USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > History of Elkhart County, Indiana; together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history: portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 43
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496
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
tribunal. Men feared it; even the incorrigibles grew tame before it, and after it had run its course, and disappeared before the advancing tide of cuteness, many said that the part which it played was highly beneficial, and its existence providential. It is unnec- essary to mention even one of the strange indictments made out by the officers of the Surrogugeon; any crime from the larceny of a pin to that of a horse, never escaped its notice; but the great idea of the court was to crush its victim by a terriblecross-examination. Atter having elicited every tittle of information, in fact a histro- biography of their prisoner, they might order his discharge or send him to jail until his sins would be atoned for. This, in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, seems strange; but the buoyant spirits of the first settlers and the easy-going habits of a few of them account for it, and still leave its memory green.
THE PRESENT BAR.
The legal fraternity of the present time differs in many respects from those of by-gone years. Knowledge, statutes and crime have all grown up together, and tend to entail upon him who would become a member of the legal profession long years of study. Few, in taet none, of the old legal pioneers reside in this county. Mr. Baker, and perhaps a few others, may claim a long and happy con- neetion with the legal interests of the county; but they cannot be considered as belonging to that class of men who made themselves known and welcome everywhere, ignored all the ceremonies which are now in vogne, and only took delight in reducing all law to equity. The following list ineludes the names of the principal legal gentlemen of the county :- Baker & Mitchell, M. F. Shuey, I. A. Simmons, Vanfleet & Bickel, J. W. Irwin, Geo. W. Best, Osborn & Herr, Wilson & Davis, A. W. Simmons, Delos N. Weaver, I. N. Hall, Col. Johnson, O. II. Main, O. T. Chamberlain, Lew. Wanner, W. L. Stonex, A. H. Johnson, H. V. Curtis, I. N. Everett, C. C. Gilmore, M. E. Meader, Otis D. Thompson, Livy Chamberlain, Ed. R. Kerstetter, Zook Bros., D. N. Leib, C. F. Shuey, Jas. H. State, M. I. Beck, A. F. Wilden, Milo S. Hlascall, H. C. Dodge, Bartholomew & Trimble.
CHAPTER IX.
THE REPUBLIC MUST BE GUARDED.
Yet remember this :-
God, and our good cause, fight upon our side;
The prayers of holy saints and wronged souls,
Like high-reared bulwarks, stand before our faces.
The interest taken in political matters by the people of this county is deep indeed. Their principles are so well set that neither time nor change seems to affect them; so that he who was a Democrat in his earlier years remains one still, and he who deserted the ranks of the old Whigs to ally himself with the Republican party observes all the forms which that alliance imposed, and may to-day vote for James Garfield as he did in 1856 for John C. Fremont. However, there is an apparent tendency to cast away the fetters of party, and to vote for the best and truest men who place themselves before the peo- ple, seeking their suffrage and confidence. Now, whatever benefits are conferred upon the country by the two great parties, who claim to be President-makers, no doubt can exist of the number and magni- tude of the abuses which have entwined themselves with the system, and contributed to lessen the influence of a great federal government.
" There was a time," said John C. Calhoun, "in the better days of the Republic, when to show what ought to be done was to insure the adoption of the measure. Those days have passed away, I fear, forever. A power has risen up in the Government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks. This mighty combination will be opposed to any change; and it is to be feared that, such is its influence, no measure to which it is opposed can become a law, however expedient and necessary; and that the pub- lic money will remain in their possession, to be disposed of, not as the public interests, but as theirs, may dictate. The time, indeed, seems fast approaching, when no law can pass, nor any honor can be conferred, from the Chief Magistrate to the tide-waiter, without
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498
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
the assent of this powerful and interesting combination, which is steadily becoming the Government itself, to the utter subversion of the authority of the people. Nay, I fear we are in the midst of it; and I look with anxiety to the fate of this measure, as the test whether we are or not.
" If nothing should be done,-if the money which justly belongs to the people be left where it is, with the many and overwhelming objections to it, -the fact will prove that a great and radical change has been effected; that the Government is subverted; that the authority of the people is suppressed by a union of the banks and the Excentive,-a union a hundred times more dangerous than that of Church and State, against which the Constitution has so jealously guarded. It would be the annonneement of a state of things from which it is to be feared there can be no recovery- a state of bonndless corruption, and the lowest and basest subser- vieney. It seems to be the order of Providence that, with the exception of these, n people may recover from any other evil. Piraey, robbery and violence of every description may, as history proves, be succeeded by virtue, patriotism, and national greatness; but where is the example to be found of a degenerate, corrupt, and subservient people, who have ever recovered their virtue and pa- triotism? Their doom has ever been the lowest state of wretched- ness and misery : scorned, trodden-down and obliterated for ever from the list of nations! May Heaven grant that snch may never be our doom."
Withont going to the extremes of thought, much of what that statesman had said applies to the present time. Not all by any means; because, owing to the foresight of the people, the combina- tions of wicked men who wonkl venture to assert their foul suprem- acy, have been dismembered, and their terrible, awful treacheries exposed. The followers of the great political parties resident in Elkhart county have made their voices heard in their cries for reform; they have scanned the actions of their legislators with jeal- ons eye, and rewarded or punished where justice pointed, and thus secured, and now essay to seenre, a fair representation in the legis- Intive chambers of the State and of the Republic. They understand the principles of liberty, they possess a good idea of all that is dne to the Republic, and seldom fail to reduce theory to practice by choosing men who believe as they do, and who desire to stand by the public good in every emergency. Nativeism, seetionalism and
499
ILISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
all their concomitant viees are almost dead; but, unhappily, enough remains to cause some little disunion, and so destroy what would be otherwise a magnificent solidarity. The envy, the anger, the jealousy, the pride, and above all, the irritation arising from the civil war, hold a place in the hearts of a few. The place must be closed up forever. Merey, justice and patriotism require it for tenaney; so that sectionalisin innst die with all other vices-must fall before advancing civilization, and let Peace rule over the land.
One of our economists has said that it is a crime against human- ity to maintain this sectional irritation. On this continent of the West we have endeavored to set up a republican government, a gov- ernment of liberty-and a governinent of liberty means a govern- ment of equal right. The sun of liberty quickens men as the natural sun quiekens a field of grain. The myriad shafts rise npon thie even bed of earth, bathing in the common rain, strengthened by the generous heat, and lifting to the God of light the abundant fruit on every head which his equal justice has given them all to bear. Republican institutions, as has been well said, the last hope for the redemption of man, must be maintained and can only be maintained when a spirit of fraternity runs through and permeates the citizens of this country.
We cannot live as a republican government and maintain perpet- ual war. Even in the household and family, where the ties of blood are nearest, we must exereise charity and forbearance or there often- times will be diseord. How much more so, in a broad land where the interests are diverse and people are separated by many miles of territory, innst we exereise forbearance and charity and human kindness! The appeal goes to the better nature of men. It is an answer from the very heart of every man who has a heart to the taunts and flings that have been hurled against the unhappy people struggling to lift themselves up again to peace and prosperity and fraternity. This appeal is not to the selfish, except it be but an enlightened selfishness which perceives your own good in the good of your fellow men-the appeal is to a higher selfishness than that which is looking to the spoils of office, which is only considering political questions with the greed and avarice of power. The ap- peal is to our Christianity, to our humanity.
To render these assertions positive, it will only be necessary to review the vote of the county as recorded during the Presidential campaigns from 1832 to 1876, the Gubernatorial and Congres-
500
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY-
sional contests of 1876-1878, and the names of the Senators and Representatives who have received political honors at the hands of the people. To this end the following statistical tables and names are given :
PRESIDENTIAL VOTE OF ELKHART COUNTY.
Year.
Dem.
Whig.
Dem.
Whig. Other. Total.
1832 Andrew Jackson,
Henry Clay ...
129
60
. . 189
1836 M. Van Buren,
W. H. Harrison.
305
354
.... 659
1840 M. Van Buren,
W. H. Harrison.
596
640
1236
1844 J. K. Polk,
Henry Clay
964
758
1722
1848 Lewis Cass,
Zachary Taylor
1050
756
*142
1948
1852 Franklin Pierce,
Winfield Scott.
1343
1068
28
2439
1856 J. Buchanan,
J. C. Fremont.
1651
+1971
+18
3640
1860 Steph. A. Douglas,
Abraham Lincoln.
1938
2471
$27
4436
1864 G. B McClellan,
Abraham Lincoln.
2000
2253
4253
1868 Horatio Seymour,
U. S. Grant
.2706
2962
5668
Horace Greeley,
1872
Charles O'Conor,
U. S. Grant.
.2344
2998
5342
1876 S. J Tilden,
R. B. Hayes.
.3390
3742
7132
1880 W. S. Hancock,
J. A. Garfield.
....
* Free-Soil, + Republican, # American, § Breckenridge.
In the above table there is no mention of the various candidates in 1836 who drew but a small and insignificant vote in the United States, and for whom there were no tickets run in this county. The figures do show, however, that Elkhart county partook of the spirit of the whole country at each election, and did its share in aiding every new departure. For instance, while in early day it was strongly Democratic, yet it gave Harrison (Whig) a majority of 49 in 1836, and a majority of 44 in 1840. Since 1856 the county has been, on national issues, strongly Republican.
In the table on the following page the vote of each township on the national ticket is given, and the figures serve not only as a record for general historical reference. but also a source of reflec- tion upon the causes which may have existed in various parts of the county for the variations of public sentiment from time to time.
PRESIDENTIAL VOTE OF THE TOWNSHIPS FROM NOVEMBER, 1856, TO NOVEMBER, 1876.
1856.
1860.
1864.
1868.
1872.
1876.
Buchanan
and
Fremont
Dayton.
Fillmore
Donelson.
Douglas
Johnson.
and
Lane.
Lincoln
Hamlin.
McClellan
Pendleton.
Lincoln
Johnson.
Seymour
Blair.
Grant
Colfax.
Greeley
Brown.
Grant
Wilson.
Tilden
and
Hayes
and
Wheeler.
Dem.
Rep.
Am'n.
U. D.
S. D.
Rep.
Dem.
Rep. Dem.
Rep.
Lih'l.
Rep.
Dem.
Rep.
Cleveland.
29
71
35
79
46
72
64
85
49
74
51
78
Osolo.
58
70
79
1
80
68
97
100
98
77
95
123
126
Washington.
63
167
3
78
1
156
87
186
111
229
101
183
151
196
York ..
36
63
63.
95
73
83
107
102
82
87
128
97
Baugo ...
69
39
92
47
75
46
91
64
72
53
93
60
Concord.
226
263
7
280
360
286
369
481
586
452
864
824
970
Jefferson.
70
95
7
92
4
137
89
110
117
125
108
101
143
115
66
193
103
4
245
113
215
146
226
133
211
182
251
47
90
63
1
127
54
107
45
159
22
164
49
212
Olive . . .
86
120
95
148
91
111
121
139
89
134
135
212
Elkhart ..
398
335
371
14
433
424
423
571
543
536
464
667
629
Clinton .
137
73
191
100
218
47
282
83
225
106
274
157
Locke ..
47
26
49
44
56
30
77
86
54
75
122
137
Union.
88
75
105
81
115
44
151
71
107
53
164
109
Jackson .
118
141
124
165
99
139
119
167
95
169
138
197
Benton.
113
150
118
6
174
107
179
123
200
142
163
146
196
Total.
1651
1971
18
1938
27
2471
2001
2258
2706
29621
2344
2998
3390
3742
.
.
.
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
501
TOWNSHIPS.
Breckenridge.
and
and
and
Breckenridge
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
Hendricks.
Middlebury
Harrison.
1
502
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
VOTE OF ELKHART COUNTY BY PRECINCTS, IN OCTOBER, 1876, AND IN
OCTOBER, 1878.
ELECTION OF 1876.
ELECTION OF 1878.
PRECINCTS.
GOVERNOR.
CONGRESS.
GOVERNOR.
CONGRESS.
D.
R.
N.
D.
R.
N.
D.
R.
N.
D.
N.
Elkhart, First. .
372
361
354
374
308
271
4
269
305
4
Elkhart, Second.
298
285
295
285
314
337
303
369
5
Clinton, First .
215
82
210
86
111
51
2
111
51
2
Clinton, Second
76
6
3
62
2
88
48
22
80
48
27
Concord, First.
326
404
13
331
403
6
391
551
187
377
552
197
Concord, Second.
500
546
2
500
544
1
192
298
71
190
301
70
Benton.
147
196
5
147
196
4
130
199
6
122
200
11
Jackson
133
196
133
196
130
168
125
169
9
Harrison
141
192
142
192
96
161
1
97
160
4
Baugo
93
63
93
62
82
43
13
82
13
13
Olive.
52
203
53
202
42
171
25
39
168
30
Jefferson'
149
111
147
113
116
112
19
102
114
27
Middlebury
177
249
177
250
149
245
33
143
247
38
York
127
93
125
92
105
74
13
103
74
13
Washington,
152
189
152
189
110
131
72
107
134
72
Osolo ..
119
124
121
122
69
108
56
68
109
55
Cleveland
48
82
48
83
40
82
2
39
82
2
Union.
161
106
161
106
153
76
1
150
79
1
Locke.
124
136
124
136
112
105
2
112
104
2
Total
3410 3679.
23 3338 3693
13 2768 3231
541 2619 3309|
582
N -National Greenback.
STATE SENATORS.
1832, Samuel Hanna ( Elkhart, Randolph, Allen, Delaware and La Porte counties); 1835, D. H. Colerick (Elkhart, La Porte, La- grange, St. Joseph, Allen, Wabash and Huntington counties); 1836, Geo. Crawford (Elkhart, Lagrange, Steuben, De Kalb and Noble counties); 1839, E. M. Chamberlain (Elkhart, Lagrange, Steuben, De Kalb and Noble counties); 1842, W. B. Mitchell; 1845, Abraham Cuppy ; 1848, Delevan Martin ; 1850, Jos. H. Defrees; 1852, Thomas G. Harris; 1856, John Thompson; 1860, C. L. Murray; 1862, John H. Baker (nnseated); 1864, Robert Dykes; 1866, Abner Lewis; 1868, J. R. Beardsley; 1872, J. R. Beardsley; 1876, E. Beardsley, B. L. Davenport.
STATE REPRESENTATIVES.
1831, Samuel Hanna (Allen, Elkhart and St. Joseph counties); 1832, Geo. Crawford (Allen, Elkhart, St. Joseph, Lagrange and La Porte counties); 1833, D. H. Colerick ( Allen, Elkhart, St. Joseph, La- grange and La Porte counties); 1834, J. B. Chapman (Lagrange,
503
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
Elkhart and attached territory); 1835, E. M. Chamberlain (La- grange, Elkhart and attached territory); 1836, John Jackson (Elk- hart county); 1837, E. M. Chamberlain; 1838, Samuel Clymer; 1839, M. Rippey; 1840, M. Rippey; 1841, John Jackson; 1842, Jas. Cowan; 1843, Jas. Cowan; 1844, Sam. Clymer; 1845, Sam. Clymer; 1846, Asa A. Norton; 1847, H. H. Hall; 1848, Lovinas Pierce; 1849, Jos. H. Defrees, Michael C. Dougherty; 1850, Milton Mercer; 1851, Joseph Beane; 1852, James I. Maxfield (two-years term); 1854, Walter E. Beach; 1856, Milton Mercer; 1858, Jolın E. Thompson; 1860, Noah Anderson, Robert Parrett; 1862, Silas Baldwin, Amos Davis; 1864, M. F. Shuey, Joseph Reford; 1866, M. F. Shney, W. A. Woods; 1868, H. G. Davis, Geo. W. Chapman; 1870, Elam B. Myers, Joseph H. Defrees; 1872, John E. Thompson, David Scott; 1874, Albert Osborn; 1876, John E. Thompson; 1878, Ed. H. Stevens and J. D. Osborn.
THE CONGRESSIONAL APPORTIONMENT
bill passed by the Legislature and approved March 20, 1879, con- tains the following sections :
SECTION 1. That the State of Indiana be divided into thirteen districts for the election of Representatives in the Congress of the United States, each of which districts shall be entitled to one Rep- resentative.
SEC. 2. The limits of each district shall be as follows:
The counties of Posey, Gibson, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Pike, Spencer and Perry shall constitute the first district.
The counties of Sullivan, Green, Knox. Daviess, Martin, Law- rence, Orange and Dubois shall constitute the second.
The counties of Jackson, Jennings, Washington, Scott, Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Crawford shall constitute the third.
The counties of Union, Decatur, Franklin, Ripley, Dearborn, Jefferson, Ohio and Switzerland shall constitute the fourth.
The counties of Putnam, Hendricks, Morgan, Johnson, Owen, Monroe, Brown and Bartholomew shall constitute the fifth.
The counties of Delaware, Randolph, Henry, Wayne, Rush and Fayette shall constitute the sixth district.
The counties of Marion, Hancock and Shelby shall constitute the seventh district.
The counties of Warren, Fountain, Montgomery, Vermillion, Parke, Vigo and Clay shall constitute the eightli district.
The counties of Tippecanoe, Clinton, Tipton, Boone, Hamilton and Madison shall constitute the ninth district.
504
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
The connties of Lake, Porter, Newton, Jasper, Pulaski, Fulton, Cass, Carroll, White and Benton shall constitute the tenth district.
The counties of Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Wells, Adams, Howard, Grant, Blackford and Jay shall constitute the eleventh district.
The counties of Lagrange, Stenben, Noble, De Kalb, Whitley and Allen shall constitute the twelfth district.
The counties of La Porte, St. Joseph, Elkhart, Starke, Marshall, and Kosciusko shall constitute the thirteenth district.
The bill concludes with the usual clause repealing all laws and parts of laws which might come in conflict with this act. The bill had a majority of three in the Senate and twenty in the house.
THE ELECTION STATISTICS
of the Congressional districts in connection with the great political parties of the State may be given, since such a compilation mnst be interesting as well as instrnetive.
The first district gave a Democratic majority of 1,909 in 1876; 1,729 in 1878, and showed an actnal vote of 34,350.
The second district gave a majority to that party of 4,388 in 1876, and 4,546 in 1878, out of a poll of 32,877.
The third district gave a Democratie majority of 4,474 in 1876, and 5,948 in 1878, and showed a total vote of 32,381.
The fourth district carried the Democratic ticket in 1876 by 1,435, and in 1878 by 2,020, with a total vote of 33,731.
The fifth district gave a majority to the same party in 1876 of 2,183, and in 1878 of 2,525, showing an aggregate vote of 33,488.
The sixth distriet gave a Republican majority of 7,851 in 1876, and 6,832 in 1878, out of a total vote of 33,348.
The seventh district gave a Republican majority of 241 in 1876, and a Democratic majority of 502 in 1878, polling a total vote of 84,191.
The eighth district went Republican in 1875 by 1,360 majority, and Democratic in 1878 by 257, showing a total vote of 36,810.
The ninth district claimed a Republican majority in 1876 of 353, and a Democratic majority in 1878 of 422. Total vote polled, 34,828.
The tenth district gave the Republicans a majority of 1,045 in 1876, and 1,680 in 1878, polling 34,804 votes.
The eleventh district showed a Republican majority of 400 in
505
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
1876; but went Democratic in 1878 by a majority of 840, polling a total vote of 39,863.
The twelfth district gave the Democrats a majority of 1,864 in 1876, and 3,113 in 1878, out of a total vote of 34,957.
The thirteenth district elected the Democratic nominees by 151 in 1876, and by 682 in 1878, polling an aggregate vote of 35,291.
The vote of 1878 cast in the thirteenth Congressional district, according to the new apportionment, was as follows: Republican, 13,900; Democratic, 14,582: National, 2,731. This district now comprises the counties of Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall, St. Joseph, La Porte and Starke, and in the foregoing statistics it will be under- stood that the figures given for 1876-'78 refer to the counties named.
CHAPTER X. COUNTY INSTITUTIONS AND OFFICIALS.
A thing of beauty is a joy forever. THE COURT-HOUSE.
Of all the public buildings of Northern Indiana, the Elkhart county court-house is, perhaps, the most beautiful. Twelve years ago the county business was transacted in very humble offices; but the people. sharing in the busy activities of the times, resolved to substitute for the antiquated building one in every way worthy of this progressive age. In this landable enterprise they met with some opposition from many tax-payers, who failed to see the exist- ing necessity for such a building as was suggested; but in this matter, as in all others, fogyism was subdued, and subsequently an editice was raised upon the public square of Goshen, which, in itself, is a tell-tale monument of the extraordinary progress made by the people of the county within a period of halt a century. This beantitul building was opened for public business in 1870. Messrs. Jacob Bechtel, J. E. Thompson and Nathaniel Thompson were the Commissioners who inaugurated the work in 1868, and to them and the great majority of the people who countenanced and urged them onward in this work much praise is due, because they co-operated in doing that which keeps pace with the age and adds a central attraction to the county. The building stands in the center of spaeions grounds extending north and south from Clinton to Market streets, and east and west from Main to Third streets. Shade trees lend their aid in making the site more beautiful, and already there are 6,000 feet of concrete walk leading from Main street to the eastern entrance of the building, with a corresponding number to be laid down on the west side. The grounds are enclosed with a net work of iron rail. There are eight gates leading from the eneireling streets to the main promenades, and one large gate to admit vehicles. Outside this palisade is another wide gravel walk surrounded with a chain fence, and he who would desire to entertain an idea of the utility of this first line of defense, must
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507
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
positively come here on market or other days set apart for a meet- ing of the people; for then these chains offer a comparatively seenre hitehing place for the thousand horses and vehicles which are attached to them, the whole presenting a rare seene of rural greatness.
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.
The design of the new court-house was drawn by Barrows & Garnsey, architeets, of Chicago, and adopted by the commissioners of Elkhart county June 11, 1868.
The building as represented in its front elevation is most impos- ing in appearance, and strikes the observer as chaste in design, mass ive, and of great strength and delieaey of finish.
It stands 52 feet in height from base to cornice, its broadside, 82 feet in width, presented to Main or Fourth street, with a grand entrance, its roof supported by four Corinthian pillars. The tower, which rises from the south end, adds greatly to the appearance of the building, and is exceedingly chaste in its proportions.
The basement story, 12 feet in height, is designed for heating apparatus, storage for fnel and two offices. The entrance to the basement is in the tower, with east and west doors leading to the hall under the steps leading up to the grand entrances. The width of the building east and west is 72 feet, and the rear entrance on the west side is precisely similar to that on the east.
The second or main story is 16 feet in height, with offices for the clerk and recorder, each 26 x 22 feet, on the south side of the hall; and offices for the auditor and treasurer, each 22 feet square, on the north side. Each office possesses fire-proof vaults of some extent, for the better protection of the valuable records.
The third floor, 24 feet in height, is devoted to the court, jury and commissioner's rooms, with the sheriff's offices. The court-room is a thing of beanty. It runs from east to west the entire width of the building and occupies its entire southern end. The material used in the construction is brick with stone trimmings, slate roof, and cornice of galvanized iron.
A REVIEW.
Now the foregoing brief notice would of course convey a fair idea of the extent of the edifice and the salient points in its architecture; but it deserves a more precise description. The east and west
50S
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY.
frontages are similar in style. Thres great doors or gates resting between massive square columns are approached by a flight of steps, which are as solid as artifice and nature combined could render them. Springing from the Romaie columns are a series of Corin- thian pillars with capitals of that order, all forming a facade on which rests the front of the well-proportioned roof of the central section. The tower at the southern extremity is beautifully pro- portioned. Springing from a substructure, in keeping with the architectural style of the main building, it is carried upward in pure styles, giving position to the great clock section, bell floor, lookout chamber, capital turret, and all surmounted with a monument, in iron, representing the water lily. From the very summit of this tower the indomitable lightning rod man succeeded in carrying the electrical conductor down, down to mother earth; and though the wire interferes somewhat with its true outline, or architectural beauty, its supposed utility may be considered a set-off. Beneath the tower proper and in its substructure are rooms devoted to the law library and judges' chambers, county clerks' private office and library, and, in the basement, an entrance to the offices therein situate; so that this elegant appendage of the county building is at once useful and ornamental. The county offices are well arranged. A spacions hall occupies the entire center of the main floor. Entering from the east, the anditor's and surveyor's offices ocenpy a position on your right, and the clerk's office on your left; further on, the great iron stairway, leading to the second floor, is on your right hand, while at the western side the county treasurer's office holds the north quarter section of this floor, and the recorder's office the south. Ascending the stairs, the hall of justice is entered from the main lobby, the sheriff's offices are on the left, and the Commissioners' Court on the right. While conceding that these offices are well arranged, neatly kept, and remarkably well adapted for the transac- tion of county business, it must be confessed that the magnificent
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