The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1893-01-13
County Government

Mr. EDITOR: There seems to he Il general
dissatisfac tiOn concerning our exceedingly
high county taxes and perhaps few sugges-
tiunS towards means for their abatement
might meet with favor. The fault lies origin
ally with the people themselves. because the
Democracy, knowing the county to he -Ilidly
Democratic, have become in a great measure
careless and by voting to a great extent in a
purely personal spirit have suffered this evil
to grow until it has become Il burden. One
may well hesitate about criticiZing county
government tina is firmly established, for pco-
plc are apt 10 miScUnStTue his motives and re
gard him as foe to Dcmocrac, but Il con
victun has arisen that il Is time to call halt,
for as times now are farmers cannot stand
much pressure. on account of the scarcity OF
money, neither can they combine, as do our
merchants, for self-protection. 1t is also
evident that without unity OF some sort there
can be nOpermanent settling Of this veXed queS-
tiOu. Ii il. perhaps, too much to expect re-
turn TO the purer methods during the days OF
Thomas Jefferson, when the Office was com
PEELED to seek the man, but it is not without
the bounds of possibility to purge our county
government of many impurities now existing,
| and to that end | offer the following sugges-
tions:
LIST We should change the vicious system
of nomination now in Use. because it has been
amply proved that however good it may he in
itself it is susceptible OF too many abuses to
permit the people 10 always nominate good
men in Il community like this where the poll
teal scales tend So heavily To one side, where
as where both the great parties are nearly or
| quite evenly divided, it may work to perfec-
! ton, because neither party can afford to risk
defeat 10y putting up inferior men
There will always be professional politi-
clans whose private aims seldom coincide with
| those of the masses and who aim to encOm-
pass those ends by chicanery aud intrigue.
Therefore, until we adopt some other method
of nominating bV which obtain the
services Of competent men, propose
| ID. That Democratic reform clubs be or
| @aniZed in every district of the county, and Il
| few weeks before the primaries take place that
| they appoint delegate or delegates to meet
ri given point, whose duty it shall he TO
| pick out good men and ask them to stand for
nomination, ignoring, as fn as possible, those
! who voluntarily announce themselves. There
are plenty of good citizens who would accept
Il nomination thus rendered, but who do not
care to waste time and money III soliciting
| votes to nominate them.
The people OF the county do not want the
! political slate made up for them in advance,
| but will exercise the rights guar them
| by putting down with II strong hand those
| who are prcSumptuous enough to think they
| can do they please in political matters.
! We want and will have good and competent
| men to ill the oflicrs-mcn who regard Office
rs public trust and not as a means OF enrich
| ING themselves at the expense of the people.
! We want pure and economical administration
! of government in all its branches and the PEG
! pie VIII not be slow in adopting means to Sc
! cure reform. This fact was shown in the ma
fioual contest.
| 1t is pity that we of Hartford have not a
! few political leaders like our Prcsident-clect
| who will dare to think of the public good and
, have the moral courage to proclaim their con
victiOns in the the face of all obstacles.
DEMOCRAT.