Middletown transcript., 1902-01-11
RE.nRaANIZEn

RE-oRGANIZED
On Tuesday of this week the
Levy Court Of New Castle County
was recognized and a new and
honest era of financial manage
ment was inaugurated that will
last at least three years. AS
was predicted, Governor HUM
appointed to fill the vacancy a
man who would Join with Messrs.
Chandler Elliott and Willis in
their endeavor to reform matters,
and Mr.. Megginson was forced,
through fear of being left out in
the distribution of patronage, to
desert his Democratic colleagues
and vote with the Republicans.
Mr.. Willis was chosen President
and in a neat speech, outlined his
policy and could not forebear to
call attention to the scandalous
treatment he and Mr.. Elliott had
received at the hands of the
"combine. The selection of Mr..
Willis as President in itself is a
warning to those who have in the
past been robbing the county by
means of fraudulent bills, over
charges, ETC., that their day is
done. No county warrants will
now be signed unless the Levy
Court has legally and publicly
passed the bill, and no dishonest
bill can be smuggled through.
In some quarters there is a dis
position to credit one faction of
the Republican party for this re-
suit. And one paper has a bad
case of "rattle" over the matter,
forgetting the fact that large
minority of the last Republican
State Convention favored Mr..
Willis for Governor because Mr..
Burris, who was nominated, was
not so acceptable to the minority.
THE TRANSCRIPT has always
claimed that the Levy Court is
not and should not be a political
body, and while politics will Of
course govern the appointment
of the few offices to be dis
tributed, in the general manage
ment of the business of the
county, business methods and
not politics will rule. And these
methods will be honest. Too
much force cannot be laid on
that fact.
The first committee appointed
by President Willis was one to
examine into the question of fines
imposed by Justices of the Peace
throughout the county. The
astonishing statement was made
by County Treasurer Rettew,
that not exceeding $40 or SIS had
been paid to him as fines and pen
alties during the past five years.
The amount, no doubt, should
have been several thousand dol
lars. It looks as though the
Attorney General would have
plenty of work, at the next few
ierms of court.
Since the above was put in
type Magistrate Pritchett of Will
mington says that all fines go to
the State Treasurer and the city
papers take it for granted be-
cause he says so. The TRAN
SCRIPT called upon State Treas
urer Burris who informed US
that no fines had been paid to
him, nor did the records of his
Office show that any had been
paid for years. This caused US
to look up the law and we found
that by an act passed at Dover
March 31st, 1881, all fines and
forfeitures are due and payable
to the County Treasurer, except
as may thereafter be otherwise
diverted. The law makes it the
duty of the magistrate on the
first Tuesday in April and Octo-
Der of each year to render to the
State Auditor a list of all fines
imposed and the names of the
constables chargeable Herewith.
If this law was complied with
there might be some check on
the matter, but as it is, there
seems to be no way to get at it
but to have the committee ex-
anime every magistrates docket,
and to hold the constables and
their bonds responsible for the
payment.
TRUSTEES OF THE POOR
Our reference to the Pest