The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1923-03-19


by 1891 tho stage was an set for
the final coup: thar Is. tho wreoking
Of the county ferry system BY the
old board OF commissioners and the
SIT OF the system to Capt. John l.
Anderson.
These prclimlnarics consisted OF
developing tho Ramsay property
holdings al Medina az county ex.
pcnse. Concrete roads were built or
three sides OF this property. Ferry
service 20 Bellevue. the rival town
10 Medina. and second largest town
east Of the lake. had been taken off.
The Fairweather hay dock had been
built; a hrsc drain had been built
at county expense. draining Ram.
says property-the cost was about
$4,000.
The faucets OF waste were turned
loose In 1891 70 drain the public
treasury. make the people Disguised
with the ferry system and 20 equip
tho boats for Andcrson's private
operation.
The first attempt 20 give the fer.
ries away was blocked BY public IN.
dignation. II was proposed 10 give
them to Anderson. together with n
bonus OF $4,000. Various civic
bodies. and citizens east OF the lake
objected 30 Strcnuously that the com.
missioners had 10 abandon the
project.
The ferries this last year cost an
enormous sum. a total OF ylte.ST5.
Here are some OF tho items. taken
from the report Of the county audi.
tor.
Leschl terminal. ,is.sss. Further
down In the same column. Lesohl ter.
minal. tss.S7sS2; Medina terminal
sls,a,t.s5: and again. Medina terRi.
nal. sSi1si.
All the boats were completely over.
hauled and repaintcd. Miscellaneous
deck supplies. tho oil bill. many other
items are padded outrageously above
previous years. The ferry Lincoln.
operating 20 Kirkland. cost si07. as
for tho year. In 1915 Il cost only
s7S.5oo. But Capt. Anderson was
managing the system and had In.
CHASED It's cost as per schedule.
And hero Is another interesting
figure; The receipts for the year
had jumped 10 tsio.sa5. Under eco-
nomical operation. the ferries in 1891
would have returned a handsome
profit 10 tho county. Now. what did
Mr.. Chambers articles say about In.
come? Well, well. We can't lind a
thing.
After public Indignation had head.
ed off the first attamp, to give the
ferry system away In the faii OF 1921.
the commissioners rcsorted 10 star
chamber methods. Ramsay and
Smith were soon 10 20 out OF office.
SO the ferries we're given TO Capt.
Anderson on a io.year lease.
This lease Is one Of the mos. arnax.
Ing documents ever written. For in.
stance, Andersons bond was fired nj
only $4,000. Imagine that m protec.
ton for a half.miIlion dollars worth
Of propcrtyl
Then Il provides nothing as rental.
returns nothing TO the county for
depreciation and ordinary wear and
tear OF the boats, and Anderson can
return the boats any time he wants
10 upon giving six months notice.
The county cannot cancel the lease
until the expiration of the 10 years
under the terms agreed 10, In add
ton TO all Of the supplies. estimated
at around 100000. which were
turned over 70 Anderson for future
contingencies. the commissioners out.
right gave him 10000 barrels Of fuel
oil. worth approximately $4,000.
The lease was signed and consurn
mated in December. 1921, while the
public was asleep at the switch. 4
storm OF protest was at once directed
al the commissioners. but II was toe
late. The lease had been drawn by
Deputy Prosecutor Howard A. Han
son. who said Il was alright. The
only alternative was a grand Jury
investigation. The results OF the
grand jury were satisfactory tc
everyone but the members OF the re
publican party. and II was because
this party was menaced thru ths
acts Of some OF It's more irresponsi
bIe members that the work OF thu
grand Jury WINS set aside and the
punishment OF the indicted ones
squeiched.
Tomorrow closing article vii
deal with the amazing mlsstatements
in Mr. Chambers articles concerning
the lease and with the quashing OF