Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-08-06
Special Correspondence OF tho Cincinnati Gazette.

at the economy and reform Of the late Demo-
cratic General Assembly.
THE CENTRAL ASYLUM FRAUD.
Under Republican management as is well
! known, the benevolent and refOrmatory institu-
tions Of Ohio have been managed by Boards of
Trustees, who served without pay or any COM
pensation whatever, except their actual expenses
while in session. As soon as the Democracy
could bring the thing about, they turned out the
old Board OF Trustees Of the Central Lunatic
! Asylum, and replaced them with a Board of
Commissioners, at salary of 81 900 each.
THE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS MADE POLITICAL.
| II any thing in the State should be
kept clear of the sinister and cor
rupting Influence of partisan politics,
it is those institutions which the State has pro-
| vided for the benefit of the criminal the intem-
perate, or the afiicted yet this Democratic
Legislature laid its hand on six of them, besides
| the Central Bunatic Asylum, namely; the
| Southern, Northern, and Athens Lunatic Asy-
! lums, the Blind Asylum, the Soldiers Orphans
! Home, and the Penitenuary, reorganzed them
that the Steward of each is made political Off
! Ger, appointed by the Observation-Disclosures
| boiling his place at the Governors good will
and pleasure.
WORKING OF PEN1TENTIARY REORGANIZATION.
How has Democratic economy worked in tae
! Penitentiary? The Board of Directors in their
| late annual report endeavored to make ont q
] CssS ldfOI VI Inc new administration, DY COM
paringSthe receipts and expenses during the
seven months the Democrats had control of it
with the preceding seven months of Republican
management, and pretended out saving of
| some $4,000 in their own stftyor. But it so
| happens that when the sRebublican Of
fcals went out, they turned over to
| the new officials So, 933 68 worth 6f supplies of
| all kinds, which were counted in as expenses
under the Republican rule, and not counted as
,. receipts under the Democratic regime. By this
contemplate trick the Directors sought to ma Ike
out balance in their own favor when it was
exactly the other way.
As if to contound these jugglers with each
others testimony, there was printed in the
| same pamphlet with the Directors report q
separate report by Warden Innis, in which
he differs with the Directors as to the excess of
! receipts over disbursements by $5,795 81. When
| his attention was called to that, he said be had
forgotten to include in his report the cost OF gas
! 706 SO, and when pressed to account for the
other S20S9 0i, the discrepancy still remaining,
! he was silent, and has never accounted for it
since.
The receipts of the penitentiary form no
criterion from which to iudSe of the economy of
the management, for those receipts continually
vary with, and depend upon, the demand for,
| and the price OF, the convcts labor. But the
! current expense account shows the thing exactly
These expenses for the current year ending in
| 1874, under Republican rule, were S37 80;
! while for the next year, ending IN 1875, under
! Democratic rule they increased to $9S 057 9S or
| nearly 22 per cent, an increase only very par
| TALLY accounted for by some augmentation in
the number of convicts. This increase of
| SlS.220 80 for current expenses is not all The
! salary account under the last year of Republic
an management, was $67 042 D. which rose
! during the first year of the Democratic regime
! TO S74, l49 l3, being an increase of 81, ,l06 81
! or more than 10 per cent. Adding this in
| crease for salaries to the increase of the cur
! rent expense account and there is shown a total
increase of $25 227 So for the first Democratic
| year, as compared with the last Republican
| year. Verify the people should thank the
| Democratic Legislature aud Gov. Allen for their
! wise and economical arrangements Surely
the Warden, who mourns over the prevalence of
st James translation of the Bible and forth
with consoles himself by expending nearly $70
of the public money in books for the Catholic
Church. is worth $4,000 year
ATTEMPTED BACK PAY GRAB.
The refOrmatory ali economical spirit of the
! late General Assembly showed itself early in its
first session; for shortly after it came s.-sther
| it adopted a sounding resolution against the
| Congressional back-pay business. But in De-
cemher, 1874, they adjourned from the 23i to
the 29th OF tine month, and then actually en-
deavored to draw pay for the interval when
| they were not in session at all. This atrocous
grab was only prevented by the frmness OF the
Auditor of State, who refused 70 issue the war;
! rants, and thus saved the State from Il steal of
/ 81 Tl5. Thus these Democratic reformers were
checked in unlawful raid upon the Treas
ury by an honest Republican official, and that
this Democratic Legislature which began BY
terribly denouncing Congress for voting them
selves increased compensation for the time they
had already served, ended by attempting to
| hlch from the treasury full pay for time in
which they never served at all.
SURRENDER TO TIE RoMIsu PRIESTHOOD.
The record made by this Democratic Assem-
| bly, in its surrender to the combined efforts
of Romish priests in the LOBBY of
| both houses, and to the alternate
promises and threats of the Romish press end
ing IN the passage of the shameful Geghan bill,
is so well known that will not recur to it here
except to say that before the passage of this bill
no rights of any Catholic Clergyman had been
Disseminated against and no rights of any citi-
zen denied; and the bill was simply an insolent
instrument tality by which the ROmish clergy
determined to assert their ownership of the
Democratic party, and test the patience of the
people. The Geghan bill was not the FIRST but
the second, step in their accursed pro-
| gramme of breaking down the public
schools and sitting religious liberty. The first
| was taken when they proclaimed war upon the
] Bible, aud actually expelled it from the schools
| of Cincinnati and elsewhere.
THE TOLEDO NIQUITY.
II the late Legislature will remain dishonored
for all time by what it actually did, it will be
held IN detestat0n by every American for a
piece OF yllainy that it attempted and failed in.
Last winter, the city of Toledo the third in
size and Importance of Ohio cities, had a good
municipal government, and one with which
niue-tenths of her people were satisfied. Her
Council was Republican, Board of Aldermen
Democratic, and each constituted far and
proper check upon the other, so as to prevent
extravaganza and detect corruption. The Mayor
was Democrat, and 80 also was the City Soc-
itor, Frank Q. Hurd. A ring of real estate Job
bers and speculators desired to enrich themselves
at the expense of the city. They found the
Board of Aldermen, consisting of eight persons,
disposed to lend listening ear TO their schemes;
but the Council, a more numerous body,
and more directly representing the people, was
inhexiby opposed. The City Solicitor and
Mayor were both favorable TO, and one of them
at least deeply interested in the projects of the
ring. The April election was coming on. II
they could not get an endorsement of their spec
ulation previous to that, they knew it was all up
with them, for they had wholesome fear OF
thepeope, as ringsters nearly always do. So they
prepared for raid on the Legislature