Delaware gazette and state journal., 1899-11-30
The Keeping OF Road Accounts.


The Keeping OF Road Accounts.
We print elsewhere in this issue of
pert of the auditors appointed by Judge
Spruance to audit the accounts Of the
road commissioners of New Castle
county. Like the report of the auditors
who made the audit of the county
accounts, it will be found very inter
esting reading.
The concerns Of theroad commission
ers are of local interest, as they refer
TO the hundreds outside of Wilmington,
each hundred having control of its own
COLLECTIONS and expenditures. Will
mington has no road commissioners.
But, nevertheless, these accounts pos
sess public interest. They represent
branch of the county government
that is of the utmost i'm mportance-th
collection of road taxes and the ex-
penditure of the money so collected in
the betterment OF the public roads
and as the matter of good roads is one
that concerns the great bulk of the
people, the latter will naturally feel
IN interest in the road accounts of the
various hundreds, and the story that
they tell.
The first striking point in the report
Of the auditors is their statement of
the difficulties encountered in perform
ing their work, by reason of the in
efficient and unsystematic manner in
which the road accounts had been Kept.
Books were exhibited that failed to
show the amounts due and unpaid :;
forced balances; orders for material
issued in advance of the receipt of
taxes; no complete record to show the
amount OF these orders outstanding.
Such are some of the conditions that
ths auditors were confronted with
throughout their task.
The detailed reports of the audit of
the accounts of the various hundreds
do not make an encouraging showing.
There is a prevailing run of liabilities,
without.any show for assets with which
to meet them. There are records of
iSoho hooCo w iubGL tuTTEiiL tSDbDS6S.
There are other evidences of lack of
business system in the management of
the road affairs of the various hun
dreds of New Castle county - other
revelations of an inefficient, extraya.
CANT system of road supervision that
calls loudly for reform.
1t does not appear, from the exami.
nation of the auditors, that there has
becn any corruption in the road man
agement of any hundred. But it is
shown plainly thatithere is an impers-
tive need of change. The present
methods are antiquated, inefficient and
extravagant; they fail to realize sub
stantial results from the taxes con
tributed for road purposes; they are
opon to abuse that may readily lead
to corruption. In word, they are
unbusinesilike and no good.
Heresisyroom sfor reform legislation
by the next session of the General AS
senbly, and it would be well for those
most particularly interested, the payers
of road taxes in the hundreds outside
of Wilmington, to give serious con.
sideration to the subject The ereai
need is an efficient and uniform system
of operations. for which existing laws
do not provide. II would be well 70,
representative citizens of the various
hundreds to hold a county convention
for the consideration of the subject
and the formulation of uniform Law
governing the administration of road
affairs throughout the county. Sucf
q plan would involve some trouble ant
expense, but 1t would be time ant
money well invested. The payers o
road taxes are losing money, anyway
under the present system, and it woulC
be practical to expend a little NOR,
money in the direction of effectine
reform that would not only save then
money in the future, hut secure ia
better results from tine expenditure o
road taxes.
We commend the report of the audit
ors TO the careful attention of all on
readers, and earnestly hope that th
consideration of this very importan
matter will lead to speedy and per
manent reform.