Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1896-07-15
4 CRIME WITHOUT A CRIMINAL.

A CRIME WITHOUT A CRIMINAL.
 One of the noteworthy sayings of men of prominence Is that of Van dsTbilt. wherein he alluded to peo- pie in the somewhat inelegant phrase of the public be damned This tyraunicSl expression from a multi-millionAire's lips was evidently
 formed and forcibly given ventilla- tion from the fact that his relations generally with the masses were such as to lead him to the conviction that his business affairs were his own and that Do one had Sny right tO question them. so long as be kept
 within the limits of the law Act ing upon this somewhat noted re
 mark, the masses of this country
 seem applicable to shoulder the responsibility so generously extend ed to others by this wealthy person, in so far as a general discussion pre- vails concerning the action of our
 board If supervisors in the past on
 the question of wagon road build
 ing in IaySpSi county. As seems to
 be generally believed, the recent expert examination of our internal
 affairs, carries with it the impression
 that confidence in our board has
 been officially abused by them. and
 that extIavagance has prevailed
 where economy was lacking. To many such Is the belief, but to many
 also Is this belief not apparent. nor
 is it sanctioned by them. It is true 1 the road fund of the county has
 been taxed to the utmost and that
 the debt it Is carrying to-day IS a
 burdensome one, but back of its
 creation there is one question to consider which an uugenerous pub | lie never for an instant heSitates to grasp. IL IS the question who sane ! toned and encouraged wagon road building and the consequent in ! debtedness that has followed such
 an appeal' IL is the public, and not ! the board of supervisors, and an | impartial consideration of the Ques-
 tion will verify it. For years, aud ! particularly during the last four
 ones, what has prompted the eI- peuditure of the sums of money outlayed for this purpose, and backed by what authority Is it In ] the first case. the commercial in ;erests of this and other sections | answer, aud in the second. every ! maa interested 70 s-ein- h's ss vol { as ota-Ts pursuits pr0sy-: has u- : di.usnJlv demanded it, and te- maLd~d '- because the county g-u- crafty had to pay for it. la nut
 she'll. every business man or tax payer m nearly every conhne of the county have simply said to the ! board, you must submit to the wishes of the many for 1t benefits
 the many. II the individual wishes ! ot few had been carried out on | the line these few demanded. the
 interests of thls city and other com
 mercial centers would simply have l lauguished, and that which We have
 won through the liberal manage ment of official action, would have
 been lost, and lost, too, forever The
 Bradshaws, and the steady trade
 that locality daily furnishes us, is
 worth all and more to Yavapai than
 its wagon road debt, not to men
 tiou other mining districts nearer to us. which have all shared alike
 and indiScriminately official consid-
 eration in transportation facilities. Men. in their bickerings, seem To be
 misguided on this important ques- ton, and in their pessimistic views
 go merely into details rather than
 considering the duty of public ser-
 wants delicately and in a broad
 sense. For instance, to the request
 for road from Prescott 10 the ter
 sey Lily country that is assuming sc- tive life and bids soon to be gener-
 ously considered in mining pros
 perity, there were nearly two hun
 dred taxpayers and business firms
 back of the appeal to build this expensive mountain road. To the
 request to open to communication the Bradshaws, and thereby save to
 Yavapai what MaricopA must ulti-
 mately win otherwise, the board of trade, ba,ked by everybody along the route affected, was earnestly and diligently agitating the rebuilding of this thoroughfsre until 1t was
 accomplished. The same plea will
 apply to others and in other locali-
 ties with equal force. Briefly our
 board of suprvisors have never
 turned deaf ear to the interests of
 any community that came within
 the bounds of reason, and for their
 gratitude, the scurrilous and despic- able assertions now heard by some, come with a grace that is unwar- ranted and uncalled for In build ing up many, the curses of the few only are heard, and in extending our commercial relations to every
 point, commendaiIon should be ex- tended in the place of back handed
 blows. Our board of supervisors has simply performed a duty, aud in the performance of it, they
 -b,,,lI ba halI nm rathar than