The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-05-27
. CHESTER'S TREASURER.
Officials Should Make Publication OF
Their Acts.
Yorkville Yeoman.


The advantage of making every item OF the
public business as public as possible is seen
by making an illustration OF the case OF the
treasurer OF Chester county. II the law haC
required him to publish an itemiZed state
ment of the taxes received from different per-
sons in the county the taxpayers Of the
county would not only have saved unknown
sums of money, but the temptation 10 DO
wrong would not have been placed before q
man who was In many respects model pub
lie servant. Yet there are many people who
do not know In at the appearance of Il detailed
report of the doings of the financial machin-
them that bond. and is the truest kind Of econ
omy In the end. The salvage on one or two
little steals would more than pay the cost OF
publication.
things published, 1t can generally y be accepted
as evidence that there is dead mackerel In
Fishing Creek. The publication of these re-
ports makes the county executive officials
careful,in making contracts that involve ex-
penSe, and makes square in their dealings
with the general public as against special
friends and jobbing neighbors who build
bridges and do other public work. and II
makes the treasurer carefal in the receipt OF
taxes and in the payment OF claims. NO one
thinks for q minute that If the treasurer o
Chester county had published, year after year
temiZed statements OF taxes paid there WOULD
have existed the serious charge that there Is
now against him. Detection would have
been certain and swift. The statement he was
cOmpelleu W puOllsu HAS Ueeu SSHeIdl III its
nature, but at the request of some so-called
Reform members OF the legislature from this
section, a law was passed by which the coun
ty commissioners are not allowed to even
publish this report annually in York, Ches
ter and some fourteen other counties in the
State, The example exhibits a species CT spe
cial legislation that will afford many opportu
mites for special individuals To line theil
pockets we'll at public expense. and while il
takes something of considerable interes
away from some OF the newspapers in the
different counties effected, the loss to the pa
pers Is slight compared 10 what the public
will eventually suffer. The people at large
will in the end pay dearly Tor the whistle
They have been robbed Of one OF their great
est safeguards. 1t remains to be seen whether
they will hold the legislature responsible
We are not sure whether this law was passed
through ignorance or whether the buddins
Daniel Websters, Henry Clays, John Z. Cal
hounS and other illustriOus legislators o
York. Chester and other suffering counties
shifted the tained gall OF sell.interest which
they fancied the future would bring. There
Is no reform at all in IL. While the publca
tion of these reports should always be done
as cheaply as possible, it should continue, ant
II any change at all is made in the direction
of greater fulness and that for the better
completer protection OF those VINO pay I'M
taxes and carry the burden OF goveTniIienl i
BY all means do not blow out The little lgh
they have to see what Is being done. DO no
leave them in total darkness, with no Iurthe
privilege than to drop the nick lie IN the $40. o
have the sheriff scked on them. Bette
make the light brighter. Oil COSTS HUI
money, but the majority of the people preie
to have IL than to exist without the llgnL /
makes. Who has taken Off York county's ol
can? Don't all speak at.once