The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-27
REFORM IS NEEDED.

The contest between the people and the
commissioners Of Shelby county as to
whether the former have any rights that
the latter are bound to respect has as
sumed new phase. As readers of the Jour
nal are aware. the contest grows out of the
action of the commissioners in awarding a
contract for the construction of six bridges
at an eXorbtant price. without any pre-
vious surveys, advertising or publicity of
any sort The citizens held mass meeting.
and. believing that the transaction was ir-
regular decided to bring suit to enjoin the
performance of the contract and raised
money to employ lawyer A few days
after the suit was filed the commissioners
met and, by consent of the contractors,
annulled the contract for the six bridges
and employed a local surveyor to make the
necessary surveys for the bridges and re-
port. This was on Saturday last, and on
Monday the surveyor made an alleged re-
port covering six surveys in different and
widely separated parts of the county, and
on the strength of the reports the commits
sioners entered into new contracts with the
same contractors for the building of the
bridges at the old price. This, of course,
killed the suit brought under the first con-
tract. as was the plain intent of the pro-
ceeding The Shelbyville Republican calls
attention to the fact that the person en-
ployed to make the surveys had only from
Saturday till Monday to do the work, and
says that an employee of the auditors Office
worked nearly all of Monday night in order
to make up the commissioners record of
the transaction. 1t is further stated that the
$4,000 bond given by the bridge company
under the new contract and accepted by the
commissioners is signed by three nonresi-
dents of Shelby county and the city editor
of the Shelbyville Democrat, the local organ
of the commissioners. AS Shelby county
has now a bonded debt of 100000, and as
the six bridges contracted for are expected
to cost more than $4,000, it is not surprising
that the taxpayers should feel inclined to
test the legality of the arbitrary and star
chamber proceedings of the commissioners.
The Republican says:
Another mass meeting will be called to be
held at the courthouse or the opera house,
when the conditions as they now exist will
be explained. If the taxpayers say go ahead
with a new suit 1t will be filed as soon as
the papers be made out. A member of
the executive committee said this morning
that there will be no laying down on the
part of the taxpayers. but that the fight
will now be to the finish.
1t ought to be to the finish, for it con-
Germs the people of the entire State. The
fundamental question involved is whether
county commissioners and for that matter
other public officials as WELL are answer
able to public opinion and the people, or
whether they may defy both with impunity.
1t has not been long since a judge in south
ern Indiana held that county official might
deny citizens access to public records, and
now we have a board of commissioners re-
sorting to all sorts of questionable methods
to defeat movement of taxpayers to pre-
vent public funds from being squandered.
Truly, reform is needed