Middletown transcript., 1896-02-29
MIDDLETowN. DEL, FEB. 20, 1886
urrIs SAID.

umns to bridge In st. Georges hum
dfed which has cost, 1t Is said, in the
past eighteen years, a hundred and
forty thousand dollars and it Is not
much Of a bridge either. The lit is
said, comes from the people best in
formed in the matter and is an honest
estimate and, of itself, is text for a
sermon. Why should the cost OF a
structure of this kind, and OF main
tanning it, have to be estimated in
stead of being known from the records
TO a dollar or to a cent? 1t shows the
lack Of system in our public financeer-
ing, and opens the door to schemes
and tricks by men who are not oyer
honest. The laws and the execution OF
public affairs should be on the "Lead
us not into temptation" order. All
public business should be kept in such
manner, and with access to the rec
ords, that every well-informed citizen
could learn at any time the exact con-
dition of public affairs. This is not
true of the affairs Of any county in
this State; and the more is the ,gret.
1t is not true of the 'Long Bridge" at
Port Penn, since, as one gentleman
puts it, "the exact cost of that bridge
is one of the in-come-at-ables," and
the same is true Of county matters gen.
erally. Such a condition is mistake.
1t is not politics, good or bad, though
the bad man in politics undoubtedly
profited by it. 1t is mistake on the
part of the tax payers to suffer any
sach condition to exist. Now is the
time to correct such evils. 1t should
be business, not politics, to see that
the delegates who constitute the Con-
stitutional Convention shall be men
not only competent to consicer and
plan for the material interests of the
people but that they are above taking
"a partisan advantage. The expenses of
running New Castle county are too ex-
cessive by about fifty per cent. The
miserable assessment and collection
laws are an expense to the tax payers
aside from their partisan use and ab-
use. It should be true not alone in
theory but in fact, that ''a public office
is public trust" in which the money
belonging to the public is expended
economically and judiciously. 1t is the
fault Of the people that it is not so,
the people who allow the partisan poll
tician to prejudice them against their
material interests for the sake of party.
In 1889 when the Republicans Of
Sussex County by the election of 1888
obtained majority of the Levy Court
and the consequent responsibility for
the financial management of county
affairs, they found that orders were
given on the county treasurer of which
no stub was kept and We believe with
out being even numbered. An investi-
cation showed that in a small way
there had been stealing, systematically
carried on and with the lack Of system
in business matters it could be done
with but slight chance OF, dete ction.
Such temptations should not be offered.
And now that there is chance to
change the methods or rather to substi-
tute methods for the lack of them in
our State and county matters in and
through a Constitutional Convention
it should be done, and men fully COM
petent to suggest and make these
changes should be selected as delegates
to that Convention. We want no
more of the sit is said" methods.
Further sit is said' that the eleven
hundred (110O) acres of marsh land To-
Gated within the proposed causeway
was originally assessed and taxed at
forty dollars an acre, before the first
embankment along the shore was
washed away. Now the same marsh
Tand is assessed and taxed at
fifty cents an acre, AMI has been for
years. The difference in value is easily
calculated; it is S43, ,450. s'It is said"
that the tax on this increase in the val
re Of the land would more than have
paid the original cost Of dirt road
with all the fair and just expense of
keeping it in repairs. This, of course,
would not include white-washing jobs,
sc. Is there not food for reflection
here?
SIT is said" further that the loss to
the farmers in the community from the
destruction by the blackbirds which
flock in the marsh, has betn almost
eqnal to the bridge expense to the
county. We do not know this from
personal knowledge, not having seen
the tender ears of corn half plucked
and great deal not carried away rem
dered unmarketable by these pesky lit
tie fellows, but st is said," and no
lone can doubt it, by well informed
gentlemen, that the loss in this way
has been very great. Then wig have
these things remained in this way for
years? The TRANSCRIPT is not seek
ing in this matter ally political advan-
tage for strange to say such things
continue from year to year and they do
not change vote though they may be
maintained to give a political advan-
tage to some one in power. The TRAM
SCRIPT seeks the material prosperity
of the whole people in this as in other
matters. The days of jobs should
cease. There should be system of
IT IS RECORDED in the place of all the
sit is saids." So mote it be.
POT HOUSE POLITICS.
The newspaper, the moralist, the re-
former, all indulge at times in criticism
L. Il