The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-03-15
Cost in Tax Slight
To Give the County
New Public Building

Gil care OF u0Qer n c0lCul0ClOOs
made by the experts sharing In the
committees campaign. SO small 9
tax levy annually as mill would
provide the cost in easy yearly In.
stallments which would cover the cost
In 10 years and q few months.
Besides, the expense will be borne
to the extent of one-fifth by the
public utility companies doing buSi-
ness in the county-the Northern
Pacific and 500 Line railroads, the
Northwestern Bell Telephone COM
pany and the various power com
panies. One-fifth means that they
will pay $50, 900. They are deeply in
terested, because preservation Of pub
lie records at times is a vital matter
to them.
Records Arc Vital Matter
This preservation of public records
always is vital to the small property
owner. Loss by fire would be q
calamity to these. 1t would also en-
tail a much larger expense for res
toration of their property titles than
the proposed court house would en-
tail, it has been calculated on the
basis of fires in court houses In other
communities.
AS said yesterday, there always Is
the risk of fire hanging over the
present tuil6ing, which in the long
years of its existence has become a
veritable fire-trap.
Fire Marshal Condemns 1t
E5u~~a <l4 r%ot,l,Ani.nt nf tho faXs
payer, therefore, the worst thing
about the present building Is the fire
h~azard-this is startling. Henry
Reade, the state fire marshal, makes
the following report:
Il have made several inspections OF
the Burleigh county courthouse anu
I am familiar with the conditions
relating to fire hazard existing there
in. / consider the building a danger
Gus fire hazard, liable to fire at any
time. Such fire, if it should occur,
would be very difficult. if not impos-
sible, to control. In my best judg-
ment, there is not a safe vault in the
building, and in the case OF a total
destruction of the building by fire,
most of the valuable records OF the
county would be lost"
Need Better Storage Says Jury
In the report of the 1928 grand jury
the following statement is found:
I'VE find the vaults containing the
public records Of Burleigh county IN
such shape that we feel it safe to say
that not one Of them is fire proof ana
that in case Of fire unless there was
time to tax the records out OF the
vaults to ON other safe place, every
record would be destroyed. The
vaults are not only not firc-proot,
they are not even micc-proof, as EVIL
denced by some of the records being
DESTROYED by mice. We further find
that the vaults are not large enough
to contain the records at the present
time, and this condition Of course be-
comes worse as time goes on and the
records become more volulminou5."
Risk Of Being Pound Foolish
The citizens courthouse campaign
committee views the situation in this
light, according to its folder state
ment circulated in the city and
county:
If the Burleight county courthouse
burnS-and there is no disputing that
it may-it is safe to say that the
necessary expense of making new
records in the register Of deeds Office
would be In the neighborhood Of $780,
600. The record books alone will cost
about SIS 5000. But no matter how
much money you may spend, your
records will never be complete and
you will be constantly faced with The
possible necessity of a court action to
quiet the title to your property.
The expense, and confusion ana
uncertainty in titles are not all that
a fire will cost you. The county
~treasurer's records relating to cur
rent taxes would be destroyed. as
would be the county auditors records
showing delinquent taxes. These
total s458, 800 and in the course OF
time the county will collect most OF
that amount. But if the records are
Destroyed every delinquent taxpayer
will have All opportunity to escape an
honest debt. and those persons who
have paid their taxes will bear more
than their just share.
The records of the clerk OF court
relating to judgments Of the district
court, those of the judge Of the county
court relating to estates and mar
riages would also be destroyed.
"A consideration Of these figures
clearly demonstrates that the present
courthouse is a potential dollars and
cents liability of, staggering proper
TONS"