The Glenwood post. (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) 1897-current, 1920-12-18
CALlEN OPPOSES
new C0UNTYSEAT
Says Rifle Should Leave Well
Enough Alone and Seek
Something Better
TAXPAYERS LUKEWARM

While the majority of the people will
of course take no stock in the propo-
sails for dividing the county or remov-
ing the county seat, when the Post
heard that Senator-elect R. G. Callen
favored such move we proceeded to
interview the gentleman, only to find
that the rumor brought forth denial
from Mr.. Callen, who Indignantly and
emphatically declared that he had been
misquoted and misjudged, if any were
so foolish to believe that he favored Q
disarrangement of present conditions.
Mr.. Callen says he prefers to talk
more as a tax payer and private citi
zen and less as q public official, but
from whatever capacity he speaks it
is against stirring up strife and sec
tional animosities and precipitating ex-
pensivc contests which can result in
no good, but which are always fruit
full of great harm
In the first place, Mr.. Callen says no
considerable or permanent value could
accrue to Rifle by the possible location
of the county seat at that point, be-
cause it would not increase the popula
ton permanently, but would only help
out by a few transients at court times
Mr.. Callen says Glenwood Springs is
ideally located for county seat, and
he has heard no good argument ad-
vanced for its removal. He also de-
elares that no good argument has been
advanced for a division of the county
since the county is not large enough
End does not contain sufficient irriga.
BILE and cultivatabe land and other
taxable property to warrant the ex-
pense of maintaining two counties
Speaking of the proposition which
came from few people in Rifle for the
transfer of the county seat to that
point, Mr.. Callen made the following
very reasonable statement:
'Therc is a good prospect for the es-
Establishment somewhere of the West
ern Slope of branch of the state ag
ricultural college, and the government
experiment station, and if the people
of Rifle really want to boom their town
and do something worth while, they
should work toward an appropriation
of this kind and leave the county seat
question alone. They should build n
number of dwellings and sell or rent
the same to people who will want to
come there to educate their children,
and thus make college town of it, af-
ter the fashion of Fort Collins or
BOULDER, and thus do something to ben
eht the coming generation. ] believe
this may be made of far more import
ance to them than that of the county
seat question
am sure that Mr.. Rees and myself
viii be glad to aid Rife in securing
government and state aid for educa-
tional purposes Besides this, if the
Rifle people will apply their financial
efforts to the development of the oil
shale industry, now so well started at
their very door, it will be of far greater
benefit than the location of county
seat Furthermore by the last vote, it
Is very evident, to my mind, at least,
that Rifle could not hope to win on
contest, either to divide the county or
to locate the county seat.
Therefore, you may Just say for me
that 1 oppose the division of this coun-
~, and at all times the removal of the
county seat, and in doing SO and in
giving you this, my opinion of the lnat-
ter, speak as citizen and tax
payer, and as 1 contribute heavily by
way of taxes toward the support of the
county, / assure you that am not anx-
ious that those taxes be increased, es-
pccially by a movement that offers no
compromising benefits, either to myself
or to the people of the county in gen
eral. trust this is plain enough. and
am sending n letter to the Rifle Tel
cgram, embodying similar sentiments,
in order TO make my position clear to
the people of that community, which
is my home.''
And with the expression of the above
practical and sensible views Mr.. Cal