Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-04-04

The Board of County Commissioners
met in regular monthly session, yes
terday morning, with all the members
present, President McGregor presiding.
The session was a long one, not being
concluded until after four o'clock in
the afternoon, and a large amount OF
business was transacted, it including
the annual appropriation ordinance,
which carries $123,500.
A feature of the day was the action
of President McGregor, based upon an
opinion of Prosecuting Attorney Mey-
ers, in casting two votes upon every
occasion where a tie resulted, one Of
said votes being cast as a member OF
the Board from Madison district, and
the other as presiding officer. This
occurred repeatedly, not only upon
matters pertaining to the bonds of Of
ficers claimed to have been elected at
the last special session, but also upon
the annual appropriation ordinance.
By this precedent the Board has put in
the hands of the President the abso-
Lutte power to make the will of five
members of the Board the action of the
entire body and of the county upon all
questions of whatever nature, and
sooner or later trouble will result.
At the opening of the session the
minutes of the previous sessions were
approved up to March 18th. AS to
those minutes, Mr.. Fritz moved that
they be not approved. On this the ayes
and nays were demanded, and the vote
resulted five to five. The President
then asked the Clerk to read the fol-
lowing official opinion:
ITO the Hon. President and Members of
the Board of Commissioners.
"Gentlemen:-Afte careful examina-
ton of the Act passed by the Legislature
of the State establishing your honorable
BODY, the ordinances establishing rules Of
order for the government of the same in
Guiding Cushing's Manual which is there
in adopted and made a part thereof, and
also the various other manuals and works
on the subject of Parliamentary law, as
we'll as opinions by the Courts of last
resort of few of the States, it is my
orable body has the power to cast his
vote as such presiding officer in all cases
of tie vote, to break the same, and all
this, although he may. have himself pre-
vi0usly exercised his right to vote as any
other member of the Board.
"Cushing's Manual, Sec. 245, p. 143: Rob
ert's Rules, Sec. 81 PIP &4-95; g. Mich, Isl;
ports, 653; Wooster V. Millins, % Law Re
ports.
''W c. MEYERS,
prosecuting Attorney"
The reading of this document having
been concluded, the President cast his
deciding vote, and declared the min
utes in question adopted.
Committee bills were then taken up
and ordered paid as follows:
Roads and Bridges $1,000. 5 $50 IS
Court House and Jail ..... $50 IS
FINANCE ............. ........eT o3l 10
Poor House and FARM
1nfirmary fund ..........$620 25
Contingent fund ........ 998 OIL I, CPS 2G
Total ............ .......... 81, 6OS 50
Sheriff Richards reported county or
ders paid by him to the amount of
$6,131.41, and was given proper credit
The Superintendent of the rnfrmary
reported cash receipts for the month
of $114.36. He also reported a total of
Ill inmates, as follows: White males,
II; white females, 27; colored males,
2; colored females, 6. There was one
birth and two deaths during the
month.
The school fund orders, now aggre-
eating $3,415.25, about which there
has been a good deal of trouble, then
engaged the attention of the Board.
These orders are payable out of the
general school fund money arising
from fines assessed by Justices, but as
matter of fact none have been paid
for four years past, and the others,
originally, perhaps, accepted as being
as good as any other county order,
have been hawked about and one man
has over one thousand dollars of them.
Justice Fitzpatrick some time ago OBJ
tanned a writ of mandamus, compelling
the county to recognize them, and this
was formally done at yesterdays meet
ing, but as the receipts from fines only
amount to $500 or $500 year, it will
take about ten years to pay all the out
standing orders off, even if no new
ones are created. The county is said
IN in 1;o1