The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-27
TRUSTEES AND FIGURES
ISSUE TAKEN WITH RELIABILITY OF
MIR. CONNER'S STATISTICS.
Several Insist a. Movement Will BE
Made to Abolish His
Office.

A number of the township trustees are
disposed to lock horns with State Statisti-
clan Conner on the position he has assumed
regarding township reform, and they an
nounceG that the matter would be discussed
at the meeting of the trustees to-day
Trustee Clark, of Wayne township, or TINS
county, is chairman of the executive COM
mittee, and 1t is claimed that the commit
tee sought Mr.. Conner yesterday afternoon
to ask him to explain his position to the
trustees, but that Mr.. Conner happened to
be out of town. The afternoon papers con-
tanned a table of statistics from his office
which the trustees insist is ridiculous. Those
trustees opposed to the state statistician
say they intend to begin movement to
abolish the office of statistician, as 1t costs
the State $4,000 a year, the people over the
State deriving no benefit which they could
not obtain through other state offices. one
of them last night contended that the only
information of benefit to the farmer was
the wheat statistics and he claimed the
spectators were really the only people who
profited from this table to any extent
The table in the afternoon papers yester-
day, to which the trustees take exceptions,
purportS to contain figures from nine town.
ships, having about the average conditions.
Township No. 2 for instance, has popu-
lation of 1858, with $500 paid the trustee by
the township, $14 paid the trustee by the
county, a total of 1894. Including some small
err items, the cost per capita in this town.
ship is given at 1894. But the trustees say
any child, dividing the total cost of 1884 by
4,66S (the number of people in the township,
will find the per capita cost to be lessthan
IA cents. In Township No. 3 the total paid
trustee is $780, the population being 1,54S. A
simple division shows the per capita cost to
be less than 80 cents, although in the table
printed yesterday the per capita cost is
stated to be $3.50. Other townships cited
show similar discrepancies. The trustees re-
fer to this table to show how Valueless are
the statiSucianS figures Another statement
made by the statistician, according to the
afternoon papers, is that one township with
q population of 1904 expended $176,936 of
road funds. The trustees say this statement
is too ridiculous on the face of 1t to need
comment, as there isn't a township in In
amount of money on roads in the history
OF the State.
1t is also claimed by this side in the con-
troversy that the management of the
trustees Office has been misFepresented by
figures. 1t is said that trustees are credited
with many thousands of dollars in receipts,
where the money has never passed, the
amount simply representing the road tax
receipts where men have worked out their
road tax under the Indiana law. The trus-
tees will discuss other features OF the stats-
ucian's office.
One of the trustees last night said these
officers feel aggrieved that the township and
county government reform organization did
not invite the trustees into the new move
ment, as the trustees presumably knew
more about the affairs than any others. AS
trustee are ineligible for reelection, it is as
serted they would offer advice in a purely
patriotic way.