The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-17

The county officers who are lobbying
against the county and township govern
ment reform bills have succeeded in winning
the support of few state papers, which,
having been misled themselves, are mislead
ing their readers regarding a matter of pub
lie interest and state concern. These papers
must be misinformed regarding the charac-
ter and object of the measures referred to
or they would not so grossly misrepresent
them and make statements so plainly a.
variance with facts. The fair thing would
have been to print the bills, or at
least the sections against which their at
tacks are directed, so that their readers
could see if they contained anything of tic
kind alleged. Instead of this they attack
alleged provisions that are not in the bills
at all. This is not honest journalism. One
or two of these papers from which better
things might have been expected continue
to assert, after the Journal has pointed oue
the absolute falsity of the statement and
printed the section of the bills on which
it is based, that they require county print
ing to be done and supplies purchased at
the capital, to the injury of county news
papers and job Offices One paper, whose
editor one must charitably suppose has
never read either of the bills and gets his
information second hand, says: THE In,
dianapolis papers are frothing at the mouth
because the county press opposes that por-
ton Of the county and township reform bill
that would compel officers from all over the
State to purchase their supplies in Indiarap-
,Iie
newspaper in Indianapolis that has job
Office or deals in supplies, and the only job
and supply establishments in the city that
deal with county and township officers are
with the courthouse rings and organized
taxeaters fighting the bills. Another paper
appeals to local prejudice by asking: what
right have Indianapolis newspapers whose
editors never had anything in common with
the people of Erwin township. Howard coun-
ty and positively know nothing about the
affairs of that township, to provide a form
of government for that township" The In
diana Legislature, which gave Erwin town.
ship. Howard county, it's present form Of
government. can give it a new one in COM
mon with every other township in the State
if it sees fit, and when the state conven-
tions of both political parties and nearly
all the business organizations in the State
have declared in favor of system the
indianapolis newspapers ought to be able to
favor it without being charged with a pur-
pose to interfere with the government of
Erwin township, Howard county.
The trIth is, the reform bills are not
drawn in the interest of any locality any
person or anything except better system
of local government in indiana. They are
not aimed at the present officials, as the
opponents of the measures are representing.
One paper says: THE men who were at
tackled are only doing what any one else
would do under the circumstances. They
are defending their records" No person is
attacked and no mans record impugned
unless he has been dishonest and chooses to
put on his own head a cap meant not for
any individual but for a faulty system. 1t
is the opinion of competent judges and bust
ness men that the proposed reforms would
work a great saving to taxpayers and a
great improvement in the methods of local
government, and those who oppose them on
grounds that do not touch the merits of the
bills lay themselves open to the suspicion
of being in league with corruptionists and
taxeaters.