The Lincoln County herald., 1869-12-23
LOCAL AND COUNTY.
More about The County Finances.
TRoY, Mo-, Dec. 21, 1869.

More about The County Finances.
TRoY, Mo-, Dec. 81, 1869.
Editor Herald: In the Herald Of the
10th appears card from Mr.. F. G. Cake,
County Clerk; also, condensed" state.
meut Of the receipts and expenditures Of
this county, which calls for reply, inas.
much as it is intended for an answer to IN
article signed Lincoln, which l wrote for
the Herald some weeks since, on our
county finances. The causes which led
to that articls are these: A certain per.
son wrote an article for the Herald, re-
spec,fully requesting the County Court
of our county to publish q statement Of
the receipts and expenditures thereof.
Our County Court, as on former occasions,
disdaiued to make any publication, we'll
knowing, too, the vital interest which
every tax payer had iu the matter. AT
this juncture, instead Of publication Of
the receipts aud expenditures Of our
county by the Court, an article was writ
ten by Jas. NJ. Mcclellan, Deputy County
Clerk, who signed his name Troy" de-.
tending the Court, and declaring that
there was no law for any such publication.
Whether he represented tho County
Court, or Mr.. Cake, or wrote Il on his
own responsibility as rejecting his own
views and wishes, is not my province TO
determine be can answer for himself.
It was with the view Of correcting the
many errors and blunders In his article,
that wrote the article sigued "Liuco!n. "
l showed from the records that the reason
given by MIR. Mcclellan for the enormous
expenditures Of ls67-s we're fallacious
and untrue in point Of fact, and chal-
lenged him to give the true reasons, and
explain the rapid increase 10 our county
expenditures. That article he has never
attempted to contradict, or even reply to ;
but the scene is now changed: Mr.. F.
y. Cake, our County Clerk, comes to the
rescue, becomes an interloper, imagines
When the County Court is warned Of its
solemn duties to the tax payers Of this
county that his own proper person il as
sailed; that the thrust is aimed at him ;
that he embodies the dignity and honor
Of the County Court, and that no citizen
Of this county must question the wisdom
and iufallibility of their action on financial
matters, without iucurring bis displeasure
and meeting him as the champion Of the
Court and keeper Of its honor. The
whole tenor Of my teaching has been that
any citizen Is at liberty to criticize the
action Of any public Office; and, % Mr..
Cake has either assumed to be the County
Court or placed hi,nself of his own free
choice in an attitude representing the
Court, I have no hesitancy in erisicisiug
his acts With the same freedom a. those
of the Court.
But let 10 examine the "condensed'
statement Of Mr.. Cake Of the receipts and
expenditures Of this county for the past
few gears, and the collection aud dis.
'barsemsnt Of the bounty fund. How in.
Ingenious this statement 10 psepared /;
how particular Mr.. Cake IL to give every
item Of the receipts, the delinquent taxes,
jury fees and sheriffs commissions, 10. ;
how omiuiously silent on the items Of
expenditure. Not one item Of sxpendi-
ture 10 givsa, yet all the receipts are stu.
diously giteu-snd, am frank to con.
fsss. l>believs correctly; but l cannot
admit that the expenditures are correctly
stated, unless Mr.. Cake has other books
that have not seen. In my former ar
ticle, I gave . statement Of the aggregate
receipts and expenditures, and demanded
an explanation to whom tho aggregate
expenditures went and on what account.
This statement Of Mr.. Cake, on that point,
is - silent % the grave; but Mr.. Cake,
with mock ohssrfalusss, informs the good
and solid tax payers Of this county "that
hs will furnish the items Of exp psnditurs to
any one who may see proper to call on him