The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-04-05
TOWN AFFAIRS.
y Committee Appointed to Examine
the Reports OF the Highway Com
mtssIOners.
uissiOners.

n Committee appointed 10 Exsmi"o
the Reports OF the Highway Com
ruissioners.
The annual town meeting was
called to order at o'clock TUESDAY
afternoon in the janitOrs room at the
court house.
Mr.. George Beatty was elected mod
orator and John S. Farrell acted as
clerk. The reports of the town clerk
and highway commissioners were read
and referred to committee OF thirteen
to be appointed by the moderator,
The following were appointed as
such committees: A Lynch, w. II.
Hull, T.. G. Osman. James Briggs, j.,
+. Reed. w. C. Riale, +, W.MattOcks,
b. +. Lincoln, John HOban, w. j
Dowell, M. n. Armstrong and M. M.
Ogden.
The town officers elected for the en-
suing year are:
Supervisor-W. w. Taylor.
Assistant Supervisors
Andrew Lynch,
p. j. DOugherty,
Christ. Walters.
Town Clerk-JOhn Il. Farrell.
Assessor-Albert MaierhOfer.
COllector-John E. DOwney.
Com. of Highways-John Dwyer.
At the town election on Tuesday
last 1852 votes were polled, of which
w. w. Taylor received 1921, A. Lynch
1927, p. j. Dougherty 1,292, Christian
Walthers 1871, j. f. Farrell l,34S,
Albert MaierhOfer 1896, Ii. M. Kelly
1876, j. f. DOwney 1871, 5. w. Porter
465, John DWyer l,2lS.
The committee of thirteen ian un-
lucky number) met on Wednesday af-
ternOOn.
Mr.. Andrew Lynch. being first
named on the Committee, and there
fore chairman, early in the day sent
notice to all the members OF the COM
mittee, as named by the moderator
of town meeting, and directed the
town clerk to notify the commissioners
and have their books at hand. The
committee thereupon met at o'clock
in the supervisors room, and Messrs
Lynch, Riale, MattOcks, Hoban, Os.
man, Wilson, Ogden, Farrell clerk
and LOOney, treasurer OF the commits
siOners, were present. Mr.. Lynch, as
chairman, said that the first question
for the committee to determine was
whether they would undertake to
make the investigation called for. 1t
must be remembered, he said, at the
start, that the town meeting had in
itself no power to call upon citizens
to undertake this kind of a job since
the law has otherwise provided for
the emergency, and the moderator
of town meeting should not have en-
tertained such notion or have APP
pointed this committee for this pur-
pose, the board of town auditors be-
ing by law the only body authorized
to review and audit the commission
ers' bills and accounts. This commit
tee had no power to do more than as
private citizens examine these &C
cOunts-cOnvert themselves into a
smelling committee" who could re-
port to no one except to the general
public, and whose findings could be of
no force or effect upon any one. Any
other thirteen gentlemen in the town
ship could as lawfully constitute
themselves committee to undertake
the same kind of job. The resOlu-
tiOn calling for the appointment of
the committee was adopted by town
meeting, so called, of course, but the
"mass meeting" of voters, as cOntem-
plated at a town meeting, was then
actually composed of not half dozen
persons and certainly only two per-
sons, Ogden and one other, one of
whom presented the resolution, voted
for its adoption. AS for himself. Mr..
Lynch said he did not propose to be
forced by any one into the position of
being a member of smelling COM
mittee"-a job he detested-merely to
gratitiy the whim or the notions of
man with a hobby to ride.
Other members thought the COM
mittee might perhaps make the inves-
tigation for public information; and
still Others were willing to 90 ahead
if it were possible for the committee
to accomplish anything by its work in
the way of punishment for past
offenses or to inaugurate reform of
methods; but an investigation merely
for the purpose of gratifying the de-
Sires of one or two men, who, "have
being able to effect any other result,
was not in their line.
Various comments were made on
the methods of the commissioners,
but reading of the road and bridge /
dCU luulCdUtu UIldU, dSlue lTOLl having
paid out to their own members moneys
for team labor (which is unquestion-
ably in violation of the letter and |
spirit of the law, which says they shall |
not be personally interested in any
contract or payments for labor or ma
terials), there was not much ap- !
parently to investigate, except
whether the sums paid out were actu-
ally paid to the parties indicated, and |
whether the abOr had been for full
day or was fair equivalent of labor
for the pay specitied-manifestly an
interminable inquiry.
The complaint made that certain
work had not been let by contract is
for the reason that it would
seem from reading of the statute
that the commissioners may or may
not let any or all work by contract as
they see fit, only if they do let job
by contract such letting must be made
after ten days advertisement Of such
letting. The commissioners are not
obliged to let any work by contract,
and may appoint as Overseer of the
road work man from their own body.
1t. |