Smyrna times., 1901-09-25
CHARGES AGAINST KENT
COUNTY LEVY COURTMEN
MILFORD CHRONICLE" CLAIMS 1T TO BE
CASE OF "CAcKLE TOO SOON."
Quotes From the Dover Estate Sentinel
About Kent County Levy Court Expendi-
lures and the County Finances.

Inere is Always danger IN mlSfepre-
sentation to those who practice it, and
for two weeks past there has been a
statement widely circulated by Demo
cratic papers about the finances of
Kent county. 1t started in the Smyrna
call, paper reputed to be owned and
operated in the interests of Willard
Salisbury. In last weeks Sentinel,
of Dover, the matter was thoroughly
ventilated. and the boasted condition
of the Kent county treasury at the
close of Democratic rule last fall shown
to be largely on paper, the Sentinel
says:
To prove the falsity of the figures as
given by the Call" we have taken
the trouble to compare them with re-
cords in the Office of the Clerk of the
Peace and in no instance are they cor
rect. We have not been able to COM
pare the actual balance left i'll the
county treasury by the Democratic
Levy Court when it relinquished con-
troll of the county affairs, but we have
been assured by those who should
know that the amount was not S11, 900
as claimed by the "Call." Assuming
that amount to be correct, however,
the ''Call' does not make allowance
for the $1,000 allowed by the Demo
cratic Levy Court to the sheriff and
which came out of that amount, thus
reducing the balance left to the present
Levy Court to $4,000 to begin business
with. This we are told is about the
actual balance the Republicans found
in the treasury after allowing the or
ders made by their Democratic prede-
cessors, though, as we say, we have
not been able to consult the treasurer's
books to verify this.
The Cali says:
''The condition of affairs is alarming,
as the following bills are owing; Sheriff
Reedy $4,000; Silver Lake bridge,
$4,000; Leipsic bridge and Bombay
Hook road, $4,000 each.
The truth is Sheriff Reedy has
no bill before the court and does
not know himself the amount due.
The contract price for Silver Lake
bridge is 1850; for Leipsic bridge,
81, and the bills allowed for Bonn
bay Hook road amount to $1,000.
These are the figures obtained from
the Office of the Clerk of the Peace.
IT. true the balance in the county
treasury is at this time low and made
quate to pay the orders on the treas
urer, and why it is short we will show
later on. The court at its last meeting
decided to borrow $1,000 for a period
of ninety days in order to meet the de-
mands on the treasury, and the action
was supported by the Democratic
members. In fact, the resolution
could not have passed without the sup
port of the Democrats, for as the "Call'
says, Commissioner Cowgirl was alb
sent from the last meeting of the court
the Democrats having a majority"
We do not critIcise the action of the
court in borrowing this amount, for il
Is far better for the county to meet it,
obligations in this way than to allow
its orders to be hawked about as is tn,
custom in Sussex county.
The true cause why the treasury O
Kent county is temporarily embar
rassed, is, because the Democratic tai
collectors are away behind, and ow,
the county thousands of dollars.
AS to the Bombay Hook road, W,
admit it has been a source of great ex
pense to the county, but since it i
acknowledged to be a county thorough
fare it is the duty Uf the county t.
keep it in repair until an act of legisla
ture shall abandon it. This road is O
no more benefit to Republicans than i
is to Democrats, and the improvement
to it were advocated by Democrats an
Republicans alike. A family by tn
name of Lane is, as we understand, in
terested in the road and ADVOCATED il
improvement. They are Democrats
and in the family are at least fou
voters. Apart from this, we are tol
on good authority, that the court wa
unanimous in advocating the improve
ment of this road, and the Leipsi
bridge was asked for by a Democrat
member and was supported by th
court, as was, also, the bridge
Barker's Landing.
The "Call" is trying to make bul
combe out of nothing, while the tru
cause for alarm and complaint com,
from the fact that there is yet S11 on
due the county by the tardy and di
honest Democratic tax collectors.
Shocking Calamity.
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