Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-01-07
Our County Board.

were constrained to visit the County
Board at its session at the Court House
last week. We found an excellent
stock company interspersed with
q stars" We witnessed both tragedy
and farce, the farce predomiuating
The 9 tragedy was not extremely
heavy ; the farce was exceedingly
light. We doubt if the Board has
had SO stormy session in years. and
though exceedingly stormy, we hail it
as d good omen. This stirring up OF
the dirty waters, r.4ust, as naturally as
dew falls, evolve stencil, and the
quicker the etHuvia is risen, the sooner
the pool will have become purified and
health will be founo in the waters
where hitherto have been only disease
and contsgion. Where there is diver
sity of opinion, facts will be arrived at
and though facts are stubborn things, :"
yet let's have them, for we were never
IN better condition to taste and digest
them. Our county jar is just more
than ready to masticatc tough food.
All the gastric powers of its stomach
are keen and ready to dissolve, or rath-
er reduce to a pulp the toughest ''fod-
der that can be brought into It's ca
pacious nav. Therefore we were glad
when they said unto us "let us go up
TO the House" of the savants Of Wood
County and--sce the fun. 1t was like
gong to funeral, we thought, but it
proved rather a Donnybrook fair The
Kilkenny cats were "nowhere." We
thought to be mourner; We found our
self spectator of a heap Of fun. We
thought we had mistaken the House of
Mourning for the Theatre ComiQue.
Being in, we mistook the parquette for
the pit and before we came out we YER
itably thought we mere IN the PIT, though
we were cognizant of lower depth
in the first story) where tax payers
wrestle with flesh and blood in the
shape of principalities and pocers
But why recount the idiosyncrasies Of
County Board? What matters it to
the people whether Bose whips Tige, or
Tige, Bose? Who cares whether school
keeps or not, so long as the 'Eschool
MON boards around For these
things no one cares but for those
things coming closely home to us and
affecting our mutual interests. all care
A County Board is in every respect a
Legislature, Congress, Parliament,
and its deliberations onght to be clothed
with dccency, its business ought 20
be conducted in manner conducive to
the best interest Of the whole commun-
itY. We witnessed more of selfshness
in that one brief hour at the Court
House last Wednesday week, and less
of that selt-sacrifcing spirit which
ought to animate body of counselors
than we ever before witnessed in con-
vocation of public men met to further
public interests. ''Pro bono Pubiico'
seemed to have no meaning for some of
the ~ wise men TO whom are entrust-
ed the most vital Interests OF our coun-
ty. The County Board numbers many
excellent men. 1t numbers, also, some
woefuliy wretched apologies for men.
1t has come to be a practice among
towns to send men to our county legis-
lature who can claim only the merit of
availabiiity-men who are able through
force of circumstances to 'sscoop" bet
ter men, and to such are entrusted
the making of county laws and the
transaction of county business. This
is all wrong. Our Comfy Board
shonld be composed of the best style Of
men, men of brains, men of conscience
men of principle. Men who can un-
derstand questions of moment and can
see through the mists that oftentimes en-
shroud vital questions. Men who will not
l.
when an q amendment" or All amend
ment to an amendment necessarily
comes before the body to be acted up
on. Men who are not afraid to vote
aye" or no out loud. and having
vstsd inteiigently. dare maintain their