Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1877-01-31
Cheating Around the Board.
ACT RELATING 70 snERITFs.


Laws of that Session is as follows:
Zach Sheriff shall receive the
"sum Of two dollars per day for eacl
"day Of his 0acn attendance upon We
"County and Supreme Cont, and
"Court OF Chancery, and two dollars
"per day TOR the necessary attendance
"of each of his Deputies upon the
aforesaid Courts. "
The following is true copy Of
Sheriff Stimson's account as allowed,
and paid him:
December Term, 1876.
STATE OF VERMONT, DIR.
To S. w. STMsoN, Sheriff
To paid Clergyman fer prayers $500
- Gas bills to date 400
To summoning 80 Petit Jurors 2l.75
- Is Grand /" 1900
To paid for work on out House $50
To paid for Deputy attendance on
Chancery Court 200
To paid for cleaning Court House 800
Is for X. oil and Broom 1870
% " lamp chimney Il wick OBS
To paid for dipper, pail X. oil, gas rench I3O
To paid for lock, cleaning clock. wicking,
Gas fixtures, 2.25
TO paid for one cord Of wood and fitting
for stove ATS
TO paid for saving and fitting IL cords
for stove 5.25
| To for | 2 bush salt for sink spout &c IT
| oil GtoIn
To attendance on Court Al days $500
TO paid for attendance OF Bellman Al d'ys 81. 90
To attendance Of Deputies on Court ll3
days 226.OO
To serving State subpocnas for wit
nesses l54.0O
To serving capiases for State on Lynch
IIaswell, Hadley, Campbell a. Newell 1905
To taking MILFORD d Sprout to Stat, prison 800
TO taking Joseph Hickey to Stat. prison II 20
To taking Geo. Stiner g " 500
TO taking Henry Sanderson to = ll.20
To taking Joseph Ketchie to " 400
To taking Charles Campbell to " " 100
10 taking Henry Graylin by Governors
order to State Prison 1910
| To bringing Henry Graylin to Court from
State Prison 1920
To summoning Petit Jurors $50
$7llG7
We Intend next week, or soon after,
to publish the accounts Of the County
Judges for their services showing the
sums paid them, rs well as sunlry
other bills, including the coronor's
inquest bill ut " cathcrsfeld.
REFORM NEEDED.
We stepped into the County Clerks
Office 4 day or two since, and looked
over some Of the items Of expenses Of
the late term Of our County Court,
which is said to have been the most
expensive term for the State. ever
held here. We propose 10 publish
some Of the bills allowed and paid.
that the tax payers may see to whom
the money is pad, and for what ind
Of service. And night here we would
like the Court Auditor or some one
else to tell tbs why it is, that while the
County Court was in session but
Muy-eight days, all told, and all the
County Clerk charges for his attend
ance in has account, the Sheriff, S. W.
Stimson charges for himself and his
raft Of deputies toHyooe days, at too
dollars u day each,
As we understand it, the Sheriff
receives two dollars day for his sat.
tendance upon Cowt' and two dollars
a day for the "0ecessary attendance
upon Court" of each Of his deputies.
Now how tho Sheriff can have the
face to charge two dollars day, each,
for himself and several deputies, for
three more days, than the whole time
the Court was in session, is what we
wish to have explained, We have
called upon the Court Auditor for
explanation, and he says, that not
knowing at the time, when he allowed
his account, the number Of days
Court had been in session, he took
the Sheriff statement as to the num-
Der Of days to be correct, and suppos
ed at the time it was so. In the
Court Auditor, it is an instance of
misplaced confidence. We ask him
to be more careful hereafter.
1t Is time Tor the people, The tax
payers, to examine carefully the bills
that 90 to make up the amount of our
State expenses which are so rapidly
increasing every year. The AGE
proposes to let the people see how and
where the money goes, to certain
extent at least, and we think it will
be found in the end to be profitable
reading, If to some, 1t is not SO pleas
ing.
Why will not one or both Of the
papers published in Rutland, publish
for the benefit of the people at large,
some of the bills allowed by the Court
Auditor for that County at the last
term Of the Court. We think they
would like to look over the items of the
Sheritf's account-perhaps when they
have done so--they will be able to de-
tect a good reason why the Sheriff is
always SO anxious to secure q re-