The Indianapolis journal., 1899-02-13
A FARMER ON REFORM In LOCAL
GOVERNMENT.


The Terre Haute Gazette publishes a COM
munication from Honey Creek Farmer" in
which the writer, who, the Gazette says. is
a Democrat, praises Governor Mount for his
efforts to bring about retrenchment and re-
form in local government, or, as the writer
puts it, 'to protect the farmers against the
ravages of county and township officers. /"
This expression is too strong to be applied
indiscriminately to all county and township
system that not only permits but invites
loose business methods and extravagant ex-
penditures. No doubt a large majority of
county commissioners and township trus-
tees are honest when elected and many re-
main so to the end OF their terms of office,
but many do not. Some Of them are weak,
some have crude ideas of official integrity
and responsibility, and some regard election
to office as license to make all they can
out Of it. Some of them are accessible to
improper influences, willingly, and others
without knowing it, That was q curious
case related few days ago by ex-Lieuten-
ant Governor Nye. mot long ago." he said.
"a township trustee whom everybody con-
sidered an honest man and who was very
confident of his own honesty said in the
course of a conversation with me that mo-
body could bribe him. He had just bought
nine Webster's Unabridged Dictionaries for
the schools, and the agent he said, just
gave me one
Probably he had paid an excessive price
for the dictionaries. which perhaps were not
needed at ALL and he did not even know
that he had been bribed It would be rash
to attempt TO guess how many thousands of
county commissioners in the past twenty
five years have accepted costly presents
from dealers in certain lines of goods to
whom they have given orders. Some of these
dealers carry large stocks of handsome and
costly articles to be used as presents to
county and township officers. Hundreds of
township trustees have been bribed by deal
ers in schoolbook supplies with presents for
themselves or members of their families into
making extravagant purchases with public
funds. Little frauds lead to big ones, and
all help to swell the burden of the taxpayers.
a system that breeds extravaganza and
makes men dishonest, even one man in
hundred, is a bad one.
To return to Honey Creek Farmer"
After ccmplimenting Governor Mount as
stated, he says:
The farmer taxpayers of this county are
alarmed at there being such an organization
in our State as County Officers Association
They fail to see good cause for such an
organization against the ninety-twO county
treasures of our State, which means against
the taxpayers OF the State. that this very
year are unable 10 meet their tax obliga-
tions. And the farmers of this county are
alarmed at the concert OF action OF the
township trustees all over the State What
good reason can there be for such concert
of action of more than one thousand town
ship trustees of our State if ii is not in the
interest of the authors of their oTganiza-
tion2 The class of men most active in their
organization are those situated at Indian
apOlis, in the school-supply business. Now,
why would II not be better plan for a
township trustee to meet annually with his
constituents to consult them as to the wants
of the township in his charge than to meet
a thousand trustees of the State and all
the school-supply and road-supply men Oh
earth?
Good reasons might be given for an or
ganIzation of county officers and for concert
Of action among township trustees IL their
efforts were devoted exclusively to the in
PRODUCTION Of better methods of business
and to the interchange Of ideas regarding