The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1879-04-04
The Office of County Commissioner.

The Office Of County Commissioner is one
Of the most important that the people of the
counties ofthis State have to fill. But strange
10 say, in the canvas for nominations its i'm
portance is overlooked. The filling of other
offices, of larger salary, but of really no more
responsibility, ovcrshadow it, and it may hap
pen, therefore, that the best men are not always
chosen. 1t is, perhaps, not very desirable
office to a man determined 10 do his duty by
endeavoring to prevent the constantly in
creasing tendency to lavish expenditures of
the public money but ii is an office in which
an honest and judicious person can not fail
to acquire in the end, the good esteem of tax
payers, while making himself useful to his
fellow citizens. This apparent indifference of
tax payers to their interests is felt not only in
our own State, but elsewhere As showing
this, the following sensible and truthful article
and affording food for thought in our coun-
ty, in relation to the office of County Commits
sioner, known in Illinois as Supervisor is
taken from the Bulletin published at Warsaw
Hancock county, Illinois, of which Mr.. Philip
Dallam is editor and proprietor Mr. Dial.
lam is the grandson ofMr. Frank Middlemore
Dallam, who emigrated from this county to
Kentucky, many years ago, and whose de-
scendants are now among the most respecta.
BILE citizens of Illinois, Missouri and Califor.
mia:
An office of more responsibility than is
commonly attached to it is that of supervisor
1t is the board of supervisors who administe,
the affairs of the county; who fix the salaries
OF officers, who incur debts, pass on claims
and levy taxes to pay the same. 1t is diff
terence OF hundreds-nay thousands of dol
lars annually to the taxpayers whether the
very best men constitute the board, or wheth
er it is made up Of easy-going individuals
whose integrity, in the general acceptation Of
the word, is not questioned, but whose aver
sion to controversies or disputes makes them
incompetent to serve rightly the interests OF
the people. A man for that office is one who
will exercise that vigilance over public af
fairs which he applies in guarding his own
that determination in searching out the wrong
and persistence in maintaining the right which
precludes the possibility of fraud and Ions of
the chances ofthe bloodsuckers who ever await
the opportunity to fasten upon the public
treasury. He needs to be fearless man, who
will act without favor and impartially, rel gard
less of its bearing on his aspirations for tho
future. In other words, purely, severely
conscientious man, capable and willing to dis
charge the duties of the office. Too frequent
~ have voters dropped into the grave errol
of electing to this Office men whose only re
commentator was their "good- heartedness, ;
or aftability, or, possibly, their stupidity
linked with the fact that they were popular
because they never had the courage to oppose
apopuar evil or advocate an unpopular good
Ofcourse, this error is not alone confined tC
Hancock county, or to the election of super
visors. But we are now dealing with ou
own county and our own people, ant
II is with the hope that the voters, bt
they Republicans or Democrats will be in
duced to exercise more Judgment more
discretion more caution, in the selection O
candidates for that Office than they have in
the past. We hear great deal about econo
my, but we shall never see it manifested il
the administration of our county affairs unit
voters generally are less economical in theil
exhibition of common sense when choosing
supervisors. If the experience of the past il
not sufficient to impel the citizens of Hancock
county to action, then all effort in that direc
tion is useless, and they are deserving of the
burden of unnecessary taxes which are he
coming yearly more and more rnbearablc