Middletown transcript., 1900-10-20
THELEvY couRT

THE LEVY COURT
We promised to have some more Il
say about the expenditures Of the Lew
Court in the fifth district during the
| year 1899, Turning again to the auditor
I report we find that while the st. Angus
tine causeway is charged with $4OO paid
to David Mcfarland, nevertheless Mr.
James F. Moore and his sons are charged
with having received $7OO.10. The
larger part of this large sum paid to one
family in one year, was, SO it is said, for
work done on and about the causeway.
It was the general impression about Port
Penn, when the Silver Run causeway was
being discussed, that this work would be
done by day labor. But, for some reason a
majority of the Levy Court decided to
put it out at contract, and proposals were
asked for. On the first advertisement,
two bids were received one from Mr..
Patriot Fahey for $1,000 and one from
Mr.. R. R. Morrison for nearly $4,000.
Every one who knows Mr.. Morrison, re-
cognizes the fact that his experience in
marsh work and bridge building should
make him competent bidder. AS soon
as the proposals were announced, both
parties requested, and were granted per-
mission to withdraw their bids Mr..
Morrison did not renew his, but Mr..
Fahey was awarded the contract at $12,-
600, an advance of 90 per cent over his
first price. Can any one explain this
The specifications were the same, the
road is just as long, and all the condi-
tions remain as they were at the first
bid; and yet the county pays $4,000
more. There must be, as in the Angus
tine work, a big chance for "extra"
When it was learned that the Silver
Run causeway was to be repaired at con-
tract, those on the inside openly announ-
ced their belief that Mr.. Moore would
not be left out, that the commissioners
would take care of him, as the votes of
the people who work for and with Mr..
Moore would be needed to elect Mr..
Armstrong There are in the Port Penn
district, between 25 and 80 men, whose
names regularly appear on the county
pay roll and whose total income from this
source last year (1899) was 81, ,4O6.95.
In view of the opposition to Mr.. Arm
strong these 25 votes may be useful, and
as there was some soreness among them
overy the way Mr.. Moore "was drop
ped out of it, at the nomination,
they had to be appeared. Consequently,
on the very day, Monday, October 8,
that work was started on the Silver Run
Mr.. Moore and force of his
men started to work on Augustine cause
way. We desire to repeat what we said
last week that with the new constitution,
the Levy Court ceased to be a political
body and became what it was originally
for, viz An instrument by
which the tax payers money could be
in the necessary work of keep
ing up roads and bridges and other pub
lie works of like charater. But under |
The management of the present officials,
It is more of a personal organization to
waste as much of the peoples substance
as can possibly be done, and at the same
lime keep it in as few hands as possible.
AS we said in the first article of this
'eries, the only way in which this per
!onal organization, or as Ecery Eening
5ritely puts it, " this band of brothers,"
an be broken up is by the election Of
Mr. Francis H. Lattomus from this dis
rict and Mr.. Charles Megginson from
he fourth. But the voters OF this dis
rict are responsible and can vote for only
me of these two men, and their financial
interests if nothing else, should prompt
hem to vote to break up the ring.
Democrats can vote for Mr.. Lattomus by
lrawing their pencil through the name
# John G. Armstrong on their ticket
nd writing the name of Francis II. Lat
omus in the space provided for such pur-
,ose on the Republican ticket.