Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1892-01-28

VIC AN1uSuoA "a oAnCcfs lscAs DeitefinS
their pay % be FAR in excess Of similar ser
vices rendered by other citizens, knowing
that the Clerks Office could be efficiently
filled for the amount annually collected in
fees, thereby relieving the people eff 81 ZOO
annually paid by them in taxes. Big pay
being necessary for good officials is not
borne out by experience.
I regret that / cannot indorse the high
license recommendation, believing it would
result in more drunkenness from the sell
lers' effort to get back the money paid for
his license. II would also have the effect
! TO give monied men advantage over the
poor, as well as reducing the State reyenue.
In the South Of France, where wine is worth
so little that IL il often drank for water.
drunkenness is hardly known. This is an
argument Is favor Of cheap whiskey, as il
also the fact tina: if IS cents viii m..ke
man drunk. he will not Impoverish his
family as much as If il took a dollar,
and unfortunately get drunk they will.
In the city Of Paristhey have discarded
high license and adopted something of this
kind of law-that the applicant shall be
recommended by 8 majority Of his neigh
/ bors as a worthy and 1T man to sell wills
key. He shall give bond in the sum Of
twice the amount of his stock in trade for
( good conduct He is allowed TO sell at all
times, Sunday excepted, and in any guam
tity; but if he is caught selling TO man
drunk, or TO boys, or permitting any disoT
DERBY conduct about his place, he is fined
heavily, the fines amounting TO more than
high license. would extend the fine 10
all officers, and prosecute them for perjury
for not sustaining their oath by bringing
any offender TO justice that comes to his
knowledge. This would make the officers
shy Of the public and the saloon man shy
of the officers. The result would be better
order and less drunkenness At least such
is the experience Of Paris, the best gov
erned city on the globe.
1t is with humility that l refer TO your
committees refusal 20 recommend the just
as well as inexpensive modification Of the
present election law, which motion was
strictly in conformity with the pure Aus
tralian ballot law. That each political
party be required to furnish a judge, bal
lot clerk and short party ticket, the super
visors appointing the third Judge and pro-
viding a long ticket with all the names
on il; one of each ticket is to be deliver
ed TO each voter by the ballot clerks;
the voter is to return the tickets fold
ed 10 the said clerks that he does not
use; all the tickets should be printed on
the same kind of paper and the unused
tickets to be dealt with as now. The mo-
ton was fol-. each party to furnish said Of
ficers and tickets and without cost TO the
county, which they would undoubted do,
thereby saving the county about $500, as
well as hushing this cry of fraud SO, widely
heard throughout the State and county
and making such outrages as that perpe
trated in Calvert county impossible.
would recommend that the fee for is
suing letters OF administration as well as
other extravagant charges (paid by the
widows and orphans) be greatly reduced
in the Office of Register
think the humiliating recommendation
to have the collector appointed by the Gov
ernor is out of order and should be done
by the body passing upon his bond.
Believing as do in the RICH. of the peo-
pie to govern themselves, would recon-
mend that the money levied for road pur-
poses be controlled by commissioners cleo
ted by the voters of each district at an cleo
ton held at the usual voting place on the first
Saturday in April, held by judges appoint
ed by the voters present; said election TO be
held without cost To the people; said com
missioners TO receive a salary not TO exceed
SIS annually, whose duty shall be TO di-
vide his district in three or four sections,
excepting the 9th district, and apportioning
TO each section the road money paid by
them in taxes; said nine commissioners
shall meet on the Tuesday next, or as ear
ly as possible, to confer and settle on some
general plan for the construction of roads,
not, however, to deprive each one of the
control of his district. Each one of said
board may give certified orders on the treas
urer of the county commissioners not TO
exceed his proportion of road tax; he shall
also appoint, with the advice and consent
ofthe judges holding the election, one SUI
pervisor for each section; said judges to re.
ceive $3.50 for the day they assist in the
appointment Of supervisors; each commits
sioner shall buy and keep in good repair a
full set of road tools, and his term Of Office
shall be two years, and his oath the same
as that of the county commissioners. He
shall examine all work done in his district
/ l would recommend that the present
printing law be repealed and that the coun-
ty levy be printed in hand-bill form, and
sent to each taxpayer. said printing TO be
advertised for by the county commission
ers and awarded to the lowest bidder. /
well remember when this work was bid for
at $i25 that now cost $500.
By adopting the listing system for a re-
assessment, we could rid the people Of the
expense of assessors and board Of control
| and review, said board being an outrage
upon the people, of which no one is better
aware than representative George r. Gar
ner.
Respectfully submitted,
LEO M. WATHEN.