The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1869-08-19
"By-Laws and Ordinances of the Cor
porate Town Of Plymouth, Marshall
County, Indi ana-PubIished ny Au

thority."
According to promise made last
week, we have glanced at 4 copy Of the
above book, which in its mechanical
execution is burlesque on the art Of
printing. and will give to our readers
such notations as seem 10 US approprl.
ate when looking through it.
The powers granted, OF legislated to
the Marshal, are supreme; very much
the same as those exercised by Kings.
Emperors, and the "late lamented
during the "reecnt unpleasantness.
There is nothing, or very little, at least,
TINT the Marshal can not do, or CON-
pei citizens to DO, if he thinks the pub
lie good require, 1t. This power, if al
ways rightly exercised. would doubt
less be beneficial to the public but
man (and Marshals) are so prone to do
those things which they ought not to
dc, that to trust them with unlimited
power is an unsafe policy.
Among the first Of the acts of the
apostles of retrenchment and reform, is
one to increase the salary of the Trus-
tees from ST 80 per session to $500,
and to allow stated salaries and per-
auisitcs to the several officers Of the
Corporation. Herein can be found
solution of the great problem which
confronted the present board of Trus-
tees when they were installed in Office
namely: How to pay an indebted.
ness of about $4,000 with only seven
cents in the treasury. If an increase
Of one hundred per cent. in the salary
of the trustees does not diminish the
Corporate debt Of the town, all further
efforts in that direction would doubt
less be futile; unless, perhaps, another
increase should be resorted to, just TO
prove their dey otion to the public in
ter est.
The instructions t0 the Clerk are
voluminous; to undertake to
follow which would land the most SEN
sible man 10 the county IN the insane
asylum. Every scratch of a pen neces-
sary for him to make in the discharge
of his duties, is elaborated with an ex
actness and perspicuity fearful to con-
template. If the present Clerk, G.
any other Clerk, will comply to the let
ter with the instructions given, for
one year, he may call oa US for refresh
ments suitable to the season.
1t is made the duty of the board of
trustees to order the Marshal to col
lect the delinquent taxes iR the man
ner prescribed by Law as to county
treasurers. Has the present beard di-
irected the Marshal to collect the delin-
quent taxes, and if so, why don't he do
il?
The old ordinance relative ID build
ing sidewalks, is repealed and
new one enacted which is supposed to
be just the thing the people have been
suffering for The FIRST sentence Of the
ordinance says that call side walks
hereafter built in said town, shall be
laid on oak stringers, not less than four
Inches wide, and Of plank not less than
one and one-half inches thick" From
which we iafer that the thickness of
the stringers is not to be considered.
The builder Of a sidewalk has only 10
take a few oak boards off the ga. den
fence. and lay them down for stringcrs,
and he and his walk are all right Fur
Their OF, the ordinance says, Gall walks,
when over four feet wide, shall have
stringers at least every three feet. -
This would give two stringers to a six
foot walk. This fact, viewed in con-
nectlOn.with the regulation that requires
no thickness to the st-ingers, renders
1T morally certain that the ordinance
Is the result of the concentrated wis,
dom and ripe experience of the board
OF trustees and their advisers. IF Plym,
outh does not now take long and rapid
strides toward perfection in her system
OF internal improvements, it will be as
great a wonder as that the indebted
ness Of the town does not diminish by
increasing the salaries Of the officers
Boys are prohibited from playing
ball in the streets; and. the men vii
not be permitted to shake to see "who'.
to blame" In fact no kind Of gamb,
ling will he allowed.
Section l. reads as follows: ut shall
be unlawful for the owner of any per,
son having the care or custody of an,
swine, horses, mules or asses, TO per