Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 164, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 July 1913 — Court Houses Cost Lots Of Money But Are Worth It. [ARTICLE]

Court Houses Cost Lots Of Money But Are Worth It.

The Oxford Gazette is quite bitterly apposing the construction of a new court house at Fowler and naturally will have a lot of support from all over the county. Court houses cost money and money tor building them can be raised only through taxation. The Remington Press, now owned by H. J. Bartoo, supports the contention of the Oxford paper and tries to open up an old sore about the Jasper county court house, saying in substance that the court house was not needed and that the expense was entirely too much to have burdened the taxpayers with. This is a great deal like bringling up the issues of the civil war and parading them before the reunited country. There are doubtless those still living in Jasper county who think that too much money _was spent in the building of the court house, but there are also those who opposed it at the time who afe now glad that it was built just as it was. it has added to the valuation of every farm in this county. Since the court house was built, land has more than doubled In value. Every prospective land buyer during all of these years has bid more for land because of the splendid

court house, while an inferior one would have an effect the other way. .The court house here is none too good for our splendid county and none too large for the requirements. , Its architectural execution is of unusual splendor from the standpoint of appearance, while many court houses that cost very much more money are not its equal either in looks or convenience. It will be here, too, and equal to the demands of many future years, while a smaller or less expensive one would have been outgrown before very long. We do not pretend to know much about the needs of Benton county, and remodeling may pe good enough over there, but here in progressive Jasper we certainly did the right thing when we put up a fine court house some seventeen years ago.