The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-11
OFFICIALS ARE INDIGNANT.
o~1v CHARGED THE COUNTY FOR
WORK ACTUALLY DONE.

Tbe InsinuatiOn That They Had
ovcrcharged the County for Work
Done in Preparing Disqualified
Voters' List for 1898 Repealed.
Nessrs. MCGOWAN, Ferrill and Carr
state Their POsitiOn-List Was
larger Than Legally Required Be-
.,use oC n MisinterpretatiOn of the
JaNV-The County Owes Them
vore However, for Similar SerV-
toes in Previous Years Than the
Excess of Their Bills VIII
Amount To.
The action of the County Commissioners
I'm adopting a resolution returning the bits
.,f the ordinary, tax collector and clerk of
tho Stparior Court for services in prepar-
inc a list of disqualified voters for the pre-
Wins county election and the subsequent
publjcation of the same in the Morning
News caused more of a sensation around
me court house yesterday than anything
that has occurred in that usually staid and
wen conducted baniwick in recent years.
That three of the leading officials of the
county. each of whom has a record of fong
and faithful service, should apparently be
charged even by inference with over-bill
ing the county in charging for work done
by them under the requirements of the law
seemed remarkable to say the least
All three of the officials concerned felt
deeply hurt and chagrined at this state
of affairs, especially when the work done
hy them had been one of much labor and
The bills which were rejected by the coun-
ty had been presented in good faith. They
could not rest satisfied under such an inn
putation and after jointly considering the
matter with a gentleman of well known
legal ability, they united in the following
statement TO the public:
To the Morning News: We regret that
your article put us in the attitude of at
tempting to overcharge the county for
services rendered by us in preparing the
list Of disqualified voters. We thought
that this last should include the names
OF those who appeared to owe taxes upon
the lax digests from the year 1877 to jan
uary /, 1889 and who were not known TO
have died, moved away, been convicted
of crime, or found 10 be insane or idiotio..
The object OF the law as it appeared to
us WAS 90 aid in preventing illegal voting
by any disqualified person, and we nat
urally concluded that it was necessary to
make out a list of all VINO for any rea-
son above mentioned were disqualified as
voters during any of those years and
whose disabilities had not been removed.
The labor was great and we would gladly
nave avoided it if we could have done so.
III a man who lived IL, tho oo,,oe,- ,,,,-
OF these years moved away and should
afterwards return to the county, the list
would show his name and if he offered
10 Note and was disqualified the fact
could be thus easily and quickly obtained
we may have mistaken the law, but
certainly We are too well known in this
community for any one to insinuate that
we could desgnedly seek 10 benefit our
seVes at the expense of the public by
vocation of the law.
me county now claims for the first
time that the list should include only the
names of those disqualified voters who
we're hVlng in the county on Jan. !. 1899.
IL this position be correct we cannot see
no" the list will be of much benefit, but
wat Is matter for the county authori-
"es 10 decide. If they wish it that Wav If
MlH De so done. That we have been more
neral TO the county than the law, as now
toiI9tiueu by The County Commissioners,
.us'Iies them in expecting is shown bv
49, 200 IaN' mat since the law was passed
I'll 1871 the Ordinary has never received
one cent for his services tba c1arll 81 ~
"IPei4or Court only S10.S5, and the tax
CoHectof has charged for a portion only
~ me years, and only for such names ae
luihished. 1t is thus seen that If n fair
~ JUST payment were now made us on
naslS now commended for bv the com
+iis9loherS Tor our services since tbe law
- passed the county owes us now moro
c COM we ollied them for upon the ac-
IIra 'lt s"eS aecAne to pay. They can fig
bIa taa5. "s they may upon any reasona-
Win no. fo ana the result will be that we
to De FOUND in equity and right entitled
" more than we claim
James j. McC;owan
7. C. c. c.
Hampton l.. Ferrll,
Ordinary c. c. Ga.
James X. p. Carr,
Section Clerk 5. c. c. c.
tJ,a. . .n OF the act of 1891 prescribes
ot ~. we TAX collector, Ordinary and clerk
of e,ot Douh'y shall, on or before July /
and e. 'aI, beginning with 1895. prepare
tax coiloot "iLn the county registrars and
arranoa1 .oi complete list alphabetically
n, Oh an persons living in tho conn
nil. It Jan l of that year. who arc die
so, from voting in that wear nv rea-
ara 81 lne non-payment of taxes since 1ST7
"'-u lor other causes io''
tbor.,,' I1I'loh seems never to have been
y 'boaous st understood, Until last wear
conn., ei,e nst now under discussion was
elerl. ~ the tax collector, Ordinary and
se yrn OF the Superior Court each prcns red
list @ Of , ns,s. the tax collector furnishing
voting b,, ,oCers who'were disqualified from
nv 10y reason of non-payrnent Of taros
nooIi,aninary furnished a list Of those
ity 4u "ns by reason of idiocy or insan-
inc, ana The clerk of the court furnish-
ersisd nst Of those debarred from he Sx-
ing boen tne franchise by reason of bav-
Cam am N convicted Of certain crimes.
inc 'P ~. McGowan made up his lIst nv DIV
The ta ne names Of all those returnsd ~,
failed Cp1 - o, na, for the year, and who had
bills Al ~ pay theIr taxes, and put in his
49, at ~ cents for each name fnrnisbn "a
I've; ',d s osls have been paid Mr. carr re-,
done Nv SiO' S Tor the first work of this kind
sinno ny MIN but has collected nothin 'a
a,ce while Judge Ferrin has never o ,nals
gor S upon the county for nav 49,