The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-03-23

thieves go at II again. mere Is no time nk'
the prevalence of these outbreaks Of the pas
sion for virtue for small men to come to tn,
front and for bad men to cover up their sins
There has been the usual symptoms of tn,
epidemic in La Sale county cases. Tn,
spssm struck us just at the wind up of the
periodical epidemic elsewhere in the coun
try. There was some little cause for tn,
outbreak, perhaps. The loose, negligent and
utterly unbusiness- like methods Of County
Boards for years past had allowed many
abuses to ripen into custom; and the whole
method Of conducting county business need.
ed overhauling. No one objected to such IN
overhauling This sort of a"passion TO,
virtue,' breaking out every few years IL
perfectly healthy and sslutary. 1t is notice
to Office holders that a day Of reckoning may
come; and, therefore they should keep their
houses in order
There was An immense expenditure OF
vital energy during the outbreak here; and
an immense amount of uncalled for ACCUSE
ton which WAS mere accusation, as has been
declared by court Of competent jurisdio.
tian,-all resulting from desire Of smsN
men to magnify themselves 1t the expense
Of their fellows. It is q question whether
the investigation has disclosed single case
Of deliberate dishonesty on the part Of any
officer charged with irregularity. In Ray.
mond's case the most that can be attributed to
him was neglect of duty to collect money
he should have collected. No man believes
he did collect and put those moneys into his
pocket In Milligan's case, by Judge Stipp's
decision, he would have been allowed sub
stantially all he claimed had the office earn
ed the money; and all he did get had
been duly audited, approved and paid to him
by the Board In Bartels' case, as would
appear from Judge Blanchard's decision, the
shortage was due largely to the fact that he
made expenditures, needed, perhaps, in Bar
tells opinion, to run the affair, but being IN
authorized by the Board, were unlawful, and
therefore, q charge against Bsrtels himself.
The doings Of these men have not been hid.
den as common thieves hide their pccula
tons: the members of the Board have at all
times had it in their power to do their duty
and protect the county-but did it not.
For about two years now, the virtues of
the investigator, Norton has been rung in
our ears-the pattern Of all saint Mesa
"model legislator"-a terror to official
thieves. His eulogies would fill volume.
His own speeches on this subject would fill
many more. The people of this county were
never allowed to forget the virtuous Norton;
and there was forever dinned in our ears by
the official organ and followers the lines Of
Dryden
He whose mind
Is virtuous, is alone of noble kind,
Though poor of fortune, of celestial race;
And he commits crime who calls him base.
But
Since saw you last,
There is change upon you.
The Doc seems to have experienced a
change Of heart, under the stimulus Of
$1,000 in hand, as will be seen by Saturdays
proceedings of the Board.
The 39th paragraph of the "Fees and Sal
aries Act" r. S. 1874, fixing the compen-
sation of Supervisors as members of the
Board says thata supervisor shall be allowed
$3.50 Fer day for time actually and neces-
" sarily engaged in the discharge of his
duties as a member of the Board of Super.
"visors, to be paid on order of the Board
"out of the county treasury, and mileage
at five cents each way for necessary travel,
" and no other allowance or emolution, direct
or indirectly, for any purposes whatecey."
1t will require fine spun argument to
show that in drawing the 81 900 the Board
gave him, Doc Norton has not committed
the same kind of population he has all along
charged upon Milligan, Raymond, &c. The
law is much palmer in its prohibition of pay
ments of the kind he has accepted, than it
is of those Milligan claimed. If Milligan
has been made to give up fees illegally APP
propriated by him, why is it not proper TO
apply the same process to Norton, whose
case presents an equally fragrant violation of
the law, seeing he had already been paid all
the law allowed him.
The Doc cannot plead ignorance, for it is
not possible that he could have omitted to
read the paragraph of the law which fixes
his own compensation as supervisor. His
unseemly haste to draw out the money on
his order, before any possible notice of in
junction could be served ON the clerk and
tr easurer, is a strong indication pointing to
his recognition Of the fact that he was IL
legally taking that 81 900 from the treasury
And how today, he can stand any higher
in public estimation than the most despissble
man he has painted among the "boodlers,"
it is hard TO understand.