St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-03-15
OUR OVERsEERs EXPENSES
EDITOR CALIFORNIAN.

EDITOR CALIFORNIAN:
My attention was called to letter
published in the last weeks issue OF the
CALIFORNIAN signed Justice, that hit me
somewhat. concluded by the reading
of the letter he did not know what JUS
tice is and much less how to apply it.
| should advise you, Justice, to take one
term in a school ofjustice that you may
be better qualified and know what 1t
means, because if you should start out 10
administer justice, you might hit some
body that would ventilate you and you
would pass into thin air, but if you should
not succeed in the way proposed the
next best thing for you to do is to soak
your head in water one night, then see II
you know enough not to charge anybody
of making figures lie, and then 60 right
along and make your figures represent
anything and everything except the TRUTH
Also to see it, you know enough not to
charge me ofcharging to Mr.. sideways
expenses 81, 6s1.19, which l never did.
Justice" questions the propriety OF
charging Mr.. Sulloway one month not
reported, because by so doing it will
charge Mr.. Suloway year OF IL
months. How is that, Justice !" Does
II months, the time served by Mr.. Sui
loway, to Feb. l, 1885, and one month
make 10 months? Again, Justice"
you say "Mr. sideways expenses for II
months ending Feb. 1, 1895, are $685.
80. At that time he had served only II
months. How can he have II months
expenses?
Those expenses from Feb. 1, 1894, to
March 6, 1894, were expenses that Mr..
Randall had charge Of The report
shows the orders drawn by Mr.. Randall.
All the expenses that were unpaid when
Mr.. Sulloway took the office of overseer
were only $340.59. That is what the
reports show, The reports do not show
such an amount of old bills left over by
Mr.. Randall as has been reported the
past year.
Then 'Justice" says if any comparison
is to be made, it ought to be based on
the whole term of each Office" He says
Ibis figures are on that basis" That is
not correct. He only went back and
took the year ending Feb. 1, 1890,
where he found bill olexpense that had
with the poor expenses, bill Of 81 ,613.-
OF for repairs on buildings, etc., which
were permanent fixtures. These Jus
tice" charged in as bills for the support
of the poor.
But how is it when he presents Mr..
Sideways bill for the poor under his adj
ministration? He drops out all repairs
made at the town farm the past season,
which amounts to $4,11S.23 as perma-
nent repairs. So on the one side Jus
tice" adds the permanent repairs in as
expenses for the poor, while on the other
hand he drops them out.
take the ground that all the sales
from the town farm go into the town
treasury and stands to the credit of the
overseer, and all cash paid out bv the
overseer is drawn from the treasury on
orders. The difference in these two sums
is what we have to pay in cash to sup
port the poor. Now what We want to
get at is, to see who manages the bust
ness the most judciously and economi-
cally, yet furnishing everything to the
poor to make them comfortable and hap
py. Now for the past seven years we
have had two men to do this business.
Mr.. Randall at an average yearly salary
of $33333, for the six years $4,000. Mr..
Sideways salary for only one year was
$1,000. Now can we afford to pay ST.
900 per year when we can get the work
done for $500, or less by good business
men?
Below make the figures which think
are very near right if the town reports
are correct:
These are Mr.. Randall's expenses for
the years 1SS9-94, the year ending Feb,
1 in each case:
1889, S5,371.74
1890, 6,725.52
1891, 6,O43.31
1892, 6,009.20
1898, 7S71.O4
1894, 10,231.S3
From Feb. to Mar. s, 1868
Old bills unpaid, 34O.59
$43,94s. 90
Deducting from the above 10 per cent,
which represents the difference in the
cost of provisions, we have 500, ssh. 10.
The average expense for six years is