Baxter Springs news., 1919-04-25
CITY BUILDING
FOR BAXTER
Strong Reasons Given Why the
Present City Council Quar-
tiers Are Inadequate-Is
An Unfit Place

; Baxter Springs needs a new city
building.
The present quarters where the
council meets and where city prison
es are kept is an unfit place for othe
mayor and council to transact busi-
ness, and It Is also an unfit place for
prisoners.
The hole In the wall where the city's
business is transacted Is about eight
feet wide by fifteen feet long. The
city's safe, table, long bench and
half dozen chairs take up most of the
room, and those attendingcouncil meet
ing to transact business find it very
inconvenient, and sometimes they are
required to stand up thru the entire
council proceedings. It is often the
case that windows have to be raised
to admit fresh air. The mayor, or
some Of the councilmen, and some
times all Of them, give up their seats
to some Of those standing and these
officers find "seats" on the edge of the
table or an old box.
This is a partial inventory of the
inside story Of the meeting place of
those entrusted to transact business
Of the city.
The Jail is a dungeon, the door of
which opens out into the center of the
council room, and it is not all the
time that the odor coming into the
council room has a very inviting
aroma. The Jail is badly ventilated
and badly lighted.
The writer does not know what the
officers do when they have both sexes
thrown in over night. There is a sep /.
arate cage in one end of the Jail and
this is used for one or the !
,ther.
Home Pride
The people of Baxter Springs GER i
ainly have enough home pride to t
hange the conditions of which we are
low speaking. y
In the first place, the mayor and
ouncil have important business to e.
and they cannot do justice 3,
'hen the surroundings are bad. v
In the next place, it wrong idea I,
have a Jail in the council room. h,
1t is also wrong to have the City s,
Jerks Office in jail. n
And we might say a little better II
lace might be had for Police Judge IT
nglish than cramped up in place h.
'ur feet square in the council room, &c
Jail, whichever way you look at it. dr
Another important matter is that af
e Baxter fire department occupies ba
le end Of the council room (separ- or
ed by partition) and the fire truck in
I'd hose are right there handy so th
at, if necessary, the mayor and
uncil can be cooled off if they get fa
0 hot. ~,
What city in Kansas of 5000 peo-
has such a deplorable council Ae
amber-jail, city clerks office,
lrshal's office, deputy sheriff's Of res
e, police judges office and fire de- las
rtment all combined, as has Bax- a.,
:? 49,,
This whole affair should be con- his
nned by the people of Baxter cit,
rings and steps taken at once to Sts
'ct city building where the mayor sor
l council will have different sur "
Indings.
l twO-story building with the coun-
chamber and city clerks office !
we and the fire department, police last
ge, marshal's office and Jail below, Bla
} business venture that every citi- A
should support. ant
more Of the citizens of Baxter was
'ings would get interested in see the
the things accomplished that S
uld be accomplished, attend council sew,
stings and get Whit of what kind Bra
place the city dads have in which N
transact business, there would be Won
opular cry go up to better their and
iitiOns and rid the city of an eye my
which is disgusting in the ex- Joe
ne. on ]