The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1897-07-22
STRAY SHOTS
Io,ics Of Interest, Here, There, and
Everywhere.

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have consented to an increase of the
bonded Indebtedness of the town, the
action of the council in disposing OF
,.e money so raised, will be watched
=, h interest. Every dollar of it
should be applied to the exact pur
pose Tor which it has been raised, and
to no other.
Speaking of the Indebtedness of the
town reminds me of the fact that we
have a debt, big debt, debt that is
Getting no smaller very fast. What
are we going to do with it 1t will
have to be paid some time, by some
body, and yet instead of paying off
old bonds, every little while we find
it necessary to issue new batch to
pay off a floating debt that has ac-
cummulated. Now, what's the matter?
Well, we are spending more money
than we are getting in. Council after
council, year after year, tax rate is
laid that does not bring in as much
money as council spends. For fear
of offending tender hearted consti
tuency. members of council lay low
tax rate, and for the same reason
spend good deal more than their
income, and, like any other business,
that must cease, or bankruptcy will
stare us in the face. There are too
many private pulls. a crossing is
put in here because a relative OF a
member wants it a new street is
opened up there because somebody
with "pull" wants work for his
teams an old street is widened and
straightened at great expense, because
perhaps member owns property on
that street, and SO it goes. There
must be more strict economy, and bet
ter Judgment than has frequently
been exercised, if this town is ever
going to get out of hoie.
And just here, another matter con-
nected with town affairs suggests it
self, and that is our abominable sys-
TEN of electing full new council
every year. verify believe that this
system Is largely responsible for our
big town debt. Nearly every man
who gets on the council has some axe
to grind. He grinds his axe, and at
the end of the year steps down, leav-
ing the bill to be paid by the next
council. If two only were elected
each year, so that there would always
be four old members, this would not
happen, for no member would want to
incur bills this year that he himself
must provide for in some way next
year. Under our present system the
responsibility is too easily shifted on
to the succeeding council. It's
sort of grab game. Get what yor
want and go out If there is any
way of changing this system, the
sooner it is done, the better tor al
concerned
The committee appointed at th'
last Democratic county convention Il
revise the rules of the party, hav'
been in session recently, and their re
port is about ready. 1t was high tim
that some such steps were taken. No
body knows just what the presen
rules are. They were printed in 1885,
in pamphlet form, and the only wa
to find out what changes have bee
made since that time is to go throug
the newspaper files. The peopl
want something they can understand
Our cd rules are so complicated tha
one man has had to be called upo
Jear a.ter year to figure out who tn
nominees are, and it is said that b
didn't always figure the same wa,
The object of these complicated rule
was to prevent fraud, but they haN
s'ynally failed in this, for it is wei
known fact that certain delegates al
always in the market, and that the
are regularly purchased. Let us hay
system that viii wipe out tn
Barney Doyle kind of statesmen.
Who will be Sheriff ? That Is
matter that l can't decide. Villa
Black of Rohrsburg, Albert Herblr
of Bloomsburg, and Hud o. Kline
Berwick are in the race, but from pr
sent indications it is impossible
predict who will make the nomln
ton.
Don't all start for Alaska az one
1t is true that gold has been dlscove
ed out there, but there will be plen
of people to dig it before you can 8
there.
"Not at home" is phrase
generally used that most servan
thoroughly understand its purport--
e., the mistress of the house is n