The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-07
TOWNSHIP EXPENSES.
A Comparison That Leaves the Cities
at u Disadvantage.

!
To the Editor of the indianapolis Journal
In an editorial in the Journal of Jan. 20
you commented on paper read by Mr..
Craig, of Nobesville, before the State
Board of Commerce, the subject of which
was Reform in Township and County Gov
| eminent" That there is need of reform in
| townsT , and county government l do not
-eny. but how to go about it is the ques-
| ton In next to the concluding paragraph
| of the editorial on Mr.. Craigs paper you
! say: He went to the gist of the matter
| when he said: If centralized authority and
| fixing responsibility in national government
| and in city government wise and eff
fective, why would it not also be proper in
| county government.
| If there is any nation on earth that has
| been eXtravagant and prodigal it is the
United States Many millions of acres of
fertile land have been given away to rail-
roads, without price and without cost, for
the enrichment of a private corporation, but
when one of her private citizens wanted
few acres, and was willing to take his fam
| lily and brave the trials and hardships of a
| new country, he was charged from SIPS to
| $3.50 per acre; yet a set of wealthy men
| could get ali they wanted OF the public do
| main by having a Well-paid lobby at Wash
| ington when Congress was in session. Is
| that economic Capitalization of national
| power? How about the appropriation for
| internal improvements that the national
| legislature makes? Every session of Con-
| gress since l have been able to read has
appropriated large for the improve
| ment of the Mississippi river. 1t seems to
me that they have sent money down there
! by the bOatload and dumped it out as
| though 1t was that much sand. 1t seems TO
| me like Congress has sent enough money
| down there to build levee q hundred feet
high from Cairo to the gulf. There is the
y rAln frr hi hot L. Chi
| per ton, and this has been going ON for
| years, yet they say we are only second
or third-rate naval power. l see it stated in
q recent issue OF the journal that General
| Miles has assured members of Congress that
our seacoast is entirely unprotected, and
| that d hostile fleet could enter any of our
! largest seaports without the slightest dan
! ger, that we have no powder or projec-
tiles and yet we have spent money by
| hundreds of millions on our seacoaSt de-
| lenses When representative or senator
| dies special train, with all that that i'm
| senators and representatives to escort the
| body TO its distant home. and then the
| friends of the dead senator or representa-
tive bring i'll bill of $4,000 or $4,000 for
funeral expenses, and get it, too Is this
economic expenditure of government
money? If county commissioner or town
ship trustee spends $40 for the burial of
| some unfortunate of his county or township
he is called reckless in his expenditure and
| should have somebody to watch over him.
| 1t is said he gets the money and the county
4 or township officer does the work.
As to city government, see by the jour
| nal of Jan. p that the school debt of your
| city is $S72, 63043 and there is your park
| department, your sewer debt, your street
| Improvement debt and l do not know what
| else-all of these items will run your debt.
| bonded, interest-bearing notes, sinking
fund. etc. into the millions. ] would like
| to know how Marion county stands in COM
parison with your city How about the
| State? She has d debt of several millions
and, that, too, in times of profound peace,
| with the state school trust Juggling at her
| skirts for more money Ten years ago the
| taxpayers paid for the three state schools
$4,000 and in 1896 and 1897 S40l 52S 9S How
| is that for schools where they make law
| yers, preachers, doctors, schoolteachers,
| cooks, dairymen.. etc, at the taxpayers
the State over 100000, $160 per student.
| while the great army of school children of
the State only get $40 per head Is that
| of those professors get $1,000 each per year.
| one $500 and are entitled to receive for
| their services as members of State School
| Board of Education while actually engaged
| in the duties of this Office S. per day and
! cents mileage going to and returning
| Board of Agriculture wants the State to as
sumo control of its organization, that q
few more can be fed at the public crib.
| Now, as to county and township govern
ment These men who have so much to say
| about county and township expenditure
| seem to forget that, from the very nature
| of the case, the officers have the eXpendi-
ture of large sums of money
and they assume that they are
|
| some of these. so-called reformers would
have us believe L deny this. Until the
county, had no debt to speak of and never
! have had since l can remember, and our
/ rate of taxation has never been excessively
| high We never hear anything as to the
| cost OF our Circuit Court. Here is an in
stance of thousand that occur all over
| our State. We elect a prosecuting attorney
| in each judicial circuit in this State. They
! are supposed to attend to the business of
the. State, and yet when they, get a case in
| which they think they would like to have
| help they apply to the judge for additional
counsel and most generally get it, Then the
| Judge makes an allowance Of say, 500 for
/ such additional counsel, and the county
| commissioners have to pay it out of the
county treasury. In short it comes off of
! the taxpayers AS to township tax the trus-
! tee has the schools. roads, the township
| poor bridges under $40, and many other lit
| tie things TO look after, all of which takes
| take my own township, for i know more
| about it, The levy for 1897 for township
purposes is cents on $l00, for special
! school. cents; for tuition, Il cents; for
! road 10 cents (road to be worked no cash
| levy for roads,, making Il total of AZ cents
| for all township purposes; total, State
county and township, 1928 while the two
! Incorporated towns of my county have
school tax, one of 20 cents on $100 and the
/ other 40 cents for schools alone. The total
| tax of our cities in this State will run
| from 1925 to $40, while the townships of
] this county run from SID to 1928 How
| does this compare with your city and town
| tax, with all of your town boards
and city Council? And this town
ship has three good brick school
/ houses one frame (new), one frame
| Cold). good wood and coahouses and other
necessary buildings. three tubular wells of
good water and three dug wells of excel
/ lent water all in good healthy location
| Yet they talk about the extravaganza of
| local government 1t is the town councils
and city boards of control and the State
| and national governments that spend large
! sums of money. and then somebody wants
| to blame it all on county and township
| officers. Perhaps we need reprimanding
| once in a while but why pay so much at
| tention to the small fish ard let the big
| game go scot free?
G. w LOONEY, JR.
| Rushville, Ind, Jan. 81.
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