Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-01-14
The GrowIery.


Those who have read Dickens story,
''Bleak House" will remember "The
Crowley as Mr.. Jarndyce called the
room to which he retired when things
did not go to suit his liking or when
"the wind was in the east as he express
ed it. Well, the wind has been in the
east for the past few days. The breeze
started in the court house, in the Office
of the county auditor, where that coterie
OF gentlemen, known to public life as
the Board of Supc" isors Of Audubon
county hold their IL ,ular meetings.
Monday morning, January 4, they, the
above mentioned gentlemen, arrived on
the scene and proceeded With prompt
ness and dispatch to transact the busi.
ness affairs Of Audubon county. The
bridge contract was let in short order.
The lowest bidder was Satisfactory as
the request for bids read and the most
satisfactory bidder was the lowest so
that the whole business was dead easy"
and the gentleman and everybody else
so far as is known are satisfied.
The board also requested bids on the
stewardship of the county farm This
matter was not so easy of solution, for
the lowest bidder was not the "satisfac-
tory" bidder, it appears. This business
took time. The members looked into
the question thoroughly, studied the
matter Complementary, figured exhaus-
lively and finally on the last day OF the
session decided that 1920 less certain
large sized chunk of satisfaction, not
fully described, is equal to or perhaps
lower than $3.50.
There was difference in the size of
the families of the bidders. The low
man had more children and not SO much
satisfactory" as the other man. Child
rem eat great deal and the county fur
nishes the supplies Children are not
satisfactory" either. The low man sug-
gested the feasibility of dividing his
household, but that was not "satisfac-
tory Children might destroy the
shrubbery on the county farm. which
would not be satisfactory at all. The
low man was willing to give bonds to
indemnify the constituency OF the men,
bers of the board in case the children
pulled up any trees, browsed on the
shrubbery or whitfield the wire fences;
but-he was not the Lowest satisfactory
bidder and that settled it.
The board also struck an economical
streak and cut down the deputy hire in
the offices of the clerk, auditor and
treasurer $50 per year. The statute
fixes the salary of the county of
ficers and the clerk hire must
be paid by the board as that body
sees fit. One man can not do the work
in the county offices. He must have
assistance. His help must be qualified
to do the work. Yet the board has put |
the salaries Of deputies at so low a fig
ure that it will not pay a competent |
man.
The board might practice economy
more successfully in some other direc-
ton than in the lessening of the stan
dard of efficiency in the county offices.
AS far as the actual expenses of keeping
up the county government goes, we will
venture to say that the taxpayers will
see no difference between ~ and '96 in
the amount they are called on to con-
tribute.
Anyway, the spectacle of cutting down
salaries in the court house, and, the very
next minute, letting county contract
to other than the lowest bidder, is q
queer sort of economy.