Beall & Co., of whom all
their machinery has been purchased
They were induced to buy gas trac-
tor which was paid for early in April
of this year, at a cost of $2,511.SO,
and they paid the Bush estate $24o.So
for about three acres of land on
which to set their crusher, although
there was nothing in view on which
to operate the machine, and 1t cost
about $500 to uncover the land, when
il was found to be fine bed of sand,
about five feet thick.
"Below this bed of sand there is
layer Of gravel, but no one seems TO
know anything about how deep that
is, and it will cost at least $1,000 to
remove the sand so as to make the
gravel available. If the crusher had
been left where it was there would
have been an abundance of the best
sort of rock to crush for road pur-