Smyrna times., 1890-03-12

80 tANAOos QUIZ III The
of maps, have been but little conniaf;u II.
% But for making and comDarino IT,,
le ,niS n?S@es eS od Cne county is taxed and ha,
It. paid $4,000; $1,000 to the man ,nha 10,
20 made the indexes and $1,000 for con-
% pairing them. Let us look for ~ ~
1t ment what this Job, which tho noonIc
@ Gld not ask to have done. and diJ r.
|. tbn HuoE " Iney were to pay for, has cost
u or the produce of the land -''''U
a 10 pay it in zoe. wheat il worId
IS take 4, ,285 bushels.
g In 35c. corn it would tska s9Ao
y bushels. ''@Ae o74Z
t Or drove of so 500 horses
n Or drove of $50 500 cows
# Or flock of 900 So sheen.
Y A IOO-acre farm at $50 per acre
Or l2O-acre farm at $25 per acre
2 Or a 15O-acre farm at son nor go
Or 200 acre farm at SI5 ner acro
: Or a 3OO-acre farm at $40 ner aCro
D Or 6OO-acre farm at S 5 per acre
r Your committee are assured tbat tho
same work can be well done bv intoii; Suo
} gent and capable men who wifi h., oJad
get the job, for $1,000.
f The burden imposed unon the tov
payers by this job may be still fHrtber
illustrated by considering that tba s'IoI
allowed would pay a man ssior,, ~ ~
PI,OOO year for 8 years.
The average salary of our clerov doo.
not reach this. Our county sSIor;', U
tendents of schools only qet $1,000 "aoh
And that the principal of orr Dovo. 49,
Public Schools, with the care - III
vne departments, only gets about $500.
While the teachers do not ovoro1eI'
more than $780, So that il wonid taiese
symah Chree years to earn as
.I superintendent of schools
enree years a principal of graded
SCHOOL Chree years and nine months
anu common school teacher eigbt
years and six months.
AZ Che last session Of the Legisla-
Cure another job of making and Com
psrlng indexes in the Prothonotarv's |
ounce OF TINS county was provided. and |
Iue WORK Is now IN progress, but not |
yeI completed. What the bills NAV |
Oe your committee can only coniec.
ture from what they have been here.
The responsibility of these and ,imi.
lar jobs lies in part with the LegisIa-
lure re- ana IN part with the Levy Court
When such legislation is asked the
Legislature should inquire and a.cer-
tam whether or not it is needed Tn
such cases the Levy Court, as the rem.
resentatlye OF the county, should be
consulted. If needed, then a iudicious
law should be passed. When the biIIs
are afterwards presented they should
De carefully scanned and no more than
"nat Is just and reasonable allowed
Many other matters connected with
our county expenditures might be
ProhtaOly considered aud would he
very interesting to us as farmers hut
your commltte has had no time to 90
INTO turther details ; and really do not .
Vhihk IL necessary, so far as action is :
contemplated, for if our farmers can.
not be awakened to a sense of the i'm. |
portance of looking after their own
affairs by what is here exhibited tbev r
could hardly be expected to stir them !
serves Dy any amount ofevidence that !
might be presented.
We proceed now with a few com-
ments and suggestions naturally grow.
ing out of the foregoing facts and I
Whlch we deem pertinent and proDer Il
to follow. P'0PoI
l. The interest that has arisen
among our farmers and the action 8
they have taken has scarcely been b
voluntary. 1t has rather been forced a
upon them by the necessity of the sit. a
uaIlon. They work hard, put in long 5
hours, eat plain food and wear Dlai0 is
clothing, yet are scarcely able to live.
Nearl y everything they buy is high
priced, while nearly everything thew il
nave to sell is very low. In short thew o
are greatly depressed, and hardly Ii
know how to make both ends meet q
II they succeed in doing SC they con. b,
slider themselves fortunate. Is it anv
wonder then that they should look
about for relief? IT,
They know taxes are necessary and n,
are willing to pay what is needed but gi
they feel in their hearts that it ia unjust
ana cruel to make the burden greater B
Than it should be by partiality or ex it
'raVagance, or to impose more uDOn dI
mem as class than their Just share
ana when dollar is taken out of
heir pockets in the shape of taxes ~,
hey believe and insist that thew nc
'nould have fair equivalent. and that n
hoever gets it should honestly earn 90
I. They are not niggardly. They
'ellVe In good roads and bridges. and
n all proper and necessary imDrove-
nents, and are willing to pay for them "a: "a
'ut they do not want their money ~; ~
quandered. In other words. thev w
'elleVe that public business should he De
conducted like private business. hon r. e.
sal y, JudiciOusly and economically. S;s Sis
From year to year for scores of uif .'
ears they have been paying enor- Gu
nous road taxes about One-third of
be whole, but the roads are no better
han they were. And whyP Simply so
ecause the funds are wasted unon dis
Incompetent Overseers, who patch and gu
atch, do and undo, from time to time TO
THAT should be done we'll permanently.
his can all be easily remedied bv
making good jobs as far as the money - :"
Oes, and then other good Jobs the fast fast
ext year, when more money is forth. yea
Omlng. Of all the abuses in the ad. T1II 01g
llnlstration of county affairs the road ant
Ouse is the worst and most expen- BOT
we, and the one most needing inn dos
lediate correction. has
The allowance to the sheriff is dS dns !
erhaps the next. He is furnished P /
18th house; the Jail IS furnished MOI
ith beds and bedding, fuel and light.
lu Cne prisoners clothed at the
1unty's expense, yet till within a few ver
ays the sheriff has been allowed 40 bel
snts day for boarding the prisoners. mo
y resolution passed since the ap-
of your committee this has +
sen reduced to 80. But even this Is Dire
10 high at present prices, and should blet
ot exceed 20 The actual cost. vour on
is informed on reliable in vat
does not exceed 10 cents per aga
ny, and 10 cents day on each pris- n
Ter for profit is surely enough. And tro,
'ur committee has the offer of a com Bul
'tent and responsible man who will
ldertske the contract to feed and q
re for the prisoners as well as thew Ne,
g cared for, for 25 cents a day. and snff
y the county $500 year for the use fore
the jail Mill
But the daily pay is not all. The
lmber should be reduced. The prac
70 has recently grown up of commit M
lg tramps and vagrants TO Jail tenn. reas,
rarily, and it is now quite a profit suffe
lie business. This is not the fault of shor
9 sheriff, but is chargeable to munic. side,
Al officers who fail to mt the tramns ing