The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-14
EDITORIAL OPINION.

EDITORIAL OPINION.
The Indiana Senate should sit down hard
on that provision of the pharmacy bill
which excludes proprietary medicines from
the shelves of country merchants 1t is I'M
reasonable, unjust alike to the merchant
and his patrons. Unless the bill can be
amended it should be defeated. -Terre
Haute Express.
Is Superintendent Goss paid a salary to
look after the interests of the Indianapolis
schools or to ply his trade as a politico-
educator lobbyist? His perncious activity
in the interest Of the State Board of Edu-
cation and his close relation to the School
Book Trust should open the eyes of the
school patrons Of Indianapolis
Ledger.
The people want to know more about
what their money is spent for and if more
economical administration can be had A
law was passed a few years ago requiring
trustees to publish itemized statements of
receipts and expenditures that taxpayers
might know for what township money was
expended. AS this special says: Fully
half of the trustees of the State have failed
to comply with this law" The Herald re-
grets to say that several of the Republican
trustees of this county are in this number.
All OF the Democratic trustees of Madison
county published their reports and there
is no good legal ground why all trustees
of the State should not have complied with
this laW.-AnderSOn Herald.
The people of Upton county are taxed
to the amount of more than $4,000 a year
for the repair Of gravel roads. The gravel
roads have been used as a political corn
crib for years, and the commissioners have
used it to good effect at the very heavy
expense to the taxpayers The sum of
$4,000 would build more than ten miles of
new road every year and ii does seem to
us that the expense is simply enormous
and the people pay dearly for their roads.
II is our opinion that a good deal less than
$4,000 worth of gravel and honest labor is
put upon our roads There is a rathole
some place and it should be ferreted out and
stopped up. We believe that if our gravel
roads were repaired by contract. subject TO
inspection, that a great saving could be
made. At least, no plan or policy could be
more expensive and as little effective, as the
present system.-Tipton Advocate.
The county officers association, backed by
the gang politicians over the State are
marshaling their forces to defeat the town.
ship and county reform bills. Every inn
aginable pressure is being brought to bear
on representatives to induce them to assist
in killing the bills which will take the spoils
from dishonest county officials and the con-
tractors who assist them in robbing the tax
payers The reform measures now before
the Legislature will save hundreds of thou
sands of dollars to the taxpayers of the
state. Representatives should understand
right now that they were elected to repre-
sent the best interests of the people and
not the interests of the dishonest office
holders and the seekers after spOils. The
representative who does not understand this
now and act accordingly Will hear some
tIhlhg arop LOT ne VIII get from the people
the rebuke and the condemnation which his
unfaithful conduct so fully deserves.
Greenfield Republican.
The opposition to the passage of the pro-
posed county administration reform meas
ure by the Legislature is largely due to a
fear that the township trustee will be shorn
of his official prerogatives and power. and
that the uniformity of keeping accounts will
result in too much outside interference with
local affairs Both of these objections are
puerile, and the latter is particularly weak
If the trustee system is defective and so
full of faults that the counties of the State
are burdeIied with unnecessary financial ex-
penditures. and a new and better system has
been devised, the possession of office by a
class of public servants should be no rea-
son why the reform should not be adopted
The other reason is still less tenable. The
facts are that the hit and miss method OF
doing business in a large per cent. of the
counties of the State has been an enormous
bill of expense to the taxpayer and no
man who has any occasion to examine the
records of the public officials of all classes
can fail to appreciate the necessity of a
more uniform end plain way of keeping
public accounts, and If it can be brought
about by some wise measure of the Legis-
lature the public will give hearty indorse-
ment. Even if the advice of outside ele-
ments be taken what matters it if a good
system is secured? 1t cost this county near
ly $4,000 in defalcatiOn, and many thou
sands more in expert bookkeepers, to learn
that the records of Elkhart cOunty's treas
ury were SO kept that an official could
pocket q large amount of money and the
county commissioners be in entire ignorance
Of it. But they have also learned that it
costs no more to have those records proper
ly and simply kept, and it is a mighty sight
the reform proposed is a division between
the tax-levying and the Incorporating
power, and for the more economical adj
ministration of township and county af-
fairs and the taxpayers are in favor of the
main intent of the bills proposed. The legis-
lative committee which prepared the pro-
posed legislation has taken the experience
of other States, and the results of its work
are measures that, while they may hit hard
some special interest, are in the main for
the best interests of the people. And If we
mistake not the temper of the people they
are disposed to insist on their adoption, even
against the protest of lot of office holders
who might lose their iObs-Elkhart Review.