Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1885-05-21
Charities and Corrections.

We Commend our readers to care
full perusal of Mr.. John G. Hardt's let.
ter in this issue.
We do not desire to appear captious
or disposed to do hair.spiitting, but we
are bound to say that Mr.. llardt has
not lisproven anything that he has
quoted from our article. The substance
Of his reply to his first quotation is en-
bodied in the sentence "All bills con
tractea for by the Board previous to
Jan. lst, 1885 lace been paid" We
do not doubt nor have we maintained
or charged the contrary of that, but
have any "bills contracted for x X
previous to Jan. 1st, 1885, been paid
since that date in other words was
there any debt resting upon that Board
Jan. 1st. 1885? Mr.. Hardt's ''have
bean paid does not prove that there
has been nothing paid ont of the Sc
900 on bills contracted previous to
January 1st. 1885 and tina, was the
point made by US in the article from
which he qnotes.
In the second quotation, Mr.. Hardt
makes he proves lis in error as to date
but not as to fact, nor does he categor.
icalv answer our question or deny our
conclusion, that "there existed debt
not mentioned in the Statement, etc,
etc.
Mr.. Harlt's reply to thatpart Of our
article, which appears III his third quo
tation IS even Vet more an evasion.
We did not charge the Board Of G..
& G. with not having itcmizel accounts,
but that in Their first attempt to settle
with the Board of G. G. they did not
produce them. This is not denied by
Mr. II. The fact that the Board OF c
G. in the past has seldom or never cx-
aminel them is no Justification to any
one but is a condemnation of such
county boards. 1t is simply another
item added to the list of the short COM
ings of the Board Of c. C, and proves
only this, that officials are in the habit
of giving license and privilege to other
officials, which more or less smacks of
fayoritism, willful blindness and ring
ism.
The law quoted by Mr.. Hardt, gov.
erning the appropriation Of funds for
the use Of the Board of G. (; c., too,
has been quietly ignored and no other
reason assigned than to "accommodate
the collector of taxes" While there
appears in this no real wrong doing, it
is Of a piece with every other action
to which exception has been taken by
us; the comp'acent ignoring Of the law
by both of the Boards; the assuming
to be law unto themselves; the DISPOSE
ton to stare out of countenance the law
and the facts basing such presumption
upon their recognized standing' in
the past is an utter and unrcasoning
fallacy; they should remember that in
the first place, they are stewards Of the
people, to majority Of whom they are
strangers, they should not presume 50
far upon a record for integrity
at a time and in country, the
latest pages of whose history are
blurred with the notorious crimes Of
tlciaulters had been Sunday School
superintcndents, class leaders, trustees
Of funds, churches and charitable IN.
stitutions and who have specialized up,
on their reputation at the expense Of
confding friends, EMISSIONS, we'll chos-
en- platltndes. past records and self
complacency arc out of place in such
matters and we are bound to say that
SO far as any or all disclaimers made by
the Board Of G. & g., or the individual
members thereof have influenced our
belief in this matter, it may be stated
in word; we have charged downright
evasion or rupture Of the law and onr
charge has been partly admitted and
in no part disproven.