Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-03-28

precinct 10 tHc Ohc h"''5
| deficiency. Appoint oversees ~
now, require them 20 snperintend tne Two
days work by the citizens without pay.
After the two days work have been pu,
on the roads II they are still not IN soou
condition, or get In bad condition, re-
quire overseers TO employ hands, pur-
chase necessary tools, and put ana Keep
the several roads In good rcpairi pay
them - per day while 80 employed. ne.
auire them 70 certify 10 the correctness
OF accounts of their employees and oil DIS
4 for tools. such accounts and bills to be
presented to commissioners courts, and
said courts to order warrants drawn on
county treasurer against proper precinct
| fund. Require overseers to make full,
ltemlzed report. under oath, TO each reg
ular term OF commissioners court, such
report TO be filed and preserved by county
clerk three years. Require bond OF over
seer in sum of $3.50 for faithful perform
ance OF his duties and correct accounting
for money handled by him.
Leave the present law requiring county
commissioners TO inspect the roads IN
their precincts In force.
In establishing new roads, or straight
ening old ones, allow commissioners
courts to make changes in lines of same,
so as to correct errors IN report
OF jury OF view, or, for pur-
pose OF strengthening road or,
to avoid excessive damages when such
report contains data, or when sufficient
reliable data can be obtained from other
sources to make such change correctly
II such change causes the road to run
over the land of party who has not been
notified, and who will not waive notice,
or is nonresident, let the court give
notice through the clerk, citing such par
by In the usual way to appear at the next
regular term, or at special term speci-
fled in the notice, to be held not less than
ten days after perfection of notice. This
matter of allowing commissioners courts
to change roads where they could do so
intellgently would often save the delay,
expense and "red-tape" proceedings of
app ointing new jury Of view to make
the change, ETC., or, referring the report
back to the first jury, II latter would be
legal proceeding, present law is silent on
the point.
think the plan of requiring two days
work on the roads better than supple
menting the ad valorem by specific or
poll tax. as the work, or $1.25 per day IN
lieu of it, would be certainty In view of
the penalties provided for a failure;
whereas specific or poll tax would
not be collected Of great many who
have no property subject to execution, or
who are ubiquitous, never remaining in
one place moro than a month or two, and
would thus 90 "scot free.n Yet they use
the roads and should contribute some
thing to their maintenance. Transient
OH
the oyerseer under whom they work, or
pay, that would protect them from work
elsewhere for one year.
The advalorem tax would equ0lize the
matter as to property; the rich and poor
man would alike contribute his two days
personal service or Its equivalent in
money, and property would make It's con-
tribution irrespective OF the individual.
SCHOOL LAW.
| think our present district system very
good, far the best we have had, and think
it should be extended to the entire state.
1t would be well to define more partlcu-
larly TO what extent the trustees, under
the discretion allowed them, should go in
the matter of expenditures, or, rather
enumerate such things as they may spend
the school money for, and say thus far
and no further. Trustees should be
required to keep record of all their OIL
cial acts, rulings, regulations, etc, and
an account Of all money received as tut
tlof from pupils over and under age, pay
same over 10 county treasurer monthly TO
credit of proper district or school, and
report amount to the county Judge. They
should be furnished with proper book
by the county for such record and ac-
count. AS the law now is they collect
this over and under tuition $50 far as |
have known and use it for any school
purpose they see lit without rendering an
account to any one. knew one set of
trustees that paid $50 advertising bill
for free school out of money derived
from this source cui bono? Instead of
electing trustees at an expense of ten dol.
lars to the county for each district, let
the county judge appoint the three who
arc petitloned for by the largest number
of school patrons in the district, all petit
tions TO be filed with him by the first
Tuesday in July, and the appointments to
be made on that day. II no petition IL
filed, for a district county Judge to ap
point on his own motion.
The provision for appointment of a
county board of examiners should be
changed to "three competent per-
sons, experienced teachers, If that
number be citizens of the county.u
In districts that levy special tax
trustees should be allowed on petition OF
a majority of school patrons of their dis
trict TO expend money derived from such
tax In building or repairing school-houses
and furnishing same without confirm
ton from the people
County superintendent NAV be neces.
sary In the more populous counties.
where the county Judges time Is largely
taken up by other official requirements.
but In the new counties and old ones of
small populations it is not practicable 10
have them. 1t would take the entire
FUND received from the state by many Of
the sparsely settled counties to pay
competent superintendent respectable
salary. ON the other hand the comfy
Judges In such counties have plenty Of
time to devote to school matters, and the
compensation allowed them is merely a
nominal sum compared to what a super- |
lntendents salary would be. Comfy
Judges compensation might well be IN.
creased little If it is determined 10
nave county superintendents, they shonld
oe restricted To counties having scholas.
tic population Of say 500 aud over and as
me scholastic census is taken annually
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