Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1890-04-03
Mr.. COCHRAN FOR REFORM
HE INDICATES TH f LINZ THATRRs
TRRSogMAEe sHOULD IAKE.

-
He Warts 90 Sae She state Ea.zc GtA
share OF .hc HWrdens OFF the
Shoulders OF Nssg Castle CoUnty-
FIr. Cochran EaVOrs a Rcauet!Oa
OF Taxes.
The second Of the series Of mestings
inauSurasad by tie Young Mems Demo-
orstin Cluh for tho purpose OF consider
irg tho question Of county government
reform and rotrenohment was held last
evening week al the club rooms.
AttsS reading tbs resolution on the
subject wbjoh is the standing authority
for tho discussion President Osmrbeli ir-
troduoed She Bon. o. Il. Cochran. The
appearance o. the popular county eletS
WAS the signal for loud applause. he sx-
pressed himself as having felt highly
honorsd On being requested to speak
before Democratic association which he
esteemed az the leading one of the StSsa
of Delaware.
III tho beginning. gentlemen, he con-
tlnued, want all Of us to stand upon
the broad, Recognizable platform that
this State, though small, is thoroughly
solvent one. Il has assets in fall far
exceeding all its liabilities.
Now, in private business you know,
that il mans assets ara found to be far
above what he owes, you not only con-
sider him solvent, but he is properly
locked on ms rich. While the stare OF
Delaware is rich, /, for one, do not sec
that the county OF New Castle 10 poor.
Let us take glance at her aseets so-
count. Among them we sec our beaoti-
ful new court house with its grounds,
~ Tn MI
house, structure OF which We have good
reason to be proud, is we'll worth another
$3.50, 900; the jail, t New Castle, ia
valued for $50. 900. All this gives total
of $3.50 600. To this balance we should
add land lots belonging to the county.
which carry value az least Of 575, 900
more. We have also three excellent
bridges worth at less. $4,000 each.
This runs the county's total assets up to
S575, 900.
Then thsre is the SUM of $4,000 due
tae county on account of the State Insane
Asylum. This with other assst9 run the
credit side CLOSE to S700,O00. Against
this the county debt is only $500, 00o.
Therefore Esw Castle couoty ia not in
debt. This furore about New Castle
county being bankrupt and the State
ready to sink beneath its burthens of
debt is all nonsense.
/ know that the condition OF the
farmers to. day is most dsplorahla They
are the most frugal of men. Their houss
OF labor are not from z a. m. to 6 p. m,
but from q. m. TO s p. m.
I've been there myself. know what
l speak OF. Those who work so hard are
entitled to live better thsu they do. No
farmer can exist in comfort when ha
must sell his corn at 80 cents and whest
at 10 cents bushsl. Il is an inter in,-
possibility. We feel thsre must be som3
remedy for this condition of rhtngs. The
remedy is simple one so far as county
government ia concerned. I cannot ex-
1 aotly hold with the way some Of the
| farmers and others refer to tse men-
beYs of the Levy court. The msjos!ty OF
4 them nre farmers themselves. They wsPs
| eleotsd by the people to she positions
they hold. l believe Trey are :asr Who
/ try TO do what is right ana try their best
| TO do 80. They are accused Of many
! things which I do not think they ara
/ guilty Of.
At the Farmers Institute on Saturday
! last the levy cuurt WAS charged with u
I Job done for $500 which II was claimed
could have been done for $T5, aud An
other 20. 500 whioh ongll TO have cost
/ not less thsu IS. The court by res1lu-
ton invited the gentleman who m1do the
assertion 70 appear and explain and as
far "a know he failed to do so. "Is not
that the case ?"
Mr.. Osborne-"Yes, he appeared aud
retraoted. II was explained thai ii was
not the levy court thai did the Job but
the road commissioners"
| You ace the farmers get aroused and
melted over matter. They look around
to $50 whom they can wreck their vsn-
geance upon. They see the levy court
and make it the butt of III ir Rnger.
admit thst the taxes in tue cnunty ara
bigh and that the levy court shouiA tower
them. may say that before aay asita-
ton OF petitions was even head Of the
levy court hads determined on doing so
/ and Of making material rGdueticn. As
to the question OF tta beard o. the pris-
oners at New Castle jail we ought not TO
go into extremes Au matters o. fnat kind.
The sheriff ought to be pNd nut not an
unnecessary sum, But L tuink oil tlGt
can he arranged.
The speaker Thought that what is per.
emptorily needed 10 Stale penitentisry
IN order that the Idle las.ers may be put
to work and no longer be Grain on tho
public purse. That is tho remedy. APP
plause. Let the farmers join hands
unanimously and 60 TO the Legislature,
as they came to the levy court with tieir
petitions aud demand bill es;sb!isbiIg
State peni.entiary mol ccun'y one.
No state is state in full standing until
it has q pepitentiary whero the prisoners
are made 10 earn their living.
Last winter, while others were taxing
their ease st home. thera were foEr or
five men down at Dover working with oil
their might to se. State lnEsne ARylunl
bill passed. Did dlhs farmers or the neEg-
papers come forward at that time to help
usg No, not ore. At least l did rot So 5
them. l tried and begged mon to 90
with me. But they would not. Some OF
them replied iisoouragipgly that Kent
and Sussex would not grant it. You
must thank the levy court for th7v hill
passed.
The speaker calculated that the Stste
10 indebted to New Castle county in the
SUM Of S575, 600 on EecoBut Of the in
sane asylum. The average expenditure,
Running over term Of 30 years, allowing
for graded iucrsAso in tie bur.her Of
patients, might be fairly esf mated at
| $40 200 per snnum al the Asyluu. This
sulu represents at 1 per oent prncipsi
OF $500 coo, whirb With the S76, 200 dus
the comfy makes W the sum referred to.
This principal hsS tsen ttken from New
Castle county sul Kent sad Sussex have
bsen relieved OF the butthon.
AeSin tho causes 10, trial in our courts
do moi read A.. Il. vs.. B. o., but A. b. VS..
aaNA ~ al a.. a