The Indianapolis journal., 1899-02-16

I
duties OF great Importance, including the
power to levy the township road tax and
me township poor tax As yet, however,
the school tax was levied by a vote of the
town meeting. In 1855 most radical change
was made in the constitution Of the town
ship. The town meeting was abolished eX-
cept in so far as it related to the election
OF teachers. The levy Of the school tax was
transferred from the people to the board of
three township trustees, and in their hands
also was placed the erection and mainte-
rance Of schools. This surrender by the
people Of their ancient privilege Of voting
upon the school tax was followed in 1859 by
still more radical change. In that year the
board of three trustees was abolished and
elected.
1T is perfectly plain to students of his
county will in growing community follow
| the path of progress and development of our
state government, namely. there must take
place separation OF the legislative or tax
!eXylng power from the executive and ad-
ministrative power. Placed in different
hands they act as a check upon each other
Likewise in our township the concentrated
| and unchecked power vested in the township
trustee must be divided, depriving him of
| the legislative power of levying the town
| snip taxes. This is the inevitable course Of
| development of American institutions. 1t is
! what is known as the American plan of gov
ernment 1t Is bound to extend downward
| from the State to municipalities. counties
ana townships. These are the theories upon
Whlcn the county and township reform bills
/ drawn
| I. y. Murphy, or Evansville, secretary OF
| me board, spoke of Local Government in
| Other States Compared with the System
proposed for Indiana" In the course of his
| remarks, Mr.. Murphy said:
! The reform bills now pending in the Leg
| government. No other State in the Union
mas such complete local government as
! these bills contemplate"
THE TRAIL OF THE SERPENT
One Of the most impressive discussions of
the subject of reform was made by William
Dudley Foulke of Richmond, whose paper
on 'The Trail of the Serpent" was much ap-
! plauded and created considerable discussion.
Mr.. Foulke said among other things:
"A little over twelve years ago the great
| ing with the debauchery of party spoils.
! The men who controlled the hospital for
the insane had filled the offices with their
| political henchmen had purchased legisla-
| tive influence by wholesale patronage and
reduced to a system the traffic for place
| The money Of the State was converted to
! private use, rebates were taken and Sc
! cretly appropriated, and worthless supplies
! were bought from political favorites for
| eXtraVagant prices Food infested with
! Vermin was placed upon the tables of the
| patients, meat was supplied by the
| slaughter of animals dying from a malig-
nant and contagious disease, and, worst of
| all, the helpless victims OF madness were
| consigned to the care of reckless and brutal
| attendants, by whose negligence some were
! killed, others were suffered to escape, while
many were Systematically beaten, tor
! mented and abused.
Il had the honor of serving upon the
| committee which first investigated these
| iniquities. We represented an association
which had no greater official sanction than
the commission which has just prepared the
| reform bills for county and township bust
| ness. We were told then, as we are told
| now, that we were meddling with things
! which did not concern us, Shiny reptiles!
| Hungry hawks!' Political Phariseesr
Trinity of counterfeiters! and other
| endearlng names were applied to US ike
| the calumnies and epithets which have been
| heaped upon the members of the present
| commission by the defenders of hoary
| abuses in our county and township admins
| trations. Such names bear witness to the
improbable hatred which corruption cher
| ishes toward the hand which would unveil
| it's denominations. The answer given by
| the people Of Indiana in two successive
| elections and the party responsible for the
| conduct of the asylum hurled from
| power. Where to-day are the eminent poll
| ticians under whose protection these abuses
THE guilty contractor left his country for
| his country's good; the guilty trustees were
| superseded, their aiders and supporters in
| the Legislature have retired to that OBJ
| Scurity which they are eminently quail
| fed to adorn. The journal which sought to
| protect these public plunderers has passed
| into the hands Of ADLER and more honest
| men, and to-day stands as one for the fore
| most representatives of reform. The people
! of Indiana have more intelligence and vir-
| tue than is believed by the small politicians
! who hide their heads in the sand like os-
| triches, hoping that their conduct Will thus
| escape observation. No man can long hold
any eminent place in Indiana who has de-
! filed his career by handling an unclean
| thing To-day the great charities of the
| State are nonpartlsan, and they reflect
| honor and credit upon the Commonwealth
SIMILAR EVIL MORE WIDESPREAD.
Another issue is now before the people
| quite similar to that which was presented
in 1886. The evil is more widespread. 1t is
infinitely greater and comes closer home TO
us than it did then. 1t affects not one insti-
| tuition, but hundreds. 1t concerns the chari-
ties and the business not of the State alone,
| but of every county and township within
! its borders IT affects the county asylums,
| the poor relief of the townships, the con-
| struction and repair of highways, bridges
| and public edifceS, and, most important OF
| all, the care and management of our COM
mon schools. 1t is supported by the same
| forces of corruption which prevailed then,
| by the cohesive power OF public plunder, by
! a lobby paid and controlled by contractors,
| bridge companies and school-supply COM
| panies and by that portion of the county
| and township officers who are personally in
| terested in pilfering the money of the peo-
! pie Let me tell the men who stand to-day
| in the Legislature as the advocates of these
| combinations that they cannot long conceal
| their guilty partnership with public enc
mics. I remember how it when was in
| the Senate While the great mass of the
| members were upright, patriotic and con-
| scientous there were a few whom we quick
| ly recognized as the tools of corrupt per-
| sonal interests We did not say much about
| It, but we saw clearly the motives which lay
| behind their erratic conduct. They were al
| ways in favor of every good thing and they
| were opposed to every measure by which
| that good thing could be accomplished. Re
! form was the desire of their hearts. but 1t
was always some other kind of reform the
kind which could not be accomplished. IF
/ an q was not dotted or the t. was not
| crossed according to their fancy, they were
| against the bill. OF all these men there is
| not one who now holds an important public
| trust Others have come to the front and
| taken their places. better men, men like
| Chairman Herny, who believes that a plat
| form means what it says-a man who was
| lust as eager and jealous to overthrow the
| iniouities of the insane hospital then, when
| he was chairman of the committee Of Hen
| ry county as he is to-day in his efforts
| to overthrow the abuses of the present sys-
| tenn as chairman of the central committee
| Of the State
TO PARTICULARIZE If NECESSARY.
"If our reform bills shall be defeated in
the Legislature the men who will have ac-
complished their defeat may rest assured
that this will not be the end. We believed
that it was wisest to begin upon an obsolete
system without involving individual cases
of corruption. If we could reform our local
government we were willing to let by-gones
| be by-gones-to let the dead past bury its
dead. But If more is necessary, if the de-
tails and particulars of existing corruption
must be exposed, the people of Indiana de-
mand and win Justify the investigation
which is necessary to their exposure. I pro-
pose, therefore that If the present bills are
defeated that q permanent commission
shall be established to investigate ard set