FIREPROOF HOUSE
FOR COUNTY RECORDS.
County Court Decides In Fa-
vor of a Building.
One of the most important projects ever to be undertaken in Jackson county was assured yesterday when the county court decided to erect, adjoining the recorder's office on the north, a fireproof building to house all the records in that office.
At present the records are kept on wooden shelving, in a vault directly above the boiler room of the courthouse. That is, some of the records are. Others are stacked about the office with no protection from fire.
The records in this office contain every land transaction in the county. Should they be destroyed, endless litigation would result to clear titles. Every person in Jackson county, who owns real estate is vitally interested in the project of a fireproof building.
The action of the county court was taken in response to a communication submitted by C. L. Flaugh, H. R. Ennis, F. McMillan, A. P. Nichols and L. S. C. Ladish, a committee appointed for the purpose by the Real Estate exchange.
It was decided by the court that the proposed addition could be built at an expense of about $50,000, the money to come from the general revenues. A committee is to be named to investigate the new building erected by Chicago to house its records. Both that city, which lost all its records by fire and San Francisco, whose books met the same fate, have had much litigation over titles since the destruction of the records. Such a condition is also favorable to the formation of an abstract trust, with the consequent raising the rates to every one who conveys or buys property.
Judge C. E. Moss, who is much in favor of the building, is a candidate for re-election. To return him to the county court would mean a speedy consummation of the plan.
