t4
i i ! i n i rmu,'.,'ni' "BiLtiMa
BEIO ill MEM
County Judge Goodall Ex
. presses His Views.
The Pcoiilc of Union to lr Dcllevcd When
Thuy Certify That They WonM Op
pose the Huililinjr, of a
New Court lIotie.
CONDITION OF THE COURT HOUSE
Cost of'ilie County Jail Its
Excellent Condition.
COUNTY INDEBTEDNESS $80,000
New Bridges anil Improved Roads Neacled
More than a Court House at
La Grande.
Importance of tho South
Part of tho County.
THE INCOMING COUNTY COURT.
Taxpayers, Read This Article Carefully
and Think About It.
Eihtoi: Scour:
The Gazette of the 23d inst. seems
to take exceptions to my circulating
county scat matter, and says that 1
must take a deep personal interest in
the county seat light, and says the on
ly inference is that I own a handsome
lot in Union, in all of which tho Ga
zette is correct. 15 ut ho failed to say
that which is a fact, that I own a farm
in La Grundo precinct worth several
times the value of all tho property J
own in Union. I expect that my homo
Jn the future as for many years past
will bo in Li Grande precinct., uufi
while my financial interests arc but
sjrmllnfJVn0ie, I would bo mor
largely benefitted pecuniarily by t'.o
prosperity of Lx Grande, tlrm that of
any other town, and if tho remo;al of
the county seat would only iKot tho
town of Union I should Kukc no efi'ort
to prevent it.
Now tho facts stajod above ought to
satisfy any unproiwlicod mind that 1
entertain no. .Tiufico or prejudice for
liiV-frYahdo. I entertain none but the
very kindest feelings of friendship for
most of her citizens, and I wish to say
here now th it 1 am not responsible in
any tense of tho word for anything
contained in any circular on tho coun
ty seat question, and will say further
that the particular circular that f left
in La Grando last week makc3 some
statements concerning tho people of
La Grande that are untrue and unjust,
and not calculated to help Union in
this contest, and should in reality have
no weight either way. I think tho
writer of said circular (and I know not
who he is) has fallen into sonm errors,
perhaps unintentionally.
Tho nuitter of relocating tho county
scat is of great and vital importance to
every taxpayer and permanent resi
dent of tho county, and should bo
weighed without prejudico and decid
ed by every voter for himself, accord
ing to his best judgment, for tho best
interests of the whole county and not
in tho interest of any particular local
ity. I presume that I am hotter ac
quainted with tho territory ami people
of tho county than any one else, and I
entertain a warm friendship for every
section of tho county, and earnestly
desire that wo should remain as one
county, and improve our wonder
ful natural nn vantages and become a
prosperous, happy and united people,
in sympathy, friendship and lovo as
well as in fact.
Union county is blessed with as
great and varied natural advantages
lis any other country, and it is entirely
within tho power of her citizens by
making good and wise use of tho beau
ties lavished upon hor by nature, to
mako her ono of tho most prosperous
and desirable counties in tho north
west. ' And it is not at all impossible.
On tho other hand, I fear that
there is dangor, that in tho very near
future wo will in a groat -measure, at
least, dostioy all our fine piospects and
opportunities.
I wish to givo my reasons as bnclly
., r ,... r.,r .....voji.nr iiU rjnwiv.il nt I
tho county goat at thii timo: Firat, i
tho town of Union is much nearer tho
center of tho county than any other
available point.'' It i ninety milos '
from Union to the coiintv line in a
southoaMerly direction to Knako river '
Fine Line of Watch
iik tiling i.ji.vs i in wiui imwi it
j Union to the comity lino in any
3 direction, nnd manifestly it v
and thirty miles further than it is from
any other
ould bo
i an injustice amounting to an outrage
to force the county seat fifteen miles
further away from them, and the in
i cvitable result of such action would he
that we would lose that portion of tho
county, which will reduce the amount
of our taxable property very material-
ly for all time to come, which will in
crease the burden of taxation corres
pondingly. This we cannot well afford to do, I
think, for we all find our taxes heavy
as it is, and never pay them without
j something of a grunt, and I think we
should certainly oppose any course
calculated to increase them.
The sentiment of tho people of tho
southeastern portion of the county is
almost unanimously in favor of re
maining in Union county, at least a
few years yet, provided they are treat
ed justly and fairly by their follow citi
zens of tho rest of the county, but they
say, almost to a man, that if a major
ity of the voters of tho county care so
little for their interest and welfare, as
to lake the county seat still fifteen
miles further away from them, when
they are already so much further away
than other portions, they will secede,
and certainly no one could reasonably
blame them.
1 have known our present court
house since bofore its completion, hav
ing been about tho building a great
deal for tho last nine years, and have
visited it almost daily during the past
four years. I saw it just after it was
damaged by the wind storm, so much
talked of, of lato, that was caused by
ono of those sudd 2ii squalls, which ev
ery old settlor of Granda iiondc val
ley is familiar with. Most of us have
had to rebuild many a haystack after
them. That wind caught under tho
gable end of the roof which projects
over the wall considerably, and lifted
a considerable portion of tho roof off
of the building, and knocked down a
small portion of the wall of the gable
end on to the court room floor, jarring
oil" some of tho plastering under the
floor. This damage was caused solely
fib' tho wind and not in any sense of
tno word by reason oi any delects in
tho wall, but would in all probabilty
have been equally as great to any
other building with a similar roof, en
countered by a like wind. Several
other buildings in Union wore almost
as greatly damaged by the same wind
though none of them were so high as
the court house or had roofs projecting
so far. The walls of the court house
cracked slightly very soon after being
finished, but those cracks havo never
become any larger since the first year,
or less time, after its completion, and I
honestly believe that it is as little lia
bio to fall down as any brick building
of equal height. I have often seen tho
court house full to overflowing until
there was no longer standing room,
and the wind blowing fiercely too,
Last winter is generally conceded to
have been ono of the very windiest of
winters, and I was in it almost every
day, and some of these same parties
who are striving so hard to make tho
voters of tho county believe that the
court house is in a dangerous condi
tion, wer'o in the building quite fre
quently, and I never noticed any signs
of fear or nervousness on their part,
notwithstanding the fact that the wind
was raging on the outside. Nor have
I at any time noticed any sign of the
walls giving away, or any portion of
the building, or any sign, whatever of
danger. Consequently, I say candid
ly, that tho court house is just as safe
now as it was at tho timo it was fin
ished, thirteen years ago, or at any
other timo.
And, now, taking into consideration
tho condition and boundaries of tho
county, and the fact that Union is the
most centrally located of any town in
the county, and that the court house
is amply sufficient for all purposes for
tho next twelve or fifteen years, cer
tainly as good for tho next thirteen
years aa for tho last thirteen years, and
that we havo as good a county Jail (not
so largo as Oino) as thero is in tho
state, tho county seat should be let
alone. Here I wish to say what has
not been published before, I believe, in
these discussions, that the jail, cells,
and all complete, cost the county moro
money than the court house, as shown
by the records, and tho fact that tho
county is considerably in debt, oven
putting tho indebtedness, as tho Qa
zotto has it, taken from tho county
clerk's financial report, which is cor-
reet but needs an explanation to bo
correctly underntood by most persons.
You will notico that that statement
makes tho total liabilities of the coun-
ty $122,018 Ofi, nnd ho gives us assets,
or means with which to pay this in- j
debledneas tho estimated unpaid cur-
es, Clocks, Jewelry.
rent taxes, in hands of sheriff, $70,
8.18 07. Now of this uncollected taxes
in the hands of tho sherifT, a largo por
tion of which vill remain unpaid,
about four thousand dollars of it is de
linquent taxes trior to 18S9, some of it
running back three or four years and
as tho sheriff has failed to collect it in
j that time, there is little hope that he
j over will, and of the bixes on tho as
sessment forlSSS), at lwu-t if 100,000 will
have to bo cancelled by tho county
court, being illegal and erroneous assess
ments. On this tho County will lose
$2,700 and yet will be compelled to
pay to the State $(100 on assesnionts,
on which not a dollar is collected, then
on tho remainder of this uncollected
taxes, a largo portion will never be col
lected. That has always been the case,
and furthermore while the portion of
this uncollected taxes that will bo col
lected, is being collected, tho indebted
ness of the County is accumulating at
the rate of some .$-10,000 or-f 50,000 per
year. If the county court meets the de
mands on it in paying fofcriniinul pros
ecutions, ollicer's fees, building and re
pairing bridges and roads and other
current and incidental expenses, and
in all probability when the county
clerk publishes his financial statement
of the county next April 1st, it will
show outstanding county warrants and
accrued interest, or, in other words, a
county indebtedness of some $70,000
or $80,000, and that, too, without any
extraordinary expenditures.
Tho necessary expenditures of this
county for a number of years to come,
for the improvement of roads and in
building and maintaining bridges, will
be very heavy. I can call to mind
now some 25 or .'10 bridges that will
need to be built in tno next two years,
which will cost from iflOOO to WOOO
each, and quite a number of them are
demanded immediately. Largo ex
penditures on the county roads will bo
demanded to meet the necessities of
the county. Nearly every portion of
the county requires help to improve
the roads, and will demand it and
should have it. I think that they
need roads more and would prefer to
have them better than a new court
house and jail that is not needed, and
I certainly believe that they will so
decide next Monday.
From my standpoint I can sco no
reason why the county seat should go
to La Grande, but every good reason
why it should not. Why should all
the taxpayers of tho county be bur
dened with an unnecessary tax to
build up La Grande? Granting that
the securing of the county seat, with
the result that is sure to follow, will
add to her prosperity, which I very
much doubt, believing as T do, if I
lived in La Grando and all my prop
erty was there, I should oppose it.
The eastern or southeastern portion
of our county is already quite impor
tant and is destined, not long in the
future, to be a very rich country. I Tor
mineral resources of gold, silver, cop
per, etc., are immense, as well us her
timber, her agricultural and pastural
lands arc extensive and of the very
best quality. It is my candid opinion
that one among the richest mining
camps in the world will bo developed
in that end of tho county, and in con
sideration of these facts I do not think
that we can afford to loso that section
if we can hold it by fair and just deal
ing. The county seat movers of La
Grande speak of that portion of tho
county with a sneer and as not being
of sufficient importance to warrant
making any efi'ort to retain, and that
they would rather get rid of it, as a sort
of an excuse to get the county seat.
Now, with regard to the portion of
the countyHwest of La Grande. That
can never maintain but a sparso pop
ulation. It is chiefly valuable for its
timber and is only sparsely timbered.
One of the principal sawmill men of
that section remarked to me, only a
few days since, that in two years at
most there would not bo employment
for one-third tho men in tho timber
that are there now; and that in five
years about all tho timber in reach of
the ruilroad would be cut out. The
area of agricultural land h vory in
considerable and generally of a poor
character.
The county seat movers keep reiter
ating the charge that tho pcoplo of
Union, if they can retain tho county
seat, design proceeding immediately to
condemn the present court houso and
build a now and costly one, as they
aro not limited by uta'tuto us to cost,
etc. Well, now, tho jieoplo of Union
unci vicinity, only a few days since,
every legal voter, savo about half u
dozeu who could notbe seen just then,
signed a statement, which was pub
ytuie jn tj10 papers of Union, to tho
effect that they believed tho court
jimig0 perfectly safe and sccuro and
amply sufficient for nil necessary
countyjeat piiriioses, and that they
Silverware, Guns
wore opposed and would oppose the
building of another for many years to
come; and I fully believe that every
person who signed that statement,
meant it just as much, and wero n?
honest and sincere in doing so, and
are entitled to jn?t as much credeiu o
as any person (not excepting the Hon
orable James 11. Slater) who makr
those groundlc.-s charges against tin
people of Union. 1 bi-liovi tiny
meant just what that statement said
and aie entitled to belief; and, Ivsid.-s.
Union will bo entirely powerless to do
any thing of the kind, .lust take a
sensible view of the situation. Mr.
McDonald will hold the office of coun
ty commissioner for the next two
years, and I will vouch for his oppos
ing tho building of a new court houso
at Union. Then there is Mr. Iattg, of
Pino Valley. Doe.t anyone believe
that he will favor building a new court
house at Union, if elected? I do not
believe that the county se.it moveis of
La Grande think so. If they do, 1 will
guarantee he will not. Then theio is
Mr. Arnold, of llilgaid precinct. I
guess the county seat movers of La
Grande will pledge him against build
ing a new court house at Union, if
elected. If they hesitate to make that
pledge for him 1 will make it. The
commissioner elected next Monday will i
hold the office for four years. Then j
i... ....... i, . ........ i. ,...i., ai.. I
llinohart, of Suininerville, and
Mr. Sanders, of North Powder, neither J
of whom have any property interest in
Union, and no one. not. o.voniitintr tho
county seat movers of La Grande, J
believe either of them will favor the
building of a new court hnu.-oat Union.
I can safely assert they will not, and
that disposes of that bugbear for four
yours. I have no sort of doubt that any
move to build a new court house at
Union, if tho county seat is retained
there, will appear as far in tho dim fit- j
turc at tho end of four years as now. J
No one envies La Grande her pros- ,
perity, but lot her not slrivo to force j
.iii . -p.t. ... ... .... !
an mo taxpayers oi uie county to con- 1
tribute to her greatness. She lias her
advantages and they aro considerable i
and important, if she will make good j
use of them. Wo will rejoice to note J
her progress, and the greater she be-
comes, the greater will be our pride in I
our county town, but let us not wreck !
tho future prospects of the whole
county to secure a very questionable
advantage to La Grande. Undoubt
edly great changes will take place in
this county in tho next few years. No
ono is wise enough to say now where
the county seat should be ten years
hence. Tho southeastern portion of
tho county will undoubtedly bo con
nected with this valley in tho very '
near futuio by railroad. That will very ;
greatly assist in developing tbu mines !
and open up largo lumber interests,
and uild largely to the population and!
wealth of that end of tho county. ,
Probably other railroads will be built J
and other towns will spring up, and tho
center of population is liable to change
very much in the near future, and as 1
our presentcounty buildings aro all suf- j
ficentfor awhilo yet at least, and thero (
is no necessity for any change now and I
the couuy is considerably in debt, and
thero will bo other largo demands on
the taxpayers to build and maintain j
bridges, roads and other legitimate and j
unavoidable expenses of tho county, I
think wo had hotter lot well enough
alone awhilo yet and leave tho county
seat where it is a few years longer, and
I am sure that a majority of tho legal
voters of the county think so loo, and
will so express themselves at tho ballot
box next Monday.
0. 1 GOODALL.
A Scrap of Paper Savos Her Idle,
It was Just an ordinary scrap of wrap
ping paper, but it saved lior life. Shown
in tho last stage of consumption, told by
phybieiaim that slia wh incurable and could
not live only a uliort timo ; she weighed less
tlnm seventy pounds. On a piece ot wrap
ping paper the read of Dr. Kind's New DIh-
covcrv, nnd got u Huinplc bottle; It helped
her, (die bought a laris bottle, it helped her
more, bought another and grew better find,
continued it use and i.s now wtroiig, heal
thy, rosy, plump, weighing 140 pounds,
Per fuller particular send stamp to V, II.
Colo, druggint, Port Hiiilth. Trial botticN of
thin wonderful Discovery free at llrownV
drug store, Union, Oregon.
Farmers, Take Notice,
llcfore purchasing your mower this year,
don't full Ut call on ui ami see onr new
Whitney, "solid steel" mower. Wo claim
It to be the iuont perfect gras cutter ever
produced. Those viaithig the exposition In
Portland hint full will remember kucIhk it
in operation. It gpcukx for Itxelf. Don't
full to call and examine It. Kam. Hugh.,
Union, Oregon. MlMI
Cooper Shop.
H, II..Ayles proprietor, iiiuntifactuntr of
butter barrels and keH. A Hood supply al
wuysouhund. Hhop at Union depot, Un
ion county, Oregon. o liiMf.
and Amunition Just
Firm
If
IT
Summers
Stoves, it!" Jslware
' SOli1: At. PATS KOll TUH I Lb KNOWN
With Patent Gaiizc-wirc Doors.
or is
ess;
mm Ri
Is iii Churn of a l'irst-chi-B WorKuisin. ami a' I Work Warranted.
and Examine our Goods and Prices.
SUMMHKS.fc LA Y NIC, Union, Oregon d-P7tf
S. C. MILLER,
Dealer In
Bedding and Lounges,
Parlor and Chamber Suits,
Mirror Plates, Picture Frames,
Oil paintings, AVhidov shades,
HAT HACKS, WALL PO( 'RIOTS, and Ml AC It HTM of all DHSOKI PTIOXS.
H Sold oil ilie IiiBtallment Plan.
( (l!l-t:llltlv O'l IlMH'1 .1 fllll lllll1 O'
Sash, Doors and Mouldings.
Picture Frames Rfflade to Order.
?A11 kinds of .lob Work Dune t'. Old r. Shop and Ware Room on Main
Street, I'liion, Oregon,
We Guarantee the Lowest Hates.
No Commissions. No Delays, where
Title and Security is Satisfactory.
CO RRESPONDENOE -:- SOLICITED.
WilHon & mickoLt, Union, Or.
Union,
A. J. COODBROD.
Ilocognled
Leading Hotel of Eastern Oregon!
I'INK I, A ltd I. HAM IT. 15 ItOO.MH For tin. Aeiiomo.liitloii of UouunereUl Traveler,
C1IAHGHH UHAHONAI1LE.
DIM LIVERY d FEED STABLE.
(OPPOSITE CKNTKNNIAL HOTJ5L.)
J. S- ELLIOTT, - Proprietor.
Everything Kirnt Class. Terms Very Ite-ntonnblo.
'Bus to and l;iom the Depot Making Connection with all Trains.
Received at A. N. Gardner & Co's.
R.nnik'
it Prices!
,avne,
a.
&
P
m
Hotel,
Oregon.
Proprietor.
by all uh tho
uuun
SHO
LOAN
1 !
it
$
.AS