Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1902-02-01
CORRESPONDENCE.
\ Trenchant Letter.
CrMREEL\Nn. Mn. Jan. Is. |!

10 tIlt NlNlN'' Itt kNNi
An article in your valuable paper of
last week under the heading, Econ
omists Differ, is quite suggestive, and
am free to confess it has led me into ii
train of thought concerning Mr.. Kenne
weg's relation to the duties it seems to
me lie before him.
Beginning with the "black eye" which
the Bar Association has given his pro
posal to do away with the January term
of court, believe he should not feel dis
couraged, but rather inspired to take
those arrogant gentlemen at their word
and like the Irishman at Donnybrook-
"wheriver he sees Il head of eXtrava-
gance, hit it,.
Under the present assessment, which
rates the poor SO high and the rich-in-
Guiding members of the Bar Association
so low, the only way to reduce the rate
and burden of taxation is to reduce eX-
penses, and reduce them first where
| there is the least warrant for eXtrava-
| gance.
Awaiting myself of my right as tax
payer TO aid the authorities in reaching
places where expenses can be reduced, |
will mention, first, that | have never
been able to satisfy myself that the coun-
ty commissioners are doing the right
| thing when they continue to set aside Il
room i'll the peoples court house, furnish
| it with tables, chairs, carpets, rugs, heat
and light and compel the janltor to look
after it for the benefit of the Bar ASsO-
citation.
| Nor can [ believe for a moment that
they are doing right by the people, whose
servants and agents they are, to take
half the fines imposed by the courts and
use the money to buy books for the
| Association. The amount of this money
| do not know, but have been informed
that, judiciously expended, it would
make quite three miles of good road
every year.
Let us see what else has become ap.
parent since the Legislature gave us the
present hold-over law, whereby each of
| three commissioners is elected for four
years one term, each of two for next.
| This system has produced more scandal
| than we ever had before. Under it two
republican factions have arisen and been
kept at daggers' points until their jeal-
ousies and spites have reached the grand
juries. Indictment has followed indict-
ment and verdicts of acquittal have fol-
lowed just as regular by both judges and
jurieS. A factioniSt on one side who has
been defeated by factionist on the
other seeks redress in the grand jury
ROOM Nominees who fail to secure
election go bowling around saloons and
along streets threatening to obtain
revenge when the grand jury next meets
| might carry this further, but stop to
ask-cannot the Bar Association offer a
suggestion that, adopted, will put stop
| to this decentralization of our politics and
| waste of money: Cannot the States at
| torney apply the same rule he lays down
| to magistrates he sure there is good
| ground for il case before he issues Il
warrant!'
Again-cannot the Bar Association
offer a plan avoiding the expenses of
what are called "hdb""s corp"S proceed
| ings:'
Take magistrate, appointed for two
We rs, whom it costs quite 500 to pre-
pare himself for business. In many in
stances he has incurred this cost to find
at the end of his short term that the
State has no further need of his services.
IT, during his term he has issued Il
warrant or commitment, emitting Il
word the judge thinks should have been
included, the prisoner is released with
| out regard to the merits or dement's of
| the case-all the expenses of arrest,
trial, witnesses mileage and commitment,
etc, falling on the county. As stated,
the prisoner is freed on a technicality,
the people lose to the officers, and the
lawyer gets his fee for "tinding some.
| thing that amt there"
BY rejecting little can the Bar As
sociation call to mind how much money
it has cost the people of the county for
extra mileage for jurors who have had
to go home on account of there being no
| Judge to hold court? Can the Associa-
| ton remember how much of the court $
| time was taken and how much of the
peoples money was spent i'll prosecuting
one of its own members last summer
that ended in smoke whena certain ever
| aforementioned caucus adjourned?
1t seems to me, Mr.. Editor, that the
very last place for economical sugges-
tions to originate is the Bar Association
of Cumberland, Md. LEGAI.IS HOMO.