The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-03-07
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION
Fps

ERS.
The annual report of the County
Commissioners, which has been in
soak in the hands of the examining
committee several months, appears
in this weeks DEMoeRAT. We verify
believe we have the longest winded
gentlemen of "legal lower in Preble
county, of any other in the State.
We come to this conclusion from the
length they blow off on these reports.
Ten or fifteen lines suffice in other
countics-here it requires from two
to four columns. We oughn't to
complain, however, it is a fiat take"
for the printers-we get n dollar
for every ten lines of this illegal low
err verbiage, although it is not worth
three cents to the taxpayers! They
arraign the Commissioners for pub
fishing the Delinquent Tax-lands in
the two papers, because they say
there is no law for it. Where is the
law for these legal limbs, spreading
themselves over five pages of closely
written manuscript on both sides, at
an expense to the people of one dol
lar per square? There may be no
law for the act of the Commissioners,
but there is certainly common sense,
both of which merits we fail to dis
cover in the long essay on this re.
port, which will cost more than the
Delinquent List, and as we said be-
before, not worth a pickayune to the
taxpayers. 1t is straining at a gnat
and swallowing a camel. After the
passage of the law of 1875, relating
to the legal and county advertising,
the Delinquent list was published in
two papers in all counties, and al
though that law is q little obscure
on the matter, it was generally de-
cided by legal gentlemen that it was
correct to do SO, at least just to those
whose property was in jeopardy and
we're not patrons of both papers. All
law and no common sense would be
poor government, and Commission
ers are not expected to sit down and
do nothing except what is prescrib-
ed for them in the statutes. In the
matter of publiea-printing~Preble
county expends less than any other
county in the State of equal popula-
ton.
In the case of collecting the de-
linquent taxes, either the legal
acumen of these gentlemen is at
fault, or the Commissioners who are
codifying the laws mistaken. In I'll
tie XIII, page IA, in regard to the
collection of delinquent taxes, sec
ton 81, we quote:
"The county commissioners shall,
at their September session, annually,
cause the list of persons delinquent
in the payment on personal property
to be publicly made: and they may
at any time, if they deem the same
necessary, authorize tibet treasurer
to employ collectors to collect the
same, or any part thereof, prescrib.
ing the compensation of such collec
tors. which shall be paid out of the
county treasury"
Certainly the language here is
PLAIN enough, and that the collection
of the delinquent taxes has been il
accordance with this provision, NJ
one will deny. If there are no largel
leaks in cur county funds, than tn,
one OF two SC redundantly descanteG
upon by this committee, at one dolai
for every ten lines, we can safely sa,
that Preble county is the most eco
nomical and best governed county il
the State, and the Examiners may
hereafter dismiss the Reports witt
but ten or twelve lines, and at
cost not to exceed twenty five cents
instead of double that many dollars
as in the two last cases. Yale.