The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-11-24
BOSS AIILLHOF.


Coal and Stone.
Some one in your paper, lately, over
the signature of observer" called the
attention of the public to matters per-
tanning to the city. 1t is high time the
attention of the public is called to job
berry existing in matters of the county.
1t will no doubt surprise the people to
learn that the boss jObber of our county
is one of our County Commissioners -
Boss MillhOf.
Whilst commissioner 1t is unlawful
for him directly or Indirectly to be in
teTested in supplies furnished the cOun-
ty, or contracts entered into by the Com
missiOners; yet he is and has been fur
nishing coal to heat the Court House.
Reprehensible as this is, his method is
far worse. Coal is hauled from his yard
and dumped into the public coal house,
but no weigh bills are furnished for the
janitOT to sign as each load is unlOaded,
as is the custom when private parties
receive coal; and no account Is kept by
the janitOr of the number of loads deliv-
cred, but when MillhOf wants money he
takes bundle of weigh bills to the jan
itOr, who cOmplacently signs the whole
batch, though he has not and cannot
have any knowledge of the correctness
of the bills by him signed. This method
violates every principle of law and JUS
tice. There is in it no protection to the
taxpayers whatever. 1t is the old pTin-
ciple illustrated by the fable, wherein
the wolf undertakes to protect the lambs
against himself, the wolf. Commits
siOner MillhOf guards the interest of the
taxpayers against himself. And it is a
fact that under such a system, even
MillhOf himself is unable to certify or
know how much coal has been furnish
ed to the Court House, for when the dTi-
veTs of MillhOf know no weigh bills are
to be signed by the ianitOT, VINO can say
that all the coal sent from the yard was
delivered to the Court House. No one.
And besides this, MillhOf charges the
county much more for his coal than he
offered to supply the city with the same
quality of coal.
But it seems, also, that as an adjunct
to the Office of commissioner, MillhOf
also finds it convenient to have a stone
quarry down at Dundee, in Tuscarawas
county. This may account for the nu-
meTOus costly stone culVertS and bridg-
es that are to be seen throughout the
county, where they are not needed, or
where at most a few sewer pipe would
nave answered just as we'll. At any
rate they are all made out of his Dundee
stone.
And, moreover, it is said there is no
tract for building culverGs. or abutments
for bridges, unless the party uses his
Dundee stone.
And it is a fact that stone have been
hauled from MillhOf's quarry at Dundee,
on the COnnOttOn, to Canton, and then
carried from Canton to MapletOn sta
tiOn, on the Connection, and then hauled
on wagons from MapletOn station over
very bad roads, two miles, to build the
abutments of two bridges, when within
two miles of said bridges is a stone
quarry of superior stone, and so cheaply
TO be had, that it is largely
used by the P. Ft. W. 81 c. R'y
Company, Ito whom, as is well known,
the MasaillOn stone is so easily accessi-
ble), though it has to be hauled by wag-
Ons or miles to Louisville station.
A blind man eau here see that the con-
tractors who built those bridges would
not have brought those stone from Dun
dee to Canton, and from Canton to Ma
pletOn station at great expense, when
there was superior and cheaper stone
in the vicinity, unless hey were forced
to do so, and unless the difference in the
cost came out of the treasury How
could it be otherwise when the wolf pro-
tects the lambs against the wolf?
TAXPAYER.