Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-03-29

In our own city it is the duty of the
body in which the contract for the
expenditure of money first originates
to ascertain this fact.
The Board of Commissioners or the
Council, as the case may be, must
know whether it has the money to
spend before it proceeds to spend it.
And i'm order TO find this out it must
ask the City Clerk for certificate,
showing that there is money in the
particular fund on which the order
is to be drawn.
When asked for this certificate the
Clerk must furnish it.
No one would contend for n minute
that ii is the business of the City
Clerk to cry halt every time the
Board or Council contemplate entering
into n contract without calling for Il
| certificate from him.
If the legal editor of the Beacon
Journal will take the trouble to read
section 1855 and 1856 of the Revised
Statutes, which define the duties of
City Clerks generally, and will then
turn to section 1545 subdivision 90,
which points out the duties of Ak
ron's City Clerk particularly, he will
thus be able to determine whether
or not Clerks duties are minis
terial.
Another thing it might have been
well for this Jack in the box" to have
learned before he attempted to sad
die this responsibility on the Clerk,
is the result of expenditure made by
a special act of the Legislature, as for
example, the amount expended for
| the new tired stations under Col.
Sieber's act;.silso the special levy for
library purposes; and how much of
it has beeiiF contracted for general
running expenses?
| In the former case no certificate is
required and no particular officer
would he responsible unless he used
| his infuenceSand worked for the pas
sage of the act making the levy for
this speEfal purpose.
In the latter case these officers and
those only who advocate the eXtrav-
agance which increased our general
| expenses and who voted for the eX-
| penditure would be to blame.
The City Clerk has no vote, and it is
| Just as sensible for the bright and
shining legal light who edits the Bea-
con Journal to place the blame on
him, as it would be for John f..
Searles of Wall Street to say that
his coachman or office boy was respon-
sble for his failure not long ago.
Why don't the Beacon Journal place
the blame for hiring out of town ar
chitects to do the Jail job on Auditor
Sisler? His duties in this matter,
with reference to contracts let by the
County Commissioners are the same as
the City Clerks with reference to city
contracts.
When the County Commissioners
| fail in their duty the Prosecuting At
torney at once takes the matter up
| What has Solicitor Esgate been
doing all this time? What about this
man whom the Beacon Journal says
| ucSeENtS IL SeCouu teIlll Ou uCCOunt VI
the good work he has done during
his first?
Section 27O2 says: GALL CON
TRACTS, AGREEMENTS OR 9TH
Err LEGATIONS AND ALL ORDI-
NANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND OR
DERS ENTERED INTO OR PASSED
CONTRARY TO THE PROVISIONS
OF THIS SHALL BE VOID"
Have you heard of Mr. Esgate's s
beginning any suits to enjoin the
Board or Council from making any
contracts when there was no money
IN the treasury? Has he commenced
any suits to set aside contracts made
in violation of section 2T02?
No, instead he tells the Council that
it must aquiesce in every contract
made by the Board whether there is
money in the treasury or not.
We would advise the editor of the
Beacon Journal to dismiss his suit
| against Clerk Isbell and begin n new
one against Solicitor Esgate, the real
| party in interest next to the Board
which contracted the expenditures,
1 ~,