Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-04-11
larraster fntellige1lcer.
A Rude RefOrner.

Faunce. Mr.. Garrett IS OF Lne Colhnul'
tee of One Hundred and lately received
an appointment from Governor Pattlsoo
upon the board of public charities, being
confirmed, after some hesitation, by the
Senate. Mr.. Garrett, having got
through with the election work OF the
last campaign, and being, perhaps, IN not
the most beatifc state of mind over
the results of his labors therein, |
brought to the accomplishment o..
his duties as member of the board
of public charities a mind saVaSe'y
disposed to uproot things; OF COURSE
for the public benefit. Mr. "ar-
rett being of the One Hundred can nave
no aspiration that is not for the puoilc
benefit but equally as matter oi
course, being of the Onel Hundred, .he
righteousness of his method of reachlns
his beneicent aim is open to question:
Quite possibly the board of which ne finds
himself a member is not as efficient ;.s 1t
might be; few boards are. POSSIBLY
board of public charities composed OF
Mr.. Garrett alone would do the work
a great deal better. We are hardly
permitted to think, from the Tone OF
Mr.. CARROTS letter to Speaker Faunce,
that he at least has any doubt that il
Garrett had imperial control the fame OF
Pennsylvania's charities would soon
shine the world over with burning bril-
!iancy.
Mr.. Garrett assures the Speaker that
inst as soon as he received his appoint
ment to the board he "set to work to
learn its ms and OUTS which was
very proper thing to do. And he "soon
satisfied himself that the general agent
and secretary was too old ana
incompetent, and should be It.
placed by younger and more
systematic and vigorous man and
certainly it was very creditable to MI.
Garrett's quckness of apprehension that
he SO soon discovered what his associates
do not seem yet to have learned for he
did not succeed in removing the general
ayent and secretary although he tried
TO do it in an indirect way hy moving
that be be required to live at Harris
burg. knowing that DR.. Luther had
said that he would resign if this were
DONE
We greatly fear that Mr.. Garrett, in
thus beating about the bush TO Indirect
ly remove an officer whom he believed 70
be incompetent, has cast a serious reilec-
tion upon the One Hundred, for which
that immaculate body Of straight
forward hew-tO-the line reformers should
discipline him.
But then it seems that Mr.. Garrett S
second discovery was that some OF the
members of the board" were inattentive
TO their duties" and that he "caused a
resolution to be passed looking to their
resignation and removal" In view of
Mr.. CARROTS boldness in taking these
bulls by the horns and advancing by the
shortest cut to the reform he desired,
perchance his fellows Of the One Hun
dred will forgive him for his sidelong
movement towards the removal OF the
secretary.
With an incompetent general agent
and inattentiye members the natural
expectation would be that the through
gong Garrett would be greatly disSatlS-
fled with the results of the labOrS OF the
board. But it is not so; which is all the
more surprising since he declares that
the Legislature has crippled the board
in its work by cutting down its originally
too small appropriation. Despite these
serious drawbacks to its usefulness MIR.
Garrett declares that this board has
done and is doing an amount of good that
many of your members little imagine. y II
this be 50, the Legislature will probably
take its time to consider whether al
agency which has accomplished such al
urimagined amount of good is one to be
rudely interfered with. 1t is well known
that the work of the board of directors
whatever its value, is that of its veteran
general agent and secretary, DIR. Dillel
Luther, of our neighborng city of Read
ing, a gentleman old in years. it is true,
but therefore ripe in experience and
certainly possessing degree OF
bodily and mental vlgor which
shows none of the impairing signs of age
Excepting slight deafness, DIR. Luther
is in the perfect possession of all lis
faculties, and is as fully competent to
the discharge of his duties as ever. 1T
may be that another man could do them
better yet if it be true that results OF
great and little imagined value have
come from DIR. Luther's conduct of the
work of the board of public charities,
it would seem that better general agent
would he found with difficulty.
Mr.. Garrett may he such a man, but
we doubt it. He may be superior to DR..
Luther in energy and action but we
find good reason in his letter to distrust
his good sense, his tact and his polite
. ness. Mr.. Garrett does not show any
aptitude at reaching properly his aim.
lie should not have addressed his in
dictment of the board to the speaker of
the House. The governor of the state
was the proper party to listen to his
complaint.
The conspicuous bad taste exhibited
by Mr.. Garrett in his publication is not
atoned for by the conspicuous value of
its recommendations. His own words
contradict his words of denunciation of
the secretary and the members and the
Recommendation no makoa fbat tho coo .