The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-02-04


more money than the average trustees in
Indiana draw in 365 days? Will the
farmer in the legislature pretend that his
services are more important than the
duties of a trustee? VIII any say his
brains or farm education is worth more in
sixty days than trustees who has the
same education and lives on an adjoining
farm is worth in a whole year? Will
any say that he contends with as much
annoyance and is subject 10 so much
abuse and criticism as are the trustees
when they fail to employ their neighbor's
son or daughter TO teach school, or fail TO
gravel mud road up to a friends door,
or some fellow II eets with a disappoint-
ment? think for one, and / am quite
willing TO leave the question to ex-
trustees, and present ones, for that
matter, that instead of lowering
their pay, it should be raised TO $500 or
$1,000 year in townships of five, ten,
fifteen or twenty thousand inhabitants,
and $1,000 III townships like those sur
rounding indianapolis, Evansville. Fort
Wayne, Terre Haute, Richmond and other
large cities. For instance, a county COM
missioner receives $3.50 per day for his
services and he has very few more
important duties to perform. A
county commissioner in many instances
refers matters TO trustees for adjustment
and passes upon matters heretofore passed
upon by a trustee The average county
commissioner has less actual business
qualifications than an average trustee, vet
he receives more pay, without bond even,
than the trustee does with his ten-thou-
sand-dollar bond. They are both farmers
by occupation and possibly reside within
stones throw of one another
Senator RVrd of CLAW cOuDtv has infro
duced bill to cut down the pay of trus-
tees and Mr.. Glessner of Shelby county
has introduced in the house the one TO in
crease the pay of county commissioners.
In my opinion both bills should be de-
feated and the present salary of each
official lett to remain as it is.
As TO the power of township trustees to
make contracts | see AIr. Beasley has a
bill which proposes to limit this to $50
without first obtaining the consent of the
board of commissioners of the county,
after having given thirty days notice by
filing petition with the auditor, which is
subject to remonstrance by any citizen of
the township. This bill, should it become
law, would simply throw the townships
back for two years, as it would be
repealed by the legislature, / appre-
bend, in 1898 The idea that a trustee
sent OF the board OF county commissioners
every time he employed school teachers,
bought wood for the winter, built few
wood houses or out houses, repaired the
pumps, rebuilt the school house, black
boards, put new furniture in a house re-
rooted an old school building, bought a
road machine, insured all the township
property, built small bridge, or supplied
his schools with actual supplies necessary
TO the conduct OF the public schools which
are the pride of Indiana, is wrong for aev-
eral reasons. To illustrate the matter
plainly, TO pass this bill would mean TO
have a continuous session of the board of
commissioners ut Sl0.50per day and the
several days trustee would have to de-
vote in bringing the board together at 50
per day for his services. This is not all.
The worst feature Is in that part of the bill
which allows any citizen of the township
to object before the board to the granting
OF the order asked for by the trustee
Now every community has what are
commonly known as ''cranks" They
live and exist in every tow nship in the
state. Some are worse than others, but
when one comes across a tirst-class "crank"
h always talks about the fool things
they do and have In q country school
house. He "never sees for the life of me"
what the teacher wants to do that, or
have this in the school-room for. He then
saws: I'VE never had this or did that
when l went to school, way back in the
fall OF 1929 or the spring of 1880" Well,
the "crank" has no children, of course,
or, they are either dead or have moved
out West. In fact the "crank" is opposed
to schools any way, and finally says: 81
don't believe in this way o doin', make
me pay taxes to educate other fellows
children" Then the 'crank" don't be-
lieve in building bridges "cause he used
to swim the creeks on horseback with
oil Dolly" Then be abuses the teacher
and says he or she "don't know notnin'
bout teachin' no how. Don't see what
the trustee wants to hire such a teacher
for, am going down fore the commissioner
and fight that teacher sure pop"
| think the business could be carried on
better by abolishing the office of trustee
and placing the management entirely in
the hands OF the county commissioners.
OF course, this would be contrary to demo-
cratic teachings about local government
but then when the average man wants re-
form he is going to try to get it il it takes
all summer and the last button off his
breeChes. Take county containing
twelve townships, and every time a trus-
tee wanted to make a contract with his
neighbor exceeding $50, which has to be
done very frequently. in the proper dis
charge of the townships business, he
would have to incur an expense of not
less than $50 to the Taxpayers in order to
make the contract, or very near one-half
the amount allowed by the bill. Should
any citizen appear with evidence before
the board OF commissioners to remon-
strate, it might take two or three days TO
dispose OF the petition OF the trustee, and
this would double or triple the ex-
pense. See what would hap
pen should each trustee in the
county be compelled to go through
this process. Again the trustee gives a
bond in the sum of $4,000
for the faithful performance of his duties
The present law is quite severe and is a
safeguard around the funds. No complaint
has been honestly made of the present law.
True, there may be instances of fraud, but
they are few and far between, and taking
into consideration the number of trustees
In the state, their honesty will show far
higher per cent. than that of county treas
urers or county clerks. This is easy to
understand and is accounted for by the
fact that not much money comes into
their hands at any one time, and they
very seldom have any more money on