Daily Republican., 1881-05-02
Aims House Affairs.

the present year SprOgramme by giving
out their contracts for bread, beef, salt
meats, dry goods, hardware, black
smithing, drugs and Nhiskies entirely
to Democrats. 1t is to be presumed that
the committee asked for proposals for
furnishing these articles and that they
gave the contracts to the lowest bid
lers but it will strike most people as a
little singular that no Republicans get
any of the contracts if this principle
was carried out 1t may I've said that
none but Democrats made proposals for
supplies and work. If this is 50 why is
it so" Republicans are generally
about as anxious to engage in business
transactions as Democrats are, and as a
general thing they can no doubt
furnish material and do work as cheap
as Democrats do.
Why then is it that Republicans can
never get contract from the Trustees
of the Poor" If the system Of partisan
favoritiSln enforced by the Board OF
Trustees has made it useless for Eepub-
licans to bid on contracts then the Sys-
TEN is wretchedly y bad and will sooner or
later eliminate III a ring which Will
wrong and rob the county. When all
but a certain select few are deferred
from making bids, the nucleus OF Il
ring has already been formed.
In connection with this subject it
will be noticed that Il slight change las
been made in the hecommittee on accounts
of the Board of Trustees, Mr., Brinton
who was on last year has been showed
off and Mr. Hickman put on in his
place. and that committee now stands, |
Messrs. Lackey, Hickman, Springer
and Watkins, The committee Oh sup
plies still StaRdS the same as last year |
Messrs. Brinton, Lackey, Springer and |
Cooch. All of thesr except Mr COoch |
were on the committee on accounts last |
year, making it exceedingly y convenient
for MessrS. Briuton, Lackey and Spring
er who furnished the supplies TO HAY.
their bills audited and passed on bv
MeSSrS. Lackey, BriutOu and Springer
who were also on the committee on ac-
counts, This being rather steep Il
slight change was made at the annual
meeting of the Board last week and
only MeSsrS. Lackey and Springer
were left upon each committee. The
slight change made, only calls the at ;
tention OF the public to thy fact that d
Messrs. Springer and LaXey are still
left where they can aGlit and pass
their OVID DAls. The question will It
arise why>should any person who is on
a coaninittee for furnishing supplies, be
placed on an auditing committee where {
they must audit and pass the bills
which they contracted for" Why not {
have al entirely different auditing {
Any person with the l.
smallest buSin",S-capAcity will see AT a y
glance why no person who has any +
thing to do with furnishing supplies d
should audit his own accounts. "
There is too much secrecy in the pro- y
'eedingS of the Trustees of the Poor c'
The public is permitted to know annu- Il
lily how much it costs in bulk to carry 'e
N the Aims House departments, but 'e
his is not enough. The exchanges that III
each US from Pennsylvania have annu- "a
lily two or three columns of reports of o'
temiZed expenses. The people there arr
1now exactly what their money is poid mt
or. They know how much beef, bread. We
lothing, drugs and whSkics are used an
md they know exactly what they cost, eV'
iere we know nothing of the kind, we
'ur Trustees spend annually some S25- oe'
W OF the peoples money, but frcln the oo>
leagre reports that are given the people INT
0 not know what becomes Of it, The 'Ih
ublcation Of the itemized accounts of III
lie Directors Of the Poor Of Lancaster can
'unty, Pa, uncovered series of pecu- 'at
non and miSmanagement which was
disgrace to the party in bower and !
e nave no heAitanry in saying that ga
le pecuIatorS were Republicans, but l''i
ley peculated nO more, for the nortv Inc
lat elected them threw them out of ''N
nee and elected more honest servants ''i''
ON the same party. We do not charge VIZ
e Trustees Of the Poor of New Castle IN
unty with populations or even mis- WA
but for aught the people ''e"
now about it they may be guilty of He'
9TH. The prevailing system of giving ''o
1t contracts, and the composition Of ''t
le Supply and Auditing committees "le'
re not calculated to disarm the people resi-
suspicion. The secrecy that is thrown pro
rouhh the proceedings Of the Board Of ''''
ruSteeS cannot be looked upon with S'lo
'Vor ny the people who pay the taxes i"'
The people have right to know how ed
luch meat is furnished for the Aims ana
louise and how much n pound is maid Wh'
II it; how much bread is furnished Iald
nd now much paid forit; theamouut nag
drugs and what they cost; whiskev
I'D what 1t cost; drygoods and what l
icy cost Discharged inmates say that oee
~ goods are misapplied. The people .''e'
I've a right to know what drvpoods mi
we been purchased and whether tie ,'''
mates got them. They do not know. D'o
hat becomes Of them because there is ~"
ver any report made. All the public -
allowed to know, is that p. Campbell ~
Co., or some other Democratic firm "i'
at works nm wol1 in +ho -" ~ - tor.