Gold Hill news., February 17, 1912, Image 1

W hat A b ou t
CCORGF. LY M A N
o fC o ld HUI
F o r C o m m is s io n a r ?
W hat A bout
CON LEEVER
o i C e n t r a l P o in t
F or C o u n ty J u d g e?
GOLD HILL, JACKSO N COUNTY, OREGON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1912
*♦*****♦••♦•
***♦♦♦♦***♦♦♦♦''
Talcum Powder Won't Kill Snakes
\1 I <•*/////"/’.
SY Ö *6 ’
< V.AVÌ i>
A . J. Smith Elopes
With Another
Man's Wife
SNAKES
W HY?
Why a re n 't th e specifications for
the Central Point boulevard on filo
In th e clerk's office? Why are many
other Harmon contracts missing from
their proper repository?
Why did th e county court m ake
Mr. Harmon put back $900, and al­
low him to keep $90 w itch he had
diverted to his own uses In a m anner
fully as illegal, or more so, as In the
case of the larger am ount? Why, O,
why?
iv im n l e u u o lrt H ill M o n d a y m o rn in g
for Medford on the motor to do some
»hopping. She has not been seen bv
her husband since. She is aupppsed
to have gone direct Io Ashland whe.-e
she joined Smith and left with him
on No. 13 fo r Sacramento.
In Ashland the couple were seen by
a number o f people who knew them
and they a t once telephoned to Gold
H ill, so that Mr. Knotts lost little
time in getting on the tra il o f the
e b , pers. Today he asked fo r a war­
rant fo r Iheir arrest.
Smith is said to have drawn $180(1
from a Gold H ili bank and $1375 from
a bank at Nampn, Idaho. ITe is sup­
posed to have this money with him.
The intimacy o f the elopers is sup­
posed Io have dated from Inst sum­
mer.
Eighteen months ngo Mrs.
Smith died and Smith took u p bis
residence with the Knotts as a board­
er. Knotts’ work took him away
from home a great deal, leaving the
children, Mrs. Knotts and Smith nloim
in the house. However, Mr. Knotts
"B"T
' Reprinted from The Gold Hill New» of January 20th, 1012)
Has there been a sudden rush in
th e Medford banking business, or a
sudden lull, since Jackson county
w arrants, along some tim e between
Oct. 9 and Oct. 20, 1911, became un­
saleable In Snn Francisco? Did they
become unsaleable In th at city at that
tim e? If so, why ? And incidentally,
why did (leorge Davis, president of
th e F arm ers and F ruitgrow ers bank,
resign? Why didn't ho resign In Oc-1
toiler? O, this w hirlwind of whys!
It Is most exasperating to the conse­
crated seeker afte r tru th .
Ca TORIES
in Jackson county official life are
,
living fast and loose throughout the length and
breadth of the county. But they wriggle away and are
lost like snakes in the grass upon the approach of any one
who is looking for snakes. Acting on the adage ‘ that
where there is much smoke there must be some fire, the
News proposes to pursue these stories until some of them
arc caught, killed and hung on the fence, so that the public
may see what manner of reptiles it is that keep the grass
? gossip rustling. The News believes there are snakes
in the grass. It believes they can be caught and killed.
;. proposes to catch, kill and hang them on the fence for
la»“ benefit of the people of Jackson county.
Harmon9s Queer Report
3 lias naa ns expert accountant—his name is not Wil-
3 he from Corvallis—at work all week trying to get
f Roadmaster Harmon’s official report, submitted to
!D by the county court February 8, 1912. The expert
is puzzled. He cannot understand to save his l i f e -
says why three distinct and separate charges should
irvey work on the Gold Hill bridge”—$25.00 in one
another, and yet $220 in another. He gives it at his
that this is rather expensive surveying, allowing for
i” that appears as some portion of the two larger
charges. He does not understand why three canthooks should be
charged up to the county at $17.25, when the best canthooks made
can be had for $2.50 to $2.75 each. He can’t hook onto the system
of bookkeeping that makes them cost that much. In fact The News
expert accountant—who is not getting $700 for the job and whose
name is not Wilson—gives it as his expert opinion that Roadmaster
Harmon’s report is full of blowholes. He proposes to spend some
little time figuring it out. When he arrives at his conclusions they
will be printed in The NewB, which will then deem it its plain duty to
ask the county court WHY it accepted and APPROVED such a re- i
port. Perhaps for the same reason that roads and bridges were ac- i
cepted and approved by Roadmaster Harmon. Perhaps—but it will 1
be up to the county court to furnish the reason. And the people
will demand one that is good and sufficient. If it is not promptly '
forthcoming, perhaps the grand ju ry can adduce one.
’
^Z
—
Why did R oadm aster Harm on fall
to comply w ith th e law, when his con­
trac t provided expressly th a t all his
official actions should be legal? Why
did the county court, responsible for
all his official acts, allow him to
break laws like straw s whenever he
encountered them . Why? Why? My,
my, but th is why business is confus-
W hen a few counties have a t­
tem pted to hire road engineers, poli­
tics and not efficiency has governed
the appointm ents— and it will ever
be so.— Mail Tribune.
Can it be th a t the above black and
b itter bit of pessimism refers in anv
way to the appointm ent of late Road-
m aster H arm on? No, It cannot be,
for th e Mail T ribune has said th a t
Mr. H arm on built the best roads In
Jackson county.
County Books Now
Being A udited
By Expert
and as the contract called for work
i to begin immediately Mr. Wilson
crossed the hall, took off his coat,
rolled up his sleeves and began with
the key volume in County Clerk Cole­
man's office.
Every officer of the county will have
his books audited before the contract
is complete, which will take some­
where between two and three months.
County Clerk Coleman, by special re ­
quest, has the first opportunity to
have his books checked up. Following
his office comes the offices of the re­
corder, sheriff and treasu rer in order.
The work will cost th*s county |700
and will cover the books since the
last accounting, which was held up to
and including July 6, 1908.
Why did Judge Neil insist th a t Mr.
H arm on should be paid out of the
road fund, or th a t he was entitled to
pay him self therefrom , when the
w arrants issued to Mr. H arm on for
salary, like o th er county w arrants,
state on th e face th a t they should be
PAID OUT OF TH E GENERAL
mo |COUNTY FUND, FROM MONEYS
we NOT O THERW ISE APPROPRIAT-
to ED? Is Judge Neil Incapable of un-
or d erstandlng plain E nglish? Or Is he
»ts in favor of paying o u t county money
m- Illegally? W hat Is th e psychic bond
It betw een Judge Nell and R oadm aster
he H arm on, anyhow ? H arm ony of the
>d- 'r ig h t so rt is a great thing, b u t It
re- shouldn't exist In such a m arked do-
rt- gree betw een a county Judge and a
i county roadm aster.
ord
re-
isk
t If
>ne
eet
’