The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-09-22
THE INDIANA STATE SENTINEL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

treasurer. and mono othe., received and re-
ceipted for by the auditor. Fourth; no
sworn list offiues, unclaimed Jury aid wit
! ness fees were found fled in any of the
offices, as required by law to be annually
done, and the moneys paid overto the county
treasurer according to said sworn lists
Fifth, where mortgages for school funds
loaned had been renewed and the funds &C
counted for, yet the proceedings and ac-
counts were not carried on according TO the
instructions of the law. Finally, the re-
port closes with this remarkable state ment:
BY no means am able TO say that The funds
or your county are In wholesome or uDwhole-
quire six months of hard labor to make out a
detailed statement OF the true condition OF these
| funds.
competency of the past and present incum-
bents of the offices of Tippecanoe county?
But the point of startling importance is a
statement at the outset of this official report.
and repeated toward the close, in these
words:
The most of the irregularities, misapplicaiion
OF the funds, falling to collect interest, etc. 1
ana prevails in a.lalge majority OF the seventy
two counties have been In and account for IL
| in this way: In place of the officers following
ne law as II now is; they follow the footsteps of
their predecessors"
The substance of this well considered
testimony is, that in majority of the conn
ties in this State the financial business is not
conducted according to the requirements of
the statutes which aim at the careful and
certain preservation of the funds.
and that the incumbents of the
county offices are often, if not
generally, inefficient and incompetent.
When it is considered that the bulk of all
the taxes paid and disbursed by such county
are county and township taxes; that con-
siderable sums reach the treasury and
school fund from the COURTS and licenses. it
is obvious that the chief value of an officer,
outside of his integrity, lies in his education
and business capacity. Political affiliations,
whom man voted for in the presidential
election, what his theory of national finance
is, are all Of little practical importance CON-
pared with the business head which he
wears on his shoulders. If he is not a COM
petent scholar, and at the same time is a little
loose in the handle as to honesty, il
ne Is one of these on whom
Office has been conferred as a reward for
for some political service, with the tacit un-
Outstanding that he is to make his s'pile" in
a term or two, who can doubt where these
unrecorded and mixed moneys, licenses,
fines, and unclaimed fees will go? Where
have they been going for twenty years, the
period over which Col. Donshey traced
some OF the errors which he found
There is lesson here about the sc.
lection of officers worthy of consideration
And wh5E an honest and competent officer
has once vol learned the law and bis duties
under it, a question of no trifing moment
will necessarily arise about the soundness OF
the zone term principle" If The officer is
restricted to.one term it compels the con-
tinuaEce of clerks and deputies more than
one term. and devolves all responsibility on
subcrdinates, making them, as they often
.are, of far more importance to the people
than the chief officer himself. There is not
much good sense in changing a tried and
proved servant for green hand. in order
to subserve individual party interest al
the peoples expense-though the vice OF
the times rs rendering unworthy officials
perpetual These and other valuable infer
ences aresuggested by the facts above pre-
/ scented.