Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1870-04-29
rmE rooR HOUSE eUEsTIoN.

The 9th day Of Nay IS appointed as the
day fcF the election in which the people sfe
10 decide for, or against the sale Of she pres
cnt Poor House property and the purcssse
of another 1t behooyes every tax payer to
consider this question seriously before he
votes. for in voting for the sale Of the Poor
House he votes for more taxes, The taxes
are already heavy eneGeh, bEi the sale Of
the present Poor House property and the
purchase Of another, simply means an IN
crease Of the Paor taxes from SIS, 600 to
$50, eco Every one knows that even if We
buy as good a property as the present one,
the County loses both 10 the sale and the
purchase. The County can neither sell
nor purchase property to the same adyan-
tacc as a private indiridaal 1t therefore,
both in the sale and purchase, places the
County at disadvantage. There are per
haps a hundred people in the County who
viii vote Cor sale of the present property
because they each have farm which they
hope to sch to the County fer about twice
its value. There are perhaps several hun
dred more who viii vote the same way,
with no definite idea Of what is to be done,
but simply because they have a vague notion
that the present property Is badly managed
and that the erection Of a new Poor House
viii cost great deal Of money. But new
Poor House must be built IN any event, and
the sale and purchase viii only add some
$50 600 or $50, ,G90 mere 10 the cost Of
building. Some twenty years ago a com
mittee of dozen OF more Of our best cit
zens spent a month or two in riding over
the County in search of suitable property,
ana after great deal Of time and money
had been expended, bought the present
property Is the best theY could ind in TIE
County We believe 1t is the same to-day,
and that no more suitable property can be
found in tie Ccunty 1t IS conveniently
located on the public highways, Is q. 'be
County seat, almost in the exact centre Of
the County, has an abundance oF running
wa.er TO supply the buildings, and as much
arable land, aud more, than the paupers are
able to till If need be the property can he
divided, and the mill and present buildings,
as soon as new Poor House Is erected,
may be sold for half as much as il viii cost
to erect the new building, still leaving as
much land as is needed for farming pur-
poses
The expenses for visitation hy Grand
1uFieS, and for medical attendance will be
far heavier if tie Poor House is removed
any great distance from the County seat
It Is much more convenient for al the citi-
zens Of the County to transact business with
the Poor Directors at the County seat thaz
if they were several miles distant. In fsct,
while there viii not be single substantial
advantage gained BY its removal there viii
he much lost.
Almost the only argument wc have yet
heard In favor Of a removal has been that
there would be fewer way-!aring paopers to
feed. Ifthere is any force in such an arsu-
neus, we might carry It Ettle further and
oppose the building Of Poor House at all
on the ground that We would then have 10
poor 70 keep This might DO among heath
eE, but the day has passed when such
things can be done in christian oommuni-
y. /; Is our bounieu duty to care for the
p9or, and the law provides that this shsllbe
done By levying fair aud equitable tax for
she purpoze- The way-faring poor are n
GUIDED IN our charge, and the removal Of ths
Poor House 10 auiac5u7enie1t distanos from
the public highways lays double tax upoa
those NO happen 10 live along them, for i |
complls them to support the way -faFing poor
and pay their proportionate tax besides.
No sane man vii deny the injustice Of such |
s course, These are but 4 few among many
good reasons Why the present property |
should not be sold. We might argue the |
question Al great length. but forbear at |
present. our object being simply to call the |
attention Of tax payers to the importance Of |
the matter and to let them think for them |
selves.
We vii be glad to hear both sides Of the |
question discussed By our citizens, aud our
oolumns are open to any communications on |
the subject from this time until the election.