Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-02-28

FROsTBURG MD. FEBRUARY %, 1891.
"Thc Sahooihou.c Question:"

1t was Frostburg's misfortune per
haps that its appeal for more, better
and safer accommodations was follow
ed by similar calls from Barton and
Mt. Savage-placcs which were in
sensible to their bad plight when Cum
berland, Homecoming and Westernport
sought and found relief.
But so it is, and the NeIrS is fIrnsh-
ed pretext which it places in the
mouths of the school commissioners
for alarming the people with studied
ly temperate article reciting how all
the schooIhouses will run taxes from
lOl to 1876 cents per 800 1t takes
Comptroller Baughman's report of the
basis of lState taxation instead of the
last county levy for the basis of county
taxation. In order to scare its readers
it used the figure, $l5, 9S6.S0. instead
of S1S. 66S-baseS between which cent
per 800 would make an annual d,f-
ference of $26S.l2 or the interest on
So. 703, nearly enough to build a
schoolhouse at Eckhart another want
since heard from.
But perhaps this will be regarded as
quibbling. Let us go ON. The Ne~s
of Monday last quotes the following {:
The county commissioners decided ycster-
day to ask the next Legislature for authority
to issue bonds to build schoolhouses.
The Legislature will grant it, and the
people will vote on it in November, next
year-lS92.
If the people ratify it, Frostburg, Barton,
Mt Savage, Eckhart, etc, will get new
school-houses in 1898
If they do not ratify it, we are out-that is
all.
New school-houses are possible without
such formality only when Cumberland and
Homecoming want Misunderstanding JOUR
NAL.
To this it replies:
For once the great paper Is in error
The vote of the people Is no more requisite
to the validity and the enforcement of an act
of the General Assembly commanding the
county commissioners to issue bonds than are
PRAYERS for the salvation of the .lOURNALS
to pass the act without any ''its' or ''Where-
asses and upon its passage and signature by
the Governor the bonds can be issued inn
mediately.
Not necessarily.
There is an unwrittcn law Of high
standing at Annapolis that mo people
should be burdened with debt without
their consent'-that it is against pub
lir policy to permit any county OF
municipality to incur debt without sub
hitting its terms to the people who are
to provide for its payment. 1t is not
"A matter resting wholly with the rep
resentatives OF the constituencies inter
ested. The true Legislators at Annap-
Oils. of whom there are generally
enough to salt the lump, regard cX-
travagance, real or supposed, in IL
curing debt as wrong in principle and
dangerous in practice. They are slow
to establish prccedcnts in that direc-
ton. They know that it is to guard
against abuses of this character that
ulStltllol " dtNiNlt w ilNlIlNI vi ll't
towns and counties shall incur debt
without popular consent Is lodged III
their own diSintercStcd voices and
votes. And when they do decide af-
Tentatively. in nine Of ten cases they
hedge the peoples privilege Of going
into debt with the proviso that two
thirds of the votes cast must assent
thereto. "The Legislature has the
po,rer'' no doubt ''to pass the bill,
etc., but it has often happened that
it had not the wW to ignore ifs
and "whereases" and has even de
clined to grant the privilege of vot
ing debt. In short, with the Jour
NAL it was not a question of Legislative
pocer, but of Legislative discretion.
The JOURNAL assumed, however,
that the Legislature would grant the
privilege referred to. Then the ques-
ton would come up before very
different body, large majority OF
whom, it is believed, are opposed
to educational facilities apparently
expensive. Notwithstanding the Ners
sanguine temperament and ''soft sod
der of popular thirst for education,
take the JOURNALS word for it--that
whenever proposed bonded debt OF
$60,000 for schoolhouses comes before
the people, goodbye new school
houses.
But the Ne'cS' plan, which it seems,
the commissioners, both school and
county, have adopted" is to create the
Indebtedness then the people ~Whoee to
pay it,
Perhaps the scheme is feasible, but
the JOURNAL would not like to be the
owner Of evidences of such debt should
any taxpayer, or taxpayers, able to
press IL suit to highest resort, contend
for their primary and chartered right
to exemption from obligations uuim-
posed by the voice Of the people legal
ly expressed.
Inverted Pyramid.
The death OF Senator Wilson, of this
State, makes it incumbent upon Nj.
Gorman to elect at least two Senators,
perhaps three, within the next two