Milford chronicle., 1891-01-30
Brute Force Triumphant.
THE FIVE COMMISSIONER BILL AND THE
CEDAR CREEK AND LITTLE CREEK
DIVISION BILL PASS THE HOUSE


Last Monday Speaker Donahoe performed
an unusual ceremony, that of declaring the
Senate open and ready for business, and the
clerk calling the roll to the vacant seats.
The Senate was then adjourned over until
S. so O'Clock Tuesday afternoon.
The House was more successful in calling
to order. as a brief session was held-just
long enough to get the per diem IN on the
pay roll.
In the evening the legislature gave an
audience to the many polyticians who were
in Dover looking after the Five Commis-
siouer Bill.
E. G. Bradford of Wilmington addressed
the chair and, stated that he was in favor of
county reform. He conceived that the pro-
posed bill is altogeather obnoxious. For
time immemorial the people have enjoyed
the right to tax themselves for county pur-
poses through their locally chosen officers.
The first and most glaring defect of this bill
is that for four years it wholly disregards
this right and puts into the hands Of the
goyenor the appointment of officers who
shall tax the people, It is going little TOO
far to wrest this right from the people Of New
Castle county and to vest in the governor the
power to create a board who shall continue
in power for four years and shall have the
power to say-we propose to tax you in ac-
cordaHce with our discretion. whether it
suits you or not. This goes far beyond the
commissions ofthe city Of Wilmington, which
have beer fnnch criticized
1t does not follow that the levy court of
New Castle shall continue in Office for four
or even two years, but the court should be
permitted to constitute the taxing body until
the people who are to be taxed, at an elect
ion to be held, if only five days hence, shall
say we prefer to be taxed by another system.
So far as the speaker was concerned, he
was and always had been opposed to the ad-
ministration of the levy court for partisan
Acknowledgement If there be danger of
this, strike out the power to disfranchise on
the one side aud to carry on the other Zap
plause.l Make the levy court not a politi-
cal machine, but a purely financial body.
So long as political parties exist and this
power exists, it will inevitably be misused.
Strike out that power aud tax all alike.
This bill divides New Castle county into
Eve districts. This necessarily begets dis
satisfaction for two reasons. Itdoes not crys-
tallize the principle of minority representa-
tion, and the party which does not divide the
county will naturally consider the division
by the other party an unfair division.
Why should Wilmington have two levy
court commissioners No reason in the
world. The levy court has nothing to do
with the streets aud highways of Whining
ton. A large part OF the duty which falls
upon levy courtnien in general is herein
taken from the shoulders ofthe Wilmington
member or members. He OF they have no
roads to look after, AS to the county CON
troller, Mr.. Bradford believed that such an
official would be prejudicial to good govern |
ment, and his whole duties could be dis.
charged by county auditor. This bill also
made the controllers decision final, which
was not calculated to breed economics in
county fnances-in fact il was centraliza-
ton OF power which the people donot desire.
He appealed to them not to establish the
dangerous precedent to wrest from the cho-
sen representatives Of any county the right
to do what they were elected to do He
trusted that they would secure the adoption
Of financial body, business body, not
political body, to administer to the affairs of
New Castle county.