Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-04-28

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resignation of two of his appointees
The governor hesitated to scanda
lize the family of one of his appoin
tees. who had been a friend posses
sing his fraternal and intimate con.
fidence, and rather than expel him
from the commission for cause chose
to defend in the supreme court the
right of an executive to dismiss from
office his own appointees without as.
signment Of cause. 1t is this decision
of 1894 that renders nugatory all laws
fixing terms of Office for executive
appointees who may be dismissed at
the will Of the governor, without
cause, explanation or hearing.
Taking alarm at the betrayal at
tempted, the governor appointed in
the place of the democrat and republi.
can he had trusted two democratic
, friends of Seattle. and under the ad.
| ministration of the new commission
the foundation for the building finally
planned was erected at an eXpendi-
ture Of a little less than $4S,OOO.
The total s per cent warrant issue
of the commission, however, was $685.
| 4S3.9S, and when this indebtedness
had been paid off years afterward, the
sum Of the interest likewise paid ex.
ceeded the original principal. The
total interest payment was 500, O,75S 80
During Governor Rogers admins
tration a movement was started to
secure the passage Of an act through
the legislature of 1901. submitting to
the voters a proposal to remove the
capital. Tacoma was the chief bidder
and had an available site to offer.
Capital Removal is Defeated.
The political feeling engendered be.
tween Seattle and Tacoma by the
election of 1892 broke out anew and
by small margin the Seattle dele
CATION, cooperating with Thurston
county, laid the measure at rest.
1t then became necessary to take
some drastic step that would lead to
the fixation Of the state capital, and
remove as much as possible the latent
cause for hostility to the town as the
seat of state government. Governor
Rogers had suggested in his message
b" purchase of the Thurston county
- '" ~ known ~ The court house,
which had been built on a plan far
in excess OF county needs for half a
century, and it's conversion into a
state building by the addition OF leg
islative halls. The old territorial as
sembly building, in which the state
legislature was holding its sessions,
was about to tumble in, and COM
mercial building occupied by the state
Offices was overcrowded.
1t was easy. therefore, to persuade
the Legislature, after having upset the
capital removal scheme, to authorize
another interest bearing debt againsr
the incompetent capital building fund
Meanwhile the Cheney normal
school had been destroyed by fire. anG
Governor McGraw vetoed in 1893 an
appropriation for its reconstruction
Whatcom county was demanding
normal school for the accommodation
of the west side of the state, and be-
tween the normal school and state
capitol building lobbies two debt ac-
cumulating fund" laws were traded
through the legislature.
Start Normal School Fund.
The fictitious capitol building
fund" against which $95,4339S in de-
preciating per cent warrants had
been issued, was given further legis-
lative life, with an appropriation
against it. of s93O,OOO, and the state
normal school fund" was invented.
Like the capitol building fund, this
was to be created out of the normal
school land grant, the legislature over
looking the important fact that this
grant was made by congress specifl-
cally for maintenance, and not for
constructive purposes. The promo
ters of the normal school building
appropriations were aware of the
legal objection, but did not mind so
long as the object of getting the two
normal schools in operation was at.
tanned.
The vital provisions of the new
fund act were that the state should
issue 100000 4 per cent bonds.
against which warrants drawing Z
per cent could be issued Immediately
for the purposes Of the law. The
warrants were duly foated, the two
buildings erected, and the debt is
still outstanding, in double the
amount OF the original appropriation,