Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-02-01
4 STATEMENT
From the Auditor in Reply to the
Report Ofthe Committee Appoint
ted to Examine the Commits
sioners Annual Financial
Report.

Report.
MR. EDIroR;-
ored the Audior by Publishing a statement
from him in reply to minority report, sim
liar to the one published in your last weeks
issue, to which he now desires to reply.
The above named committee, after spend
ing forty-two days in examining said report
at an expense to the county of$252.5O and an
additional expense for sheriff and witness
fees of 1854, has proclaimed to the people
of Henry county what they already know.
viz: That extravagance in public expendi-
ture prevails and the Auditor is declared to
be one of the chief despoilers. The Prose-
cutting Attorney, who by virtue of his Office
is member of this committee and also the
legal advisor of all county officers, for
which service under Sec. 1874 Revised Stat
utes he has received for three years service
the sum of S1725, surely ought to know as
much about this business as any other man
in the county; and now in conjunction with
the conclusion is reached that the Auditor
is the chief offender, and after all this mon
ey has been expended in the interest of
economy, under the supervision ofthis legal
advisor, this committee is unanimous in its
decision that extravaganza prevails and ille-
gal fees are allowed and taken with impuni-
ty. The Auditor appeals from the decision
of the committee to the unbiased, non-part-
isan and considerate judgment of the peo-
pie of Henry county, tribunal of Justice
before which the Auditor sets up the follow
ing plea in his own defense:
For the 2716 months service from the 18th
of September, 1891, when he assumed the
duties of the office to the 1st day of January,
1894, he has received from the county treas
ury on fifty three different warrants the
sum of $3.50 SO compensation for all servi-
ces rendered by himself and clerks and &C.
crued expenses. This sum represents full
pay ment for 214S days labor, actually per-
formed, an average compensation of $3.16
per day; $4237. .49 OF this sum the Auditor re-
ceives by Statute governing compensation
on the basis of male population, special
school districts, railroads and all similar
work in each ofthe eighty-eight counties i'll
Ohio, regardless of saloons, bitches, gravel
roads or any otherspecial or dissimilar worF /,
and any attorney who has even reached the
plane of legal literary mediocrity knows or
ought to know that no part of this $4237. .49
is intended to compensate an Auditor for
special work, but to pay him for the faithful
performance of the work common to each
of the eighty eight counties. The Auditor
has asked and received $1784.04 for all ditch
work of every description for these twenty
seven and one-half months, including the
work performed on these two bitches that
this committee in its mature judgment has
SO carefully examined, together with fifty-
seven others, and all the compensation that
will ever be asked has been cheerfully al
lowed by the Commissioners. aud the Audi
tor alone and no one else should be held re-
sponsible for every penny of illegal fees SC
received, as he alone and not the Commits
sioners should know the value of his servi.
ces. This sum of $17s4.4 is full payment
and includes that $500 plat and that other
damnable charge that shocked the conserva.
tive and economic principles of this commit.
tee, and represents 1914 days of faithful and
ekillful work. an average compensation oil
S1,67 per day. After all the hue and cry
that $500 plat which they aIlege could have
been easily made in five hours, only cost the
modest sum of eighty, four cents when taker
in connection with the other work The above
calculation is based on the self-evldent fac,
that half the work done in Henry county for
the last five years, at least, has been ditch
work, together with ninety per cent. of the
vexation resulting from dissatisfaction with
apportionment. This work is still increas.
ing: and the February settlement will record
& special assessment on bitches and specla
levy on gravel roads agGregating the unpre;
cedented and stupendous sum of more than
S78000 Pause and reflect before you con.
denim the Commissioners of Henry county
for failing to satisfy all men as to the Just.
ness of their individual assessments that &C
to make up this prodigious sum. This cor.
respondingly increases the work to be per.
formed by the Auditor and Treasurer and
their very worthy, efficient and faithfuIclerks
This committee alleges that illegal fees have
been demanded, allowed and received fol
this work but the truth is that this work has
been performed at loss to the Auditor
This committee has also discovered that the
; Auditor has received $3.50 for three days
work and corroborates the truth of this cold
blooded steal by the sworn statement of one
whose name is in ambush, which is indicat
! i've of coward and scoundrel to begin with
and for the reason that the Auditor and kin.
dred neither in America nor Germany have
ever. with all their other faults, been charp.
ed with either scoundrelism or poltroonery
he respectfully declines to reply to his sworf
statement not knowing whether he be knav,
or fool, but IN order to bring this committed
out from under this balefui influence, he viii
add to the sum of $1784.04 received for al
: ditch work. every penny that he has received
! for all other special WORK for the full twenty
seven and one-half months of his incum
bency, saloon, gravel road, compiling Com
missioners report and in fact every penn,
: paid him for special work, legal or illegal
which is the sum of $768. 80, and this sum
. which in the righteous and indignant iudg
ment Of this committee is cold, cruel ant
, shameless steal, added to $1784.04 aggregate
the sum of $2552.84, and to be liberal will
this sagacious committee he will say that al
r this work combined represents but hal
, Of the work done in twenty-seven and one
| half mcnths or l074 days work, which is al
leverage compensation OF $23S per day 20
l 1914 days of as faithful work as was eve
! performed in an Auditors Office in Ohio
and this sum of $2552- "a is $572. .16 less thai
) / the Auditor has paid out in money for he'll
to do this work and after having been twic
! declared by the exoficio member OF thi
| committee to be an extortioner. vet the i'm
: mutabte facts is, that If the State Legisla
I ture had not provided fair compensation fo
! Isalaried officers, the Auditor would be ou
i | S672 16. and no where to 20 to raimhurs