The Courthouse Deal Done in the Dark

The court house deal is all that one hears nowadays, so we may as well have our say. The Grange has no interest whatever in the location of the county seat, for it is an organization of farmers from all parts of the county, but they do take considerable interest in this barefaced frame-up by which Commissioners Clements and McNeill are trying to bleed the taxpayers for between $30,000 and $40,000. It is not the Grangers of this end of the county alone who are up in arms, but the Granges from every point. The Pomona or County Grange met at Finley last Saturday and was attended by a dozen delegates from around Prosser who joined in passing the following resolution:

'Whereas, two of the board of county commissioners of Benton county, viz., J. B. Clements and Alex McNeill, have seen fit to act in a high-handed and selfish manner in undertaking on last Monday at Prosser to unreasonably burden the taxpayers of the county by disposing of $125,000 in 6 per cent bonds for the purpose ostensibly of acquiring a site and building a court house; and, whereas, it appears that the above-named commissioners acting in conjunction with other interests have secretly conspired to defraud the county in not properly advertising and selling said bonds according to law; and, whereas, judging from bond sales in North Yakima and Walla Walla on the same day it appears that Benton county will have to pay between $30,000 and $40,000 exorbitant interest; and, whereas, the Benton County Pomona Grange is not interested in where the court house may be built; therefore, be it resolved that we, the members of Pomona Grange in regular session assembled, do hereby severely censure and condemn the actions of said commissioners as above stated. This the 9th day of December, 1916, at Finley, Wash.'

To us, the strange part of the whole deal is: if the proceedings were entirely straightforward, why was it necessary to carry them through in the dark? If they were entirely regular, why could not the county attorney defend the suit? Why should any reputable attorneys enter into a contract whereby they received such enormous fees merely to defend a civil suit that needs practically no defense at all if the proceedings are regular? Surely if the proceedings had been entirely regular they would not be entitled to such fees; and if they are not regular, why should they be willing to accept the taxpayers' money to try to jam the dose down the taxpayers' throats? Without attempting to discuss the merits or irregularities of the proceedings themselves, we will say that we most heartily condemn the policy of conducting all the business in secret; we most heartily condemn the plan for fleecing the taxpayers out of between $30,000 and $40,000, and we condemn as strongly anyone who, for money or any other motive, endeavors to uphold and defend such questionable methods.

We can't leave the court house deal without commenting on an editorial which appeared in the Prosser Independent-Record of December 7, 1916, from which we quote: 'The county is in the best possible financial condition. In fact in better condition than any other county in the state. This is not hearsay, but from the word of bondbuyers who are willing and anxious to purchase the bonds. Then too, it is something to have a board of county commissioners who have the courage to declare an emergency when it exists, even in the face of the opposition that has developed. This is the courage of the right sort, and Commissioners Clements and McNeill should have the backing and commendation of everyone who has the real interest of the county at heart. Theirs is the action of men who know their duty and are not afraid.' Probably the editor figures that because we are in the best financial condition of any county in the state, we can afford to give some needy bond investor $37,500. The Century Dictionary defines an 'emergency' as a 'sudden or unexpected occasion for action.' SUDDEN!! UNEXPECTED!! The talk about men who have the courage to do their duty is too ridiculous to comment on in the face of such a brazen effort to fleece the taxpayers.