The Ravalli Republican., 1897-12-29
RAN.ALl.I'S FINANCES.
Did our Indebtedness Decrease or In
L

To the Editor of the Republicans:
As a tax payer interested in the
OF the affairs Of this county
ana the result Of the same. ] very
naturally gave some little attention
to the annual financial statement Of
the eounty's standing as shown
through the report Of the county
clerk recently published in your
| was much gratificd when |
saw by the tootings in that statement |
that the debt Of the county had de-
creased 50, ,2O4.94 during the year,
as, in common with many others, |
had feared an increase. ] accepted |
the statement as a correct one, for
the footings showed as plainly as tig- |
urcs could that the claim Of q de-
crease was Il true one. But, some
how. there remained an nnsatislicd
doubt, and took occasion couple
Of days ago to look the statement
over again, and, 10. an Ethiopian Of
gigantic stature was discovered lurk-
ing in the fuel pile. In the state
mcnt of warrants issued and redeem
cd for the year find: "Road fund
warrants paid and cancelled during
the year, &S,204. 80" and "Road
Fund warrants outstanding Nov 30:
1891, $l4 23O. 20" So far all right.
But, in the next table, the state
ment Of liabilities and resources,
from which the actual tinancial
standing of the county is sdctermncd.
| find, "Road Fund warrants out
standing Nov. 30, 1897, $S,2o+.3o
instead Of $l4, 230.20, as it appears
in the former table, 4 slight differ
cncc Of only sG,025. 80. BY leaving
it as the published statement has it;
the Indebtedness Of the county is
shown to have been decreased 81
2O+ 81, which makes q very good
showing for the present administra~
tion. But correct statement will
show that instead OF u decrease, OF
which no doubt the average taxpayer
who read it without very close exam
ination is congratu|atinG himself and
the people, there is an actual in
crease of the county's Indebtedness
Of So, S2O.91. ~..
Now, Mr. Editor, (lo not for an
instant charge the clerk with will
fully falsifying the figures, for the
error is too plain to long 90 undctcct
ed. 1t is III my mind ii matter Of
pure carGlcsSness and mistake that
should not have been made by a com
petcnt and careful man in matter
OF SO much Importance to the tax
payers and u guidance to the board
Of commissioners in their calculations
OF expense to be made ii the future
conduct Of affairs, the tax levy. etc.
But | cannot help comparing the
correct condition Of affairs with that
existing when what WAS SO widely
published rs the ''lng" and charged
with "robbing the taxpayers" had
charge. Under the old order Of
things mistakes were almost un-
| known, and the financial statement
Of last year showed u decrease Of in
between the two administrations OF
IS, ,jll.4S in favor of the 'ring and
the taXpnyerS--in one year. And
this difference in the expense Of the
two administrations to the people is
the more noticeable when it IS con.
sidcrcd that the republican Icgisla,
turc Of 1898 cut down the salaries So
that the salary list CT Ravalli coEnty
is some - 600 smaller, or should be
than last year And yet we find that
the county officials drew Sl5.43 more
from the county this year than last
Comparing the statement last yea
with this we lind in the 1896 state
mcnt: "oalarics of county officers
$40, ,952.1l clerk Of the court, 81, 100
sheriff, $4.75S. 10" IL total of S11, 100
80. In 1897, with tho salaries sup
posed to be reduced. ''Salarics o
county officers, 50. .G15.4 43: CLERK Of tIl'
court 81 ,S66.70 shcriT,T5 1913 )" ;
total Of Sl7, ,4l5.57. And yet we cal
remember how some used to claim
that the old officials were DRAWN!
entirely too much from. the pockets 0
the taxpayer, and tiiut plenty Of goot
men could be found to dc the worl
FULL yas we'll and at a good deal les
salary, indeed, if remember rightly
Il certain paper once printed Il com
munication to the effect that g0ot
, men could be had to do the work til,
"ring" were doing ut hall, tn
cost to the people. | wonder now
whether the taxpayers would not pre-
fer the ''ring," which reduced thci
Indebtedness by nearly $1,000, to tn
':rcform'' administration which in
, creased it nearly $1,000.
f In conclusion, Mr., Editor. Thi
false statement has been published il
; the official county paper and has bccl
accepted as.truc by the majority 0
itl1c tax payers who viii probably no
;, look it over carefully enough to dis
, cover the error. rs one Of those tax
payers protest that this false state
ncnt be not allowed to stand, an
tllata true statement should be pull
;. lishcd SO that the public can kloN
:. Just how its affairs arc.
Yours truly.
. SUBSCRIBER.
; NOTE.-Aftcr the above had bee
received and put in type, Mr. Fit
c gerald: the county clerk, whose at
: tcntion had been called to the error
] came to this office and had 100 coric
Of the corrected statement printed a
y his own expense, and which he vii