The Only Job Worth Having in a Bankrupt Little City
Nobody wants a seat on the council, but five men are scrambling for the treasurer's office and its commissions on $200,000 of debt.
Ambition for councilmanic honors at the municipal election next month does not appear to run so highly as on other occasions. Although it is a thankless position at the best, the entangled condition of the city will make it even less inviting and cause many well qualified men to hesitate in accepting it. As yet no candidates are afloat for any office except that of treasurer. For this plum, as it is considered, candidates are bobbing to the surface each day. The revenue from the office has always been a mere nothing, the only compensation being a commission of one per cent on all moneys paid out. There are $100,000 due on street assessments and the likelihood of another $100,000 in city bonds, all of which will pass into the treasurer's hands and be eaten up by the outstanding warrants. Should the validity of the bonds continue to be questioned because of the excess indebtedness, the legislature at its special session will be asked to validate them. With this and other revenues, the office of city treasurer is likely to be worth $2,500, and consequently much sought after. It is a wonder even more candidates have not been heard from.
Joseph Chilberg, the present treasurer, desires to be re-elected, while L. F. Henderson and Geo. B. Hartman have formally announced themselves as candidates. Ed Stevens and others are quietly at work and will not be heard from until their names are presented at the nominating convention. May the best and most competent man win is the desire of the Tribune.
“For this plum, as it is considered, candidates are bobbing to the surface each day.”
Olympia in 1891 was carrying $100,000 in unpaid street assessments and another $100,000 in bonds whose legality was in doubt — a debt load on a town of a few thousand people that had the council seats going begging while the treasurer's desk drew a crowd. The office was attractive because a one-per-cent commission on money flowing through a distressed treasury is still money. Cities still argue about assessment debt, bond validity and whether the people handling the cash are being paid for the privilege.
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