Imperial Valley press., 1937-06-09
THE SUPERVISORS LOOK
A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH

~ Off1 nOhSE IN THE MOUTH
For the first time in our remembrance
the Imperial county board of supervis-
ors has turned down something for moth
ing. Three of the five worthy represen-
tatives of the people of Imperial county
this week looked gift horse in the
mouth-and turned it down because it
is a thoroughbred
There is liable to be no state building
constructed in Ell Centro because three
members of the board voted against al
lowing the county to turn over to the
state a title that, insofar as the county
is concerned, is very doubtful to start
with. The city council of Ell Centro had
voted to relinquish any claim it might
have To the west half of the park op-
posite the court house on Main street,
provided the state of California puts up
building there. The county supervisors
were asked to do the same thing-and
refused.
The fact is that the county's title to
the property, if it can be called title,
holds good only IF THE COUNTY USES
THE PROPERTY FOR COURT HOUSE
PURPOSES. By no wide stretch of the
imagination can the county be said at
this time, or at any time in the near fu-
ture, to be intending to use the property
for court house purposes.
o.
The city of Ell Centro probably could
obtain clear title to the property by fill
ing suit against the county, but legal
action by one branch of government
against another is so ridiculous as to be
out of the question. In the name of har-
mony, the board of supervisors should
recognize the ethics of government and
the rules of sportsmanship by rescind-
re fn
technical difficulties.
The matter of the state building is not
a purely local one. If it were, it would
be Ell Centro's battle purely and simply,
and this newspaper does not believe
that FL Centre is entitled to unfair or
political preferment over any other town
in the valley in the matter of develop
ment-nor that any other town is en-
titled to such preference over Ell Cen
tro, or Brawley, or Calexico, or Holtville
We live in Imperial Valley.
The fact is that the state will not put
up its building anywhere but in the coun-
ty seat. That is not decision made here
it is a decision made in Sacramento.
The fact is, also, that the state plan
ned to construct an expensive building,
in keeping with the surroundings, be-
cause the site was such that cheap
building would detract from the county
court house. Any other site would call
for cheaper building.
Refusal to permit construction of the
state building here would result in
loss to the entire county. Not merely
a loss of prestige, not only a loss of
what would be spent in construction,
but a loss also of thousands of dollars
annually in good, hard cash. With a
state building here, registration fees and
license fees that would go to Sacramen-
to now would be paid in the valley. The
county would benefit from increased en-
ployment here and from greater per-
centage of receipts.
The board of supervisors is made up
of one man from each of five sections of
Imperial county, on the theory that,
when they act together, they will repre-
sent the whole of the county as one unit
When the board fails to act for the best
interests of the county, those who pre-
vent such action are undermining their
own influence. leaving themselves open
to charges of political log-rolling, and
losing the confidence of the public in
their good motives and sound judgment.
1t cannot be urged too strongly that,
as representatives of Imperial county,
the board of supervisors should recon-
slider its refusal to allow construction of
a state building here.