The Case of the Missing Territorial Library Books
A government official alleges that a man named William Pickering purloined two packages of library books intended for public use.
Mr. Reed presented a communication from Mr. Tilney, the Secretary of the Territory. The substance of the letter was that the Territorial Librarian had received a circular from the Smithsonian Institute informing him that some valuable books (two packages) had been forwarded to San Francisco. On the 17th of June, 1862, he wrote Mr. Forbes, requesting him to forward said books by Wells, Fargo Co.'s Express. On Tuesday last said packages arrived, and as Mr. Taylor, the Librarian, had no funds to pay Express charges, the Secretary agreed to pay them. On going down to the Express Office, he found that one William Pickering had been there and paid the charges and taken the packages without any authority for so doing. He wished the House would take some steps to recover the said two packages of books, as they were intended for public and not private use. That the man Pickering had no more right to appropriate the packages than he had to appoint a Public Printer.
“That the man Pickering had no more right to appropriate the packages than he had to appoint a Public Printer.”
This minor political squabble highlights the early fragility of public institutions in Washington Territory. The accusation of a prominent citizen seizing public property for private use remains a perennial concern in civic administration.
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