The Big Expense
Of Little Counties.
Some County Expenoc Figures thai
the Division .Agitators will no !
Dare to Question.
UNANSWERABLE ARGUMENT.
We wrote to the state auditor a
row days ago for the amount of tax
raised by the 1209 county levy in
all the countL-s of Nebraska whose
area la not more than 770 square
miles Uhe size of our largest pro
paged county ) and whoso valuation
Is not less than $1,273,000 ( the valua
tlon o [ our smallest proposed county. )
Mind you , we did not nay a part ol
these counties , we did not select a
few counties whoso area and valua
tlon came under this head , but ALL
of the counties In Nebraska whore
1L
the area and assessed valuation came
15 within this scope. The result U
just as we expected to find It
Every county In Nebraska smallei
than our largest proposed new
county with a valuation as greater
or greater than the valuation ol
our smallest county , cost the tax
payers many thousands of dollars
more than the proposed quarters In
Ouster county pay.
It's the same old story of large
expense In the little county. Below -
low we gives our letter to the
Auditor and the list of counties un
der his cettlficate and seal.
The Letter.
Broken Bow , Nebr. , Oct. 11 , 1000
Auditor Public Accounts ,
Lincoln , Nebr.
Dear Sir : Will you please send
mo a certified statement of the
amount raised by the 1009 county
levy In all the counties of Nebraska
whose area Is not more than 771
square miles and the assessed vain
atlon not less than $1,275,000. I will
appreciate an early reply.
The Reply.
Lincoln , Nebr. , October 13 , 1900.
This is to certify that the table
joreto attached contains the niunboi
of square miles area of the different
counties named In said table , and
also shows the amounts that will be
raised by the county levies for the
year 1009 , figured on the basis 01
the assessed valuation and amount
of county levies of the different couii
ties , as appears of record in this of
flee.
Witness my hand and seal this
13th day of October , 1900.
Silas R. Barton , Auditor P.A
By J. W. Shahan , Deputy.
, The dlvislonlsLs who claim that the
| mall county can be run as cheaply
the tax payer as the largo one
will have an awful time explaining
this matter to the voters of Custet
county who see and read this ccrtl
fled list from the state auditor.
Now , let us see how this compares
with the amount raised in the pro
posed now counUew of Cnstor. We
do not propose to give the division
papers of Ouster county u chance tc
question thoae figures. Wo have the
above amounts certified to by the
istiuo auditor and we have also se
cured the certificate of the county
clerk of Custer county relative to the
amount of taxes which the proposed
new counties In Custer raise in the
same mvinei1 this year by the count ;
levy. Iloro It Is :
In Custer County.
In reply to your request I submit
to you area and amounts raised by
the 1909 levy , figured on the basis ol
the assessed valuation of said terrl
tory ;
Area Ain't.
Illgglns , N. E. Qr. 510 $ 8,924.03
Sheldon , S. E. Qr. 57G 13,133.10
Alfalfa , S. W. Qr. 770 13.3C8.0S
Custer , N. W. Qr. 730 11,391.51
Jas. Plgman , County Clerk.
Thus It will be seen that It costs
the tax payers of the various quarters
tors of Cnster county from a little
less than $9000 to a little more than
$14000 as their contribution toward
the expenses of Custer county. The
other counties of the state , which
come hi this class , cost from $19 ,
000 up. Many of them are above $50 ,
000 and some of them go above $100 ,
000. Wo challenge Mr. R. B. Brega
who Is doing the writing for the dl
vision papers to disprove these fig
ures. We challenge him to show
In any single instance where the
county of our class in the broad state
of Nebraska is run anywhere near at
cheaply as Custer county Is. This is
an argument against division which
cannot be met.
THE REAL CONDITION.
The question is constantly asked
"Do you think Ouster county Is going
to divide this year. " We believe the
people should know the situation as
It actually is. A majority of the people
ple of Custer county are to-day and
always have been against division , bo
r-auso It is a well known and well
established fact that the division of
flip comity menus greatly Increased
taxes. This , however , does not guar
antee that the county could not di
vide. The question of division this
fall hinges largely on the vote getting -
ting out. The proposed county seat
towns of Callaway , Ansley and Sar
gent , have raised the largest cam
paign fund over thrown Into a divi
sion campaign and are doing the
greatest amount of work that has ev
er boon done for division. If you are
opposed to division and want to see
Custer county remain as it Is the
sure way of defeating division Is to
get out and vote and see that your
neighbor goes to the polls. You
may be busy , but you can belter af
ford to spend a little time la going
to the polls and casting your ballot
than you can to pay increased taxes
on your property for the balance of
your life. Again wo say that there
are votes enough in Custer county
opposed to division to defeat the
questlo'i , but the outcome hinges on
the antl-dlvlslonists waking up and
getting out a full vote. Arrange to
go to the polls and see that yom
neighbor goes. Don't stay in youi
corn field and think that division
will be defeated any way , your vote
may be needed and needed badly.
Go to the polls and vote against di
vision.
HOW DOES IT LOOK.
Here is something for the voters
of the proposed now counties of Hlg-
# Ins and Sheldon counties to think
about.
IirGGINS AND VALLEY.
Hlggins county pays as Its sharr
of the county taxes of Cnstor county
this year $8,921.03.
Valley county pays In county taxes
this year $19,150.53.
That's what the levy based on the
assessed valuation actually ralsot
Iliggl'ns county is smaller than Vnl
ley. Don't It look like tlio taxes
iwould have to be double If lllgglns
'was set off in a county by itself ?
SHELDON AND SHERMAN.
Now look at the difference between
tween the proposed now county ol
' Sheldon and the old county of Slier
man both exactly the same slxo.
Sheldon county pays as its share
f the county taxes of Custer thif
.year $13.153.16.
Sherman county pays In count }
taxes this year $32.031.91.
These figures cannot be dlsputec
JIow do they look to you ?
Good Advice From
A Huxley Farmer.
Opposes Division , Not Because he
Loves Broken Bow , but Because
it's to his Interest.
SOME SOUND ARGUMENT
The annual county division aglta
tion is now on. As usual the dlvls
lonists seem to consider Broken IJow
ag the opposing citadel and the bnl
terles of Callawny , Ansloy and Stir
gent have been trained accordingly
Any protest seems to bo con
sldored as an Imposition by the
ngltators and is usually mot with u
"none of your business , " or a "what
allegiance do you owe Broken Bow ? '
If the above named towns were
the only sections of the county that
would bo affected by the final out
come , It might bo well to remain
silent , as custom and Callaway seonu
to demand.
The contending towns would al
have you believe that they have the
Interests of the farmer at heart , In
fact that they would promote his
interest prior to their own. llowevei
a careful perusal of division literal
uro and a little reflection on the matter
tor as a whole , will convince you
that this cannot be true.
Broken Bow wishes to retain the
solidity of the county for the same
reason , that the respective prospec
tive county seats want to chop It up
Other than as a means to the end
In view , I venture to say that the
real supporters of the county and
thr > promoters of her wealth are for
gotten. The farmers and properly
owners are t'ao lads upon whom the
county is largely dependent , and it is \
they who must foot the bill whelhoi
It be large or small.
It is with those hard hand sons oi
toll that I would speak.
Old Custer is our county just as
much as it is Broken Bow's or Cal
laway's and we certainly have the
same right to a voice , in her dlsposl
tion or retention.
In the first place , figures and rea
son tell us that four counties , will !
three new court houses , with the
necessary transcribing of records.anc
four sets of records , and four sols
of officers cannot be maintained as
cheaply as one. If you don't believe
this , investigate , and think a little
for yourself ; neither will hurt you
and are not nearly as dangerous as
Dick Brega would have you believe.
If we already have a court house
"ring , " and the county officers arc
contaminated with graft , there's a
.remedy. The primaries and polls arc
open to all voters , and my faith will
not permit mo to believe that honest
and competent men are merely iiomi
rial.
Broken Bow isn't the whole cheese
and can't elect a man without a few
rural votes. Dividing the county Is
no remedy , It would simply entice
graft by making room for three more
rings In three new court houses.
As I glance over the history ot
Cusler county , I am reminded thai
on many occasions she has figured
[ prominently In the affairs of the
state , and that when she has spoken
her sister counties have paused tc
listen. Now is it to the Interest ol
any good unbiased citizen to vote
away this prestige , by whacking the
county up into four dinky y.ig/.ag sec
lions shaped by some designing In
dividual to suit his own convenience
and the interests of the town he
represents ?
The main argument for division
that Is the main argument made pub
lie , seems to bo based upon the fact
that farmers are put to a great In
convenience by living so far from the
county seat. Actual business seldom
, takes the average farmer to the
county seat more than once or twice
a year , consequently there is very
little complaint /naccesslblllty / bj
the unsophisticated themselves.
There Is however In the rural dls
trlcts as well as elsewhere , what
might be termed floating population
fTo such I would say that If your interests
torests are not seriously allied with
either side of the question , why holi
in doing something that cannot , be
undone , and which may sometime
prove a handicap to yon ? On the
other hand if you should over buy o
vacant lot In Ansley , Callaway 01
Sargent you will still have the op
portunjty of voting for division.
The statement has sometimes been
made that big counties were out ol
s'ylo , and that If they were a good
thing , there would bo more of them
True there are many successfu
small counties In the state , but thoii
Interests and conditions are differ
'cut from ours. There Is less waste
land and their acres are capable 01
jsreater utilization and have a great
'or cash valuation. A few counties
bordering Custer and with slmllai
conditions are endeavoring to be In
style , but their bonds and excessive
' .axe's are the most cousplelous car
marks of their progress.
Largo counties can bo made Inte
.smaller ones , but the llttlo ones
Won't unite Into big ones so easily.
No Mr. Divisional wo out here on
the edges don't oppose division , be
cause we love Broken Bow so much
but becauao AVO love the Interests ol
the comity and the hard tolling pro
< lui'ers more , and because we do plsi
most the schemes promoting ( ndivi
duiil monopoly and attempting high
finance to the detriment of the
common public ,
Victor H. Lowry ,
Huxley , IsVur.
SOME COUNTY LEVIES.
, When It cornea to tax levies the
voters of Custer county are ) Invited
to Inspect the levies of LoganBlalne
land Loup counties , all of which ad ,
( Join the county of Custor. Custci
county's levy Is now seven mllh
It has not been above 15 mills In the
jpasl thirteen yours. The levy ol
iLogan county has reached as high a
! 27 and three fourths mills. The lov }
} ot Loup county has run as high at
29 Vi mills and the levy of Blalne
counU for nine years hand rulnnlng
iwas 25 mills. Just Inspect the state
.ment which wo publish below.
, : ' , * " 131 254'J5 27. " ) 284.2(5 (
" \ V ? . ! ? , 11115LIB 22.111 2IlS ! !
The average for all these years
shows that Custor county's levy h
> from 10 to. 12 mills lower than the
average of the three counties named
ilf wo paid this year 10 mills more
than wo are now paying. It wouli
cost the tax payers of Custer county
more than $70,000 In addition to
: what they are now paying In count }
taxes. These figures are absolutely
correct and wo challenge Mr.Brcga
who writes practically all of the dl
.vision matter , to prove them other
Iwlso.
COUNTY BONDS.
The certified statement of the
State Auditor showing the counties
of Nebraska , which have been bonded
brings out the fact that not a conn-
ty In all Nebraska as small astho proposed -
posed new county of lllggins has es
caped without bonds. When the dl-
vinsionists tell us that the records
can bo transcribed , a now court
house built and the tremendous ex
pense of the new county mot with
out increasing the taxes or voting
bonds they are telling something that
has never boon done In the history
of tlie entire state of Nebraska and
never can be.
THE COST OF DIVISION.
The divislonlsts would have you
believe that about all that is neces
sary In starting a new county is to
back a wagon up to the court house
door , load In a few books and cart
them to Ansley , Callaway and Sar
gent and start three now county
seats. If yon believe this please
road the article entitled , "Tho Cost
of Division , " and yon will soon see
what a mistaken idea this Is.
THE DIFFERENCE.
The attention of the people of Cus
ter county is called to the dlffei'fnce
in the class of matter regarding conn-
ty division , which is published by the
division and the anti-division papers.
The anti-division literature deals
very largely with county levies , bonds
and county expenses of Custer county
and other counties of Nebraska , the
e-ost of transcribing records In case
of division and the salaries of County
Officers both before and after dlvl-
olon. The figures given are baaed
on actual records and have stood the
test for many weeks during a hot
campaign.
The division press has kept away
from actual records to a very great
extent.
The newspaper campaign has been
largely one In which the division
papers have endeavored to prejudice
the voters against Broken Bow and
Broken Bow people , evidently tryIng -
Ing by the cry of "graft" and
"ring" to divert the attention of the
voters from the real Issue of county
expense to thai of prejudice and
spite. What the people of Custer
county want to know Is what divi
sion l.s going to cost them and If
they will bo bettor off when the >
pay their taxes In the small county
than they are now In the largo one.
The voters not influenced by
the county seat proposition and who
look at the question from an unprej
udiced standpoint have noted these
facts
Salaries of Four Sets Officers
Officials ( Under Bounty Division Wi\\ \ \ Cost the Taxpayers -
. payers $11,562 More Than at Present.
Thorost of running four small counties '
as I'omparod with the cost of run
ning ono largo duo N a feature of county division that Is surely an < iyu opunur
to tlin uninformed , 'flic division loaders have repeatedly inudo the assertion
that our taxes will bo less under county division , and that most of the county
olHi-ors are paid by the fees of their olllco HO that the expense will bo the same
whether it Is ouo largo county or four small onus. Notwithstanding columns
and pages have been written telling of the bounties of county division , the di
vision pros * steer pretty clear of actual llguros regarding salaries of four sols of
county olliccrs.
It must bo bourn in mind that the tax payers of Custer county as It is to-day
are the same identical ones who will have to pay the taxes in four small coun
ties , If division conies.
Wo have gene to great pains in obtaining a comparative statement as between -
twoon the com of one set of county olllclals And four sets. Our figures have
been approved by i-ompotont authorities , after a most thorough investigation ,
and wo say to our readers that they are correct mid absolutely fair. The salar
ies given conform to the statutory provisions for small counties with popula
tions such as our proponed now counties would have if divided.
County Assessor : -The County Assessor now gets $700. Under division
each assessor would get $150 ,
Four County Assessors at $450 oaeh.
1800
1'resent salary of County Assessor. . .
700
Additional cost under county division
$1100
County Suporlntondonti-Tlio present salary of the Cnnnty Superintend-
Ollt Is $1200nd he Is allowed $100 for olerk hire. In four .
small counties the
salary would bo $800 and possibly $1000 in each of two of the now counties'
Four County Superintendents at $800 oaeh ( clerks not included ) . . $ .i00
Present salary of CoSupt. . and clerk I
Additional cost under county division. $ 1000
If ollloo i * kept open while superintendent Is visiting schools , clerk hire
should bo added to additional cost.
County Attorney : In Custor county as it Is the County Attorney gels $1000
Under division the statutory salary would bo $700.
Four County Attorneys at $700 each
' '
Present salary of County Attorney \ 1000
Additional cost under county division. 1800
Sheriff : Under thu now law the shurlfT turns all his fees in to the county
and guts a stipulated salary. The salary of Custor County's sheriff under the
now law is $1750 and'tho deputy gels $ ( iOO.
In smaller counties such as wo wanld have under division the board lixes
the salary , the maxima being $1200 , and such deputy hire as they deem nocos-
sury regardless of the fees of the olllco. A conservative estimate would bo $1000.
under county division for each sheriff.
Four Sheriffs at $800 and four deputies al $200 $ . ( OOO
Present salary 'of sherill'and deputy
2110
Additional Cost under division
cotitity
$ 151)0 )
County Clerk , ! Clerk District Court and Register of Deeds.
If Custer county was divided into four
counties the office of Register of Deeds
would be abolished in all four counties , anil the County Clerk would perform the
duties of Register. Likewise the office of Clerk of the District Court would be
abolished in two of the new counties and the Conuly Clerk would also be Clerk of
the District Court in these two counties.
The four County Clerks would each drawn salary of #
1500 , provided the fees
reached that ntiioiin' . Their four deputies would get $700 each , provided the fees
are sufficient. The total clerk hire of the County Clerk , Clerk of the District Court
and Register of Deeds lust year was about 300. We will cut out the clerk hire
for all four counties. The Clerk of the District for the two counties would be en-
itled to $3200 Thus we get the follow'iig .summary :
lfour Comity Clerk's at f , 1500 each . . 4 f
Four Deputies at f 700 each . * °
' ' ' ' '
' ' ' ' ' ' * ' .
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
Two Clerks of the District Court . . . . . . . . .
Total s-ilaries for offies of Countv Clerk , Clerk of District Court and
Register of Deeds in Custer county for 1908 was i §
Ad litioml cost under county division
List year the three offices named turned over excess fees to the amount ol
# 2083 , but under county division this amount would be eaten up in salaries ,
County Treasurer : The County Treasurer gets # 2000 , if his fees reach that
amount and he is paid by n commission on collections. lie gels ten per cent on
the first $6000. Jour per cent on the next fjooo and two per cent on the balance.
Thus it will be seen that under county division four treasurers would get ten per
cent on four limes 6. > jo and so on making a very much higher commission on the
sime amount of collections than one. The collections in the treasurer's office for
1908 ran 255,583. Here is an accurate comparison ; based on the last year's busi
ness of the treasurer's office.
Salaries of four treasurers at 15.42 cadi , based on 1908 collections ( no al
lowance made for deputies or clerks )
Total salaries of treasurer , deputy and clerks in treasurer's office (908 ( } 4100 6170
2070
Hxcess fees turned back to county
. 302
Additional cost under county division .
' ' ' '
This doesn't allow the County Treasurer under division a deputy 'o'r'a' clerlT
He would have to do all the work or pay a clerk himself ,
GRAND SUMMARY OF ADDITIONAL EXPENSE.
Additional expense of County Assessor under county division . . ; r,00
Additional expenscof County Kupprintendent under county division . ' 1600
Addjtional expense of County Attorney under county division . . . . ! 8OO
Additional expense of County SherilF under county division . . 1500
Additional expense of County Clerk , Clerk of the District Court atid
Register of Deeds under county division . _ ,
Additional expense of County Treasurer under county division. . ! ! ! ! ! . ' ! . ' ! ! ! ! tW72 ,00
Total additional expense under division <
. . 11 002
The above does not provide for salaries of deputy treasurers , or clerks for any
of the officers in the now eounties.
Over Jl l.ooo additional cncn year to maintain the various offices of 'Cnster
county is a mighty big sum in addition to what they are now costing. Hut this
is not all. We have not said a word about lights , fuel , janitors and repairs. We
have not included the salary of four sets of supervisors. We have not included
four district courts with its four juries 96 jurors at $1 per day in four counties in-
btead of 2. ) jurors in one county. We have not included the maintaining of four
jnils , four poor farms , four boards of insanity , four boards of health , four county
physicians , four old soldiers commissions or four teachers institutes. We have
found exact figures for overfno. o additional expense and we believe these "other
things" will swell the sum to.f 15000. If the people of Custer county were asked to
vote bond of f each , this bond to fifteen
a 15000 year run or > wenty ycats , they
would turn it down as promptly and emphatically ns they have done hi
years gone by , and yet many an advocate of division does not stop to think that
dividing Custer county means probably $15,000 , to be paid not , in fifteen or twenty
years , but every year.
