The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-01-02

Mr.. E. G. Horton, chairman for 1885,
and 1878:
"on February 29th and March
"1st be was out inspecting roads
Gin St. James township, and that
'for the two days work and mileage
she charged s10.05. The distance oi
1.-The township IS about eighteen miles
"from Manning where deponent re.
"Sdes. OF this ten dollars and five
scents, 81 was per diem, and $500
yves mileage. During this trip he
travelled sixty and one-half (60 1-2)
! miles. charging ten cents mile as
''he did not return same way he went.
'Deponent says if he goes to inspect
SO bridge or other work, and does no
"other work, he charges ten cents a
"mile for the trip there, and nothing
''to return; but if he coshes back by
"a different route, and for other work,
inspection of roads for instance, he
"would also charge ten cents mile
'for the additional distance travelled.
II make it o rule never to return
'by the same road go out BY, as
"wish to see and inspect as much OF
'the roads on trip as possible. On
'sthese inspections I charge ten cents
SO mile. The clerk of the former
t'board, Mr.. j. G. Huggins, who was
''also our clerk for one year, told me
ssthis was the custom with the Com
'smissioners. Members of other
"boards, also, told me this was the
Custom. I believe I am acting
'twithin the law in making these
"charges. .
=" Signed E. c. HonroS."
Mr.. Horton says that, che believed
that he acted within the law" when
collecting these charges. He most
certainly never read the law on the
subject. We are satisfied that the
testimony of the other members of
the board would have been substanti-
ally the same. Mr.. Horton expressed
himself to US as perfectly willing, in
case be were convinced that such
charges were wrong, to refund all
such overcharges to the county.
We think We have said enough to
show that hundreds of dollars, prob
ably more than thousand, have been
wrongfully abstracted from the coun-
ty, and We recommend that a commit
tee Of the Grand Jury be empowered,
by Legislative enactment, to ascer-
tain the exact amount thus oyer
charged since 1876, and that the
Commissioners who have made these
overcharges be required to return
the same to the county.
Not enough "red tape" and too
much carelessness and confidence, is
common in this Office. Commission
ers have, when days work exceeded
their usual one, or two, or three
hours, become impatient, and signing
number of checks in blank, have
gone home, leaving their clerk to ill
in the amounts at his leisure. We
think this practice about discontinued.
The Office Of County Commission
ers is probably the most important
Office in the county, and yet is sought
after, not infrequently, by men incom-
petent for the Office. We have good
reasons for believing that the law de-
fning the duties of the Office is sell
dom read by q County Commissioner.
The clerk of the board is frequently
the board. Clarendon County has
had some good men on her board,
and some that were not so good. And
yet, some persons may say that,
"when we view it rightly, we do
not think the Commissioners so much
to blame after al, it being natural
with man to wish to better his con-
dition, and the Office offers to many
this advantage" To such persons We
would answer, shat it Ia inate with
man to attain a higher standard of
action, and he who would crafty his
avarice at the expense Of his constit-
uents, is unworthy of public
trust. We believe that if the Board
of Commissioners were the right kind
of men, and would not follow prece-
dent, but work for the good of the
county, that their individual expenses
would be cut down about one-half of
what they have been. What we say
may appear harsh aud uncharitable,
but the records Of the Office, and the
afhdsvits in our possession, will prove
sll We have said. Let us illustrate:
A bridge in a distant part of the
county is reported to need repairs.
The board at a meeting decides that
it will consider the matter, and the
entire board goes to the bridge to
'inspect" it. Fifteen or twenty dol
lars is the cost of the trip. They de-
eide to repair the bridge. A fifty dol
lar contract is given out The entire
board again goes on junketing trip
to receive the aforesaid bridge, at a