Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1884-10-11

OOu1C, NC pIlutCu upon CuC tiChCtcs
Those who favor the new system of
one commissioner for each district,
will scratch out the words +" Against
modification of County Court" and
those who favor the present system
OF three commissioners will rub out
or erase the words "For modifica.
ton of County Court.n 1t is a ques.
ton for the voters to decide. The
act vas voted for by the Republican
member from this County, the Green.
back member, in the House, and by
the two Democratic Senators from
this district.
Some of the leading men of the
County are in favor of the district
system (seven commissioners, and
some in favor of the County system
three commissioners). One objec-
ton to seven commissioners is, that
the County might elect bad or un.
qualified man for district, whom it
would not want. AS one commits.
sioner must come from each district,
the best man would have the best
chance of being elected. Again it
is said that seven men would not
give the satisfaction that three do,
though it must be admitted that
three men are more easily managed
by designing persons than seven.
The act provides for increasing
the number of commissioners to
seven, so that each district will have
one member and only one. If the
commissioner for any district moves
out of it, bis seat is thereby vacated.
The pay is the same as that of the
present Court.
Preston County votes this year on
a similar proposition. We take
from the Preston Journal few
points in favor of the new system,
again, as far as we are
concerned, that it is matter for
the voters themselves to decide
The HERALD advocating neither
one side nor the other:
We believe in the township
system. There should be a board
of commissioners in every district,
which should have full control of all
the road an bridge business and
school business of that district.
The chief objection to the three
commissioner court, as we have
heard it, is that 1t is not sufficiently
large to know the peculiar wants of
all the sections. The object was to
cure this defect. But an insepara-
BILE evil of all purely representative
bodies is that great one of "log-roll-
ing" Now, to give each district a
member of the court and at the same
time to prevent or mitigate the evils
of " log -relliug." was prime object
in drawing the bill. Persons know
how this is. The fellow who gets
the biggest slice for his district, is
the most "solid" with them. But
it's the money of the people of the
whole county which he thus misap-
propriates; and the people of the
whole county should have a right
to step up and say to that district,
you shall not re-elect that man to
lOgroll away our money. If the
commissioners are not dependent on
their district for reelection, this
temptation will be removed. Their
pride in their districts will cause them
to look after its interests, but a care
for their future political life will cause
them to look also to the interests of
the whole county.
Electing by the whole county will
give us better men. A bad system
is made tolerable by good men; a
good system, intolerable by bad
men. While it is left practically to
each district to choose it's own man,
she must, if she wishes the Test OF
the county to confirm her choice,
put forth a good man. If she
doesn't, she has no right to her
choice. No district has a right to
choose bad man to levy taxes on
all the county. The rest of the
county should have the right, as a
matter of equal self interest, to pre-.
vent it.
This principle is recognized in the
election of Assessors. In this county
we have two Assessors. The one on
the West Side has no jurisdiction on
the East Side, neither has the one
on the East Side anything to do
with the assessment of the West
Side. Are they then mere district
officers2 No: because if the Assess
or on the West Side, in order to
make favor with his people, lowers
the value of their property and thus
decreases their taxes, the people of
the East Side have more than their
just proportion to pay. Hence the
whole county is interested, and that
is the reason why the law provides
that they shall be elected by the
people. On the same principle is it
that the law provides that each dis
trict shall elect board of education I;
and this, again, is proper because the
district board levies taxes ON the
district only.
The wheat in some parts of the
county is coming UP and beginning