The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1922-10-19

1t is only fair and just to the voters of Benton
County to have correct statement of the facts
corning the county seat removal inasmuch many
msstatements have been set forth in the Benton Land
Co argumnt behalf of the removal of the county
seat to Benton City.
FIRST: The statement is made that Prosser was
made the temporary county seat in 1905 The act of
LEGISLATURE of 1906 which established Benton County
reads as follows: sSection = Page 1873, Laws 1906
The County Seat of Benton County hereby located
at the town of Prosser and shall there remain until
the shall be removed in accordance with the pro-
visions of law 1t will thus be that this location
is permanent any county seat IN the state and is
subject to removal only upon exactly the cond
tions that any county seat may be moved.
SECOND: The article of the Land Company re-
cites that resident Of Prosser was sent to the Legs
lature pledged to oppose division of Yakima County.
The facts in the The late Lee A. Johnson of
Sunnysde, S. J. Harrisons townsman and personal
friend the representative in the House from the
lower end of Yakima County.
The bill for the creation Of Benton county was
PRODUCED in the house by Representative D. Bassett
of Ritzve and in the senate by Senator G. III Baker
of Klickitat county
The people of Prosser tried to secure further
six-mile strip off Yakima county, but were opposed
by Mr. Johnson so the county dubbed "Lee
Johnson's bob-tailed county, as Mr.. Harrison may
recall
THIRD: The assertion is made ssthat the first
act of this member to raise that question,
curing division of the county, getting Prosser named
as the temporary county seat, and succeeded In
getting the law changed relative to moving the To-
cation of the county seat from majority vote, as
was required, to 60 per cent The facts The law
requiring AGO per cent VOTE had been the fundamental
law of the state years and fact provision of
the Constitution when Washington became state
on November H. 1882 Article IL, Section 2 of
the State Constitution reads follows: No County
Seat shall be removed unless threefths Of the quail
fled electors of the County, voting the proposal at
general election, shall vote in favor of such removal,
and threefths of all votes cast the proposal shall
be required to relocate County Seat Such reck
less statements bear little weight
In respect to the attempt to build court house
at Prosser, let it be remembered that commits
sioner has yet built court house, and let it be
further remembered, that if who is pledged not
to build court house resigns no other can take his
place except by the vote of the two remaining mem
bers Then why this childish prattle about one com
missioner resgning to be replaced by another who will
build court house, All of the candidates for COM
missioner have signed pledge to protect the tax
PAYERS from the cost of court house at PrOsser and
to say that these gentlemen will not keep their word
is not ttrbutng very high degree OF integrity to the
splendid men who are offering themselves candi-
dates for this position. 1t is not difficult to under
stand how the Benton Land Company would charge
the people of Prosser with desire to disregard all
pledges and all responsibility to the tax payers and
build court house. We have only to go back about
wear in the records of the county court house to find
where this company made strenuous effort to build
cement railroad into Benton City which would ben
eft only few of it's people at cost OF some