Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-09-26
MINING JOURNAL.
MD, SEPTEMBER %, 1891.
What WinThcy DO WithIt?

Under the heading of AT Il Late
Day" the Frostburg Le7gcr remarks:
At its monthly meeting last Monday night
the Frostburg council asked the water board
to render an itcinizcd report. 1t is a reason
able request, and one that is demanded by
the people of Frostburg. But the council is
very late in making the request. 1t should
have made it just one yea1 ago-one year ago
when everything was thought to be lovely,
and the sefstylcd engineers We're making
the money fly. An itcmzed report The
$4,000 gone and no report, not even one
from the engineer!
The JOURNAL is not the apologist or
defender of Mr.. Haverstick, at whose
head all of the Ledger'S spleen is aimed.
But we do want see justice done
justice to conscientious public ser
want.
We once sat and heard the insolent
question asked who is Hqverstck ?"
sat, and for the sake of peace did
not answer by asking the same audi
ence whether thew knew the man who
was talking.
The same idiotic spirit which an
mated the criticisms of that day the
Ledger is still keeping alive.
1t wants ''an itemizcd statement"
and it wanted one Just about lone
year ago" An opportunity to inspect
vouchers was undcscrvcdIy extended
to it about the same time. 1t was
present-ged, rMj, but found nothing
All the public learned of the Lc8ger'S
discoveries was something like this
there was a review of receipts and dis
bursementS-not Il word in reply to
the leading question, "who is Haver-
stick ?"
If it could do no better than this
then, what will it do with IAN item
lied statcmcnt' now?
What will anybody do with it
That errors were committed nobody
denies. An errorless construction Of
any work would be Il monument to
Divinity-not humanity.
One might rake Frostburg with a
fne-tooth comb without finding Il man
of half Mr.. Haverstick's engineering
ability, and he CHIT run the United
States through a sieve without dis
covering man who would have felt
half the unequited interest in the
work, and given it half the unpaid
labor Mr.. Haverstick has.
The men, therefore, who are finding
fault with his administration ought
to thank God that their own igno-
rance, incapacity and Incidence were
not developed in Mr.. Hayerstick's
thankless performance Of duty i'll an
unsought arena.
And the Ledger ought to learn that
u grievance against Mr.. llavcrstick,
contracted outside of Water Board
matters, will not be lost sight Of. The
value Of its personal complaint against
Mr.. Haverstick will be permitted to
play no part as an argument against
his administration OF as an impcach-
mcnt of his ability as an engineer.
1t is to be stated in this connection
that the Ledger is responsible for very
much of the cauSclcss dissatisfaction
with the water works. 1t is the
Ledger's sore place-not its interest in
the town, for it has none-it is the
Ledge1'S sore place which, thrust for
ward in the guise Of concern in a
public work-it is the Ledg0's sore
place, showed into association with Il
public matter, which infames the I'M
varying and inevitable disatfection of
a class constitutionally soured against
publicimprovements.
SO that Mr.. Havclstick's office was
the Ledger'S opportunity to make its
sore place public issue.
And number of good people, mis-
taking the LelgerS sore place for a
public calamity, are i"dulging in talk
damaging alike to the towns content
and credit.
If continued, the Ledgey'S sore place
will grow faster as public catastrophe
than the paper is declining as ID
paper.