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CHAPTER III.
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CURRENT EVENTS— 1896 TO 1904.
Agitation for removal of the county seat from Sprague was renewed the spring of 1896. Harrington was ambitious, and in March the Independent, of that town, announced that Harrington would be a candidate. The town of Edwall also listened to the buzzing of the county seat bee. and was, for awhile, ambitious to become the Hub of Lincoln county. It was well known that Wilbur would not feel justified in refusing the honor, and Davenport considered herself the logical candidate. Conditions were such that unless a number of towns entered the race and thus divided the vote, removal from Sprague to Davenport might be considered a certainty. The city of Sprague which, until the year previous was, unquestionably, the principal town of the county, had encountered a series of disasters
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from which it could not, immediately, recover. The fire of August 3, 1895, which is elsewhere treated in this work, laid waste the town. It was unquestioned that a new Sprague would spring from the ashes of its desolation had not the Northern Pacific Railroad Company decided to remove their machine shops from the town and establish division headquarters elsewhere. This was a blow harder than the fire.
Davenport formally entered the county seat contest April 6th. A mass meeting of the business men of the town assembled in the council chambers and it was largely attended. The situation was exhaustively discussed and it was the unanimous opinion of the meeting that Davenport should become a contestant.
Editorially the Lincoln County Times said:
Davenport formally entered the county seat contest April 6th. A mass meeting of the business men of the town assembled in the council chambers and it was largely attended. The situation was exhaustively discussed and it was the unanimous opinion of the meeting that Davenport should become a contestant.
Editorially the Lincoln County Times said:
In entering the field for the county seat Davenport does not intend to make any attack on Sprague, the present seat of county government. She entertains the most kindly feeling for that place and all its citizens, and would not like to see a single one of them suffer loss by reason of the removal of the county seat. However, the removal of the seat of county government to a more central point is an urgent public necessity, and overbalances all private considerations as to individual losses occasioned by the change.April 25th the citizens of Harrington held a mass meeting and, also, decided to enter the contest. Under the law each town that decided to become a candidate for county seat privileges was obliged to present to the board of county commissioners a petition signed by qualified electors of the county equal in number to one-third of all the votes cast at the last preceding general election. Both Davenport and Harrington complied with this provision and became contestants. It is generally admitted that Harrington was not very sanguine of securing the prize. It was at the earnest solicitation of Sprague and for the sole purpose of dividing the vote in order to prevent a re-location. The conditions at that period are thus outlined by the Spokesman-Review of date July 29, 1896:
Davenport has filed with the county commissioners a petition asking for an election for the removal of the county seat to Davenport. This petition has been acted upon by the county commissioners and the issue will come up at the general election this fall. Harrington has also filed a petition and is on the list as a candidate.It was not until the latter part of September that Davenport mobilized her forces in earnest for the impending campaign. From that date the contest on her part was most vigorous and aggressive. September 18th Davenport citizens executed a bond in the sum of $18,800 in favor of the commissioners conditioned upon the selection of Davenport as capital of the county, and pledging the bondsmen in that event to erect
The conditions have been changing materially in favor of Davenport. In the past two years the south half of the county from which Sprague derives its voting support has been reduced at least five hundred votes, one-half of the reduction being on account of the changed conditions at Sprague alone. Besides this it is argued by Davenport people that Sprague is situated three miles from the south line of the county and six miles from the east line. Thus the county seat is in the corner of the county and the people in this section believe it should be more centrally located. Davenport agrees to replace without a dollar's expense to the county, county buildings similar to those at Sprague. Harrington is not considered to have any chance at all in the fight. The friends of Davenport are aligning themselves and the final result will come in November.
a court house and county jail at a place in Davenport. Washington, satisfactory to the county commissioners of said county, which said court house and county jail shall be of the same size, material. and capacity of said county buildings now in
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Sprague, the present county seat, and contain the same number of rooms, and apartments similarly arranged, each said court house and jail to be built on yards and lots of land as large as the lots and yards on which the present county court house and jail at Sprague are situated; and invest and deliver to Lincoln county on or before the said first day of July, 1897, good, absolute and sufficient title to said lots, yards, premises, court house and jail thereon: and remove from Sprague to Davenport, Washington, all the public records, books, furniture, safes, fixtures and apparatus of whatever kind and nature now used in and about said county buildings at Sprague, and place the same in good and regular order in the county buildings to be built in Davenport, as aforesaid.
Those who executed this bond were: C. C. May, F. H. Luce, William Finney, Melissa Finney, H. C. Keedy, Lizzie Keedy, Albert W. Turner, Alice Turner, E. E. Plough, Margaret Plough, George Oswalt, Mary Oswalt, John H. Nicholls, Emma Nicholls, Walter Mansfield, Mary P. Mansfield, James S. Inkster, Laura Inkster, Robert Tischner, Rosina Tischner, Fred Quehlke, Margaret A. Quehlke, Herman Kruger, Dora Kruger, B. O. Gibson, Louisa Gibson, Peter Leipham, Phebe Leipham, Fred McLellan, Henry J. Whitney, Mrs. Fred McLelland. H. Josephine Whitney, A. F. Lambert, H. XV. Knapp, Ida M. Knapp, Dennie Moylan, Lula Moylan, A. L. Smalley, Clarence G. Snyder, Hugh H. McMillan, Fred Lauer, L. A. Inkster. W. H. Moore, Mary E. Moore, Adam Knox, Katie Knox.
Those who were favorable to either Sprague or Harrington for the county seat assumed the same position taken in the memorable contest of 1890, viz: That Davenport did not have the money required to construct the county buildings. The bond that had been executed was attacked and it was further alleged that "there were not to exceed three men on the bond who were worth a five cent piece over and above just debts and liabilities."
But it appears that Davenport had the money. This was attested by the following sworn statement by C. C. May, Cashier of the Big Bend National Bank:
Davenport. Washington, October 15, 1896. — This certifies that there has been deposited in the Big Bend National Bank, of Davenport, Washington, the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to be used only, or as much thereof as may be necessary, for the purpose of erecting a county court house and jail of the same size, material, dimensions, and number of rooms as the county buildings now located at Sprague, Lincoln county, Washington, in case the county seat shall be removed from Sprague to Davenport, as a result of the election to be held on the 3d day of November. 1896. This deposit is without any reservation whatever, to be paid out only for purpose herein named and as a guarantee that said buildings together with all of block 94 in Columbia Addition to Davenport, which block is 215x250 feet, will be conveyed to Lincoln county, Washington, free from any incumbrance whatever, on or before August 1, A. D., 1897; and that said Lincoln county shall not incur any expense in the removal of the county records, office and vault furniture and fixtures and jail cages, from Sprague to Davenport.
If Davenport fails to construct said buildings and deliver same together with said block of land to Lincoln county, Washington, by good and sufficient warranty deed with the usual covenants, on or before the first day of August, 1897, or fails to remove the records aforesaid from Sprague to Davenport within sixty days after the result of said election is declared; or fails to furnish suitable offices, free of expense to Lincoln county, to be used pending the construction of said county buildings, then and in that event the said $10,000, for so much thereof as may be necessary to
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construct said buildings) becomes due and payable to the order of the board of county commissioners of said Lincoln county, Washington.This certificate was deposited with the county treasurer on the 16th day of October, and duly acknowledged by J. J. Brown, county treasurer. The bond in the sum of $18,800 was placed in the hands of the county commissioners. The following letter explains their action in the matter.
By Big Bend National Bank, per C. C. May. cashier.
Mr. C. C. May, Davenport, Washington.For the second time Wilbur held the balance of power; she had the deciding votes in the impending contest. And again Wilbur thrust the issue of county division into the campaign. She demanded that the representative businessmen of Davenport should pledge themselves to assist when in some future time she should attempt to divide Lincoln county. Of course such an obligation could only he binding upon the signers. Hard as the terms were Davenport's leading residents were compelled to enter into this agreement, or all their hopes would he nullified. They did so. There was no politics in the agreement. Republicans.
Dear Sir : — The bond furnished by the citizens of Davenport for the erection of county buildings and expense of moving the records and fixtures from this place to Davenport in the event that the voters of Lincoln county, on the 3d day of November, declare in favor of locating the county seat at Davenport, is on file in the auditor's office. We have examined the above mentioned bond and believe it to be good and sufficient for the purpose given, but do not think it our duty to take any action whatever in regard to the matter, as the bond placed on file with the county auditor is just as binding as if approved by the board.
Respectfully,
L. V. Allen.T. G. Stevenson.A. E. Stookey.Commissioners.
Democrats. Populists, Prohibitionists were combined in the movement. It was the future of a whole community dependent upon the promise of Wilbur, and Wilbur appears to have lived up to the contract nominated in the bond.
At the November general election of 1896, the contest was settled in favor of Davenport. The official vote was, Davenport, 1582; Harrington, 240; against removal, 537. Following is the result of the vote by precincts:
The Davenport correspondent of the Spokesman-Review thus described the joyous ratification of the result:
The citizens of Davenport celebrated the county seat victory last night in an enthusiastic and inspiring manner. At 7:30 o'clock
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a torchlight procession was formed, which marched up and down Morgan street several times, headed by a traveling brass band which added to the enthusiasm by furnishing the liveliest kind of music. Cheer after cheer went forth from the procession, and was reechoed by those who thronged the sidewalks. Finally a halt was called in front of the Columbia hotel, a table was provided, and one citizen after another was carried by stalwart hands, placed on the table, and requested to deliver a speech, until a dozen or more short speeches were made by as many representative citizens. Then the procession, including the ladies, who also took part, in a body entered the theatre and listened to the evening's entertainment. Bonfires and the firing of anvils were the other features of the celebration.Preliminary steps were taken to contest the legality of this memorable event. The ground upon which the action was based was that the $10,000 contributed by Davenport citizens was a bribe to the voters by which they were induced to vote the county record away from Sprague. Concerning this matter the Times said, editorially:
There is no foundation for such a contest upon which any hope for success is based, for there is no case on record where a suit has ever been sustained based upon such grounds, and there is not the slightest probability that this suit will be successful. The purpose is. evidently, an attempt to delay the removal of the records, but it will not succeed.But this threatening war cloud passed harmlessly away. Monday, November 20th the county commissioners convened at Sprague and quietly issued an order for the removal of the county records to Davenport December 14th. No contest suit was actually filed, consequently none could we withdrawn. Thus ended the county seat contest of twelve years standing, and which had intermittently cropped up, surrounded by all the multifarious bickerings and bitterness incidental to such procedures. Davenport was officially declared to be the county seat after 12 o'clock, midnight, December 14th. On the 16th instant the
county records arrived in Davenport. The records, furniture, etc., were brought in by rail in charge of a committee of Davenport citizens. The condition of the roads made it impossible to bring them overland. Three cars were required to transport these official effects and they were three days in transit. The county officials, on their arrival in Davenport, secured offices in various buildings until the court house could be constructed. In January, 1897, the citizens of Davenport paid into the county treasury $6,000 in cash, and gave a deed to a block of land upon which to erect a court house. The commissioners decided that $6,000 would more than pay for the erection of a county building equal to the one formerly used at Sprague, but decided to add to it and erect one sufficient for present needs. The action of the commissioners in this matter reads as follows, and was signed by all the commissioners, Friday, January 15th:
Ordered that the $6,000 received from the citizens of Davenport for the erection of a court house and jail be placed in the county treasury and credited to a fund to be known as the "court house fund," upon which only warrants for the erection of such buildings shall be drawn. The above matter coming on for hearing, and the citizens of Davenport having agreed to place $6,000 gold coin of the United States, in the hands of the county commissioners, and a deed to block 94, Columbia Addition to the. Town of Davenport, provided that the commissioners release the signers of the bond and certificate of deposit given, from all liability in the premises, except as hereinafter stated, and the board being fully advised in the matter and having made careful estimate of the cost of replacing and duplicating all buildings of the same size, material and finish as those formerly used as a court house and jail at Sprague, and the board being fully satisfied that said sum will erect and build better and more substantial buildings than those formerly occupied : It i? therefore ordered that the said amount and the deed to block 94, Columbia Addition to the Town of Davenport, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, be, and the same is hereby, accepted in full payment from the citizens of Davenport as per their bond and agreement on file in the office of the county auditor and certified check deposited
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with the county treasurer; and it is further ordered that the signers of said bond be, and they are hereby, released from all liability on account of the agreement and consideration for which said bond and check were given, except that the citizens of Davenport furnish temporary quarters for the county officials until the new court house is built, but in no case later than the first day of August, 1897.Subsequently the commissioners decided to erect a court house at a cost of $10,000. March 1st a contract was let to Fred Baske to build a county building at a cost of $12,119.90. This handsome structure was completed in due time as per contract. At Sprague, Monday, July 11th, the old court house, jail and lots on which they were located were sold at public auction. These buildings cost Lincoln county over $10,000. The buildings were sold for $300.
"The year of the bumper wheat crop," 1897, marked the return of prosperous times. Farmers and business men of Lincoln county were cheerful. Mr. David Wilson, who for many years past had been interested in the town of Davenport and who always took a prominent part in Lincoln county affairs, at the close of the year 1897, wrote as follows concerning the financial condition of the farmers and the size of the year's crops:
Careful estimates of this year's wheat crop in Lincoln county place it at 6,500,000 bushels, which at prevailing prices, equals $4,500,000. Taken together with other cereals, live stock, fruit, minerals, etc., the cash value to the 1.500 farmers of Lincoln county will be $6,000,000. or $4,000 apiece — a result unheard of heretofore in any county in the United States. * * * * * The area of Lincoln count5 is about 1.500,000 acres, divided as follows: Grazing land (including about 250,000 acres of timber,) 700.000 acres; agricultural lands, about 800.000 acres. Of the latter 350.000 are under cultivation, there lining been seeded to wheat alone this year (1897) approximately 250,000 which yielded an average of 29 bushels to the acre, some of which sold as high as 78 cents per bushel. * * * * * The crop of 1897, in many instances, yielded a return that would pay all expenses for raising, marketing the same, pay the full market price for the land, and leaves a handsome profit besides.The result of this big crop was that nearly all the mortgages in the county were paid off, and there were many purchases of railroad and other land. Almost every tillable quarter section in the county was purchased or leased for farming purposes the next year. Mr. Frank M. Dallam, the present editor of the Palmer
Mountain Prospector, of Loomis, Okanogan county, wrote as follows :
The Lord was good to the people of Lincoln county in 1897, * * * * * Hard times had rattled at every door. Crops were light, and even had they been enormous. the market was dead and the prices did not pay the harvesting. A cloud was over the community; business was at a standstill; the deadly mortgage was eating away the farm. and lines of care and trouble were penciled upon every face. At a time when the strain was the greatest, and many had laid down their burdens when faint and weary with deferred hope, by surrendering their homes. fortune lit up the gloom by a radiant smile that brought joy and comfort and luxuries to hundreds of households. The broad acres laughed with the burden of golden grain and an advance in prices lifted many into comparative wealth and set many more upon their feet and gave encouragement and unusual vigor to the husbandman. The touch of fortune that made the farmer prosperous sent new blood through the arteries of trade. The step of man became more elastic, cheerfulness took the place of former shadows, a feeling of renewed life and hope animated every one, and business felt the thrill or returning activity.This encouraging access of prosperity found its reflex in the daily movements of the people. In December, 1897, nearly every
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eastbound train out of Lincoln county carried from one to half a dozen citizens on their way to former homes in the east to pass the winter with relatives and friends. The majority of these east-bound pilgrims were farmers who had been rewarded by bounteous crops, had paid off their indebtedness — mortgages and other obligations — and still had left a generous surplus. This was, by no means, the first year favorable to the farmers throughout the county, although the three previous seasons had resulted in a combination of light crops and low prices. On many of them this had exercised a depressing effect. And while there were many outgoing residents, on temporary vacations bent, reports of the generous crops of the Big Bend and the prosperity of Central Washington reached the far east and the "middle west." The result was that hundreds of new settlers flocked into Lincoln county in the spring of 1898. They came from all parts of the union; they settled in all parts of the county.
April 17, 1898, Companies B and E, of the Sixteenth U. S. Infantry, who had been stationed at Fort Spokane for two years, left for the seat of war. Their point of embarkation was New Orleans. These troops were under command of Major William H. McLaughlin, and other officers of the command were Captains W. C. McFarland, G. H. Palmer, and C. R. Tyler and Lieutenant E. C. Carey. On their arrival in Davenport the soldiers were given a cordial reception by the citizens of the town. They departed over the Central Washington, and were heartily cheered at all the stations along the line. The fort has never since been garrisoned.
During the summer of 1898 there was decided in the superior court of Lincoln county a causus celebre, known as the De Rackin case. This was a suit brought by Samuel E. De Rackin against the county for payment for publishing the delinquent tax list of Lincoln county. The case attracted attention throughout the state and interested Lincoln county citizens for several years. Mr. De Rackin was for some time the publisher of the Sprague Mail, and was awarded the delinquent tax list for publication by the county treasurer. The publisher carried out his part of the work satisfactorily and presented a bill to the county for $4,500. The commissioners refused to allow the bill and in lieu thereof, offered Mr. De Rackin $140. Under protest this amount was accepted by the publisher, and he immediately brought suit against the county for the balance claimed. The lower court decided against him, but he carried it to the superior court and secured a reversal. At the second trial, held before Judge William E. Richardson, he secured a verdict for $840.60, less the $140 already paid. The last act in the case took place Monday, August 29th, when a compromise was reached, the commissioners paying $700 rather than appeal the case. De Rackin won, but others secured the money. What was left after settlement of the attorney's fees was garnisheed by the Fidelity National Bank.
The wheat crop of 1898 was equal to that of the previous year. Prices ranged around fifty cents a bushel. Owing to the scarcity of freight cars there was some delay in moving this mammoth crop.
The close of the year 1898 marked the removal from Lincoln county of an old landmark — nothing less than a railroad. The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway, which had created so much enthusiasm among the citizens of the county at the time of its construction, but which was operated only a short time, was of no use to the company which owned it and the rails were taken up and utilized in the extension of branches in Idaho. The destroying hand of time has since erased the embankments, and a few cuts through the barren "scab land" are all that is left to indicate that a railroad ever passed that way.
In the legislature of 1899 an effort was
April 17, 1898, Companies B and E, of the Sixteenth U. S. Infantry, who had been stationed at Fort Spokane for two years, left for the seat of war. Their point of embarkation was New Orleans. These troops were under command of Major William H. McLaughlin, and other officers of the command were Captains W. C. McFarland, G. H. Palmer, and C. R. Tyler and Lieutenant E. C. Carey. On their arrival in Davenport the soldiers were given a cordial reception by the citizens of the town. They departed over the Central Washington, and were heartily cheered at all the stations along the line. The fort has never since been garrisoned.
During the summer of 1898 there was decided in the superior court of Lincoln county a causus celebre, known as the De Rackin case. This was a suit brought by Samuel E. De Rackin against the county for payment for publishing the delinquent tax list of Lincoln county. The case attracted attention throughout the state and interested Lincoln county citizens for several years. Mr. De Rackin was for some time the publisher of the Sprague Mail, and was awarded the delinquent tax list for publication by the county treasurer. The publisher carried out his part of the work satisfactorily and presented a bill to the county for $4,500. The commissioners refused to allow the bill and in lieu thereof, offered Mr. De Rackin $140. Under protest this amount was accepted by the publisher, and he immediately brought suit against the county for the balance claimed. The lower court decided against him, but he carried it to the superior court and secured a reversal. At the second trial, held before Judge William E. Richardson, he secured a verdict for $840.60, less the $140 already paid. The last act in the case took place Monday, August 29th, when a compromise was reached, the commissioners paying $700 rather than appeal the case. De Rackin won, but others secured the money. What was left after settlement of the attorney's fees was garnisheed by the Fidelity National Bank.
The wheat crop of 1898 was equal to that of the previous year. Prices ranged around fifty cents a bushel. Owing to the scarcity of freight cars there was some delay in moving this mammoth crop.
The close of the year 1898 marked the removal from Lincoln county of an old landmark — nothing less than a railroad. The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway, which had created so much enthusiasm among the citizens of the county at the time of its construction, but which was operated only a short time, was of no use to the company which owned it and the rails were taken up and utilized in the extension of branches in Idaho. The destroying hand of time has since erased the embankments, and a few cuts through the barren "scab land" are all that is left to indicate that a railroad ever passed that way.
In the legislature of 1899 an effort was
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made to create a new county from the western part of Lincoln, and the eastern part of Douglas counties, with Wilbur as the county seat of the new division. This project failed, and it is still claimed that the failure is owing to the abrogation by Davenport of its agreement with Wilbur pending the last contest for the county seat. There is, of course, a radical difference of opinion existing today upon this question; and the situation may be briefly explained as follows : The citizens of Davenport contend that the crux of the agreement between Davenport and Wilbur at the time of the county seat contest in 1896, was, simply, that Davenport should remain neutral whenever Wilbur should bring forward the county division project. On the other hand the Wilbur people insist that the agreement bound Davenport to do all in her power to assist in the advancement of the division. And thus the respective positions remain today. The division project was abandoned on discovering that Douglas county did not have the required population to leave 4.000 people in the county.
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