, 1879-04-13

No man who knowingly votes to pay un-
! lawful salaries is fit to administer the law,
aud no North-Town Justice who fails to put
himself upon the record against this attempt
ed fraud should be confirmed by the Senate.
Official dishonesty should bur official honors.
DANGEROUS POSSIBILITIES FOB CoRRUP-
TON.
The annual publication of the delinquent
ta1 list is fraud upon the people, and in
the case OF Cook County alone it amounts to
an annual waste Of from $50, 900 to 800, 900.
The practice involves n waste, whether or
not it is utilized by officials and their friends
for personal profit, and should be abandoned
on that account but it has become especial
ly dlsreputable and obnoxious because the
arbitrary rate fixed by law excludes competi-
tion for the work, and enables the County
Treasurer either to show favoritism or to
render the job profitable to himself By exact
ing from the newspaper printing the List
division Of the spoils. 4 bill is pending in
the Lower House Of the Legislature which
purports to abolish the publication now re-
quired but, like most measures conceived
by the present Legislature, it does not &C.
compish but fraction Of what it pretends.
The proposed law provides that it shall
only be necessary to publish 3 general
notice in the newspaper TINT an application
is to be made at q certain term Of court for
Judgment against property on which the
taxes remain unpaid. So far, so good. But
then the bill provides that, after Judgment
shall have been rendered and before the sale
of the delinquent property, notice shall be
published OF the time Of such sale, which
shall include complete description Of the
lands and lots to be sold, names Of owners,
amount Of judgment, etc. This will be as
long and costly publication, i'll the end, as t
is required by the present law. For time !
the general notice Of application for judg-
ment mag induce good many taxpayers to |
come to the front; but they will soon learn to
defer payment until after the publication
Of the notice to sell, and then tho
List will be as extensive as ever. Thus, un-
der the proposed condition Of things, the
both for spending the public
money and for corrupt official appropriation
Of part thereof will be as broad as it is
now. The only remedy is to do away with
Ill publication except that of n general notice
If application for Judgment and subse-
luent general notice Of sale. Two such no.
tices would serve every public purpose, and
lost but few dollars a year:
The testimony taken in the bfcCREA inves-
igation at Springfield reveals in part the op-
oortunitics for corruption which this annual
publication Of the deinquent-tax list affords.
Nhataver personal connection County Treas-
[rer McCnEA may or may not have had with |
he negotiations for last year's publication, |
he testimony thus far leaves no room for
oubt that one Of his bondsmcn, thht another
cntleman who had been intimately associat-
with him socially and politically, and that
is own brother, were cognizant Of an effort !
, secure part of the sum allowed by law :
u the benefit Of somebody who was to bear no :
art Of the expense incurred in printing the | !
st, and was in no wise entitled to any por- +
on Of the proceeds. IF VIC assume TINT 7
ounty- Treasurer McCREA knew nothing of | T
lese negotiations and was not to be bene-
cia1y of the proposed division Of money,
ACA suo AtAII t1tt l4ac Acto,oL4allouS were car |
ed On without his knowledge only shows y
ow much easier the corruption would be t
lth the full conniyauce aud consent Of the I
1icial in control. Still, assuming that Coun- Il
Treasurer 8IcCREA was not personally in e
rested in the proposed division Of the O
oils, that fact did not prevent the job Of S.
1blicetion being taken away from the news O.
per for which he had previously indicated n
preference, but which refused to pay for the | il
t1onage. If, then, the law as it stands p!
en- enables outside parties to trade sue N
ssfuly on the awarding Of the contract, cl
Nv much more pernicious would be it's in
arings and effects if the Office of County N
easurer should ever happen to be occupied st
man who would consent to use the c1
wer Of selecting the advertising medium OF
means for his Own personal profit! of
But the possibilities of corruption. as il en-
'trated by the evidence in the MoCREA th
'e, extend beyond the Immediate counec-
\ OF County Treasurer OF his friends a
tn division of the proceeds. In that M
'e, it appears that not only were men init nj
te with County Treasurer McCnrA going it
3ut using his Yrivi1aoa fo- -,,...: A. | H.