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

The Conconully County Seat Com
mittee came out with another signed
article in last weeks Record follow
ing along about the same lines as the
one of the week before. 1t Is entitled
Court Houses Cost Money" The
substance of the article is to the effect
that the county debt is something over
$3.50, 900 and that said indebtedness
IL somewhat in excess of the constitu-
tional limit. Then they proceed to
say, "In view of this deplorable con-
dition of the county finances, 1t should
be the aim of every taxpayer and vot-
Ell to put an end to the reckless ex-
penditure of money which has brought
such a condition about" and that to
move the county seat and put up
new building will Saddle an addi-
tional debt of $4,000 or $4,000 upon
the county" They offer no proof of
this latter declaration except the mere
unsupported statement. Now there
is no question about the big debt OF
the county, and no community mas
been more guilty Of its creation than
Conconully and no town has benefltt-
ed anything like as much from It's
creation as ConcOnully and on the
other hand Conconully has contribute
ed but little towards Its reduction.
We are now having an article prepar-
ed explaining the county debt and 1t
will be published in next weeks Oka-
hogan Independent. 1t will briefly
outline the history of the old debt
as we'll as the new debt, and we will
endeavor to set forth short readable
and readily comprehensive delination
of the situation in regard to that debt
at this time.
The fact that this large accumula-
ton of unpaid warrant Indebtedness
exists would seem to us an argument
in favor of removal Of the county seat
rather than against it, for the main
reason why the debt is not being re-
duced in size is that our revenues for
current expense do not fully cover
AS a rule the issue Of warrants on
that fund from year to year. Some
wears the revenue is sufficient but IN
others it is not. The result Is That we
have been failing to meet our running
expenses and have been getting III
| tle more accumulation of unpaid war
rant indebtedness on the current ex-
nense each year. Our redemption
leyies have been retiring the old war
rant indebtedness little by little but
on the other hand the new issue OF
current expense warrants remaining
unpaid have been accommodating quite
as fast as the old have been retired.
. So the debt keeps along about the
same as it was ten years ago. But
relatively speaking the financial con-
dition of the county has greatly I'M
proved in the last six or seven years
The total assessed valuation OF the
| county in 1904 was less than mil
lion and a quarter. Now 1t Is seven
and three quarter million or there.
abouts. In other words the assessed
valuation has increased about SIX iolo
and the indebtedness outstanding mas
NOT increased but has remained aDou'
the same. But not so with our run
ming expenses that are over tnree
times as much per annum now as the,
were ten years ago. The business o.
the county government In all us oe
nartments has increased with the pop
nIation and wealth of the county
THAT is always true. The more PEG
ME. property, property rights, wea!tl
and business, the more there Is fol
the public machinery to do and tn'
more expense to run that machlner!
the more it has to do, and 1t IS Doune
to increase as the county grows.
will cost us probably in the neigh
horbood of seventy-five thousand dol
lars or more to meet the current OK
nenses of the county In 1914. Curren
expenses as you know cover saiaI'e