Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1903-06-11

The West Jersey Press of Camden
thus pertinently calls attention to the
utter failure of the present scheme for get
ting a knowledge of the laws before the
people who are affected by their provisions:
'fIt is nearly three months since thu
Legislature adjourned and the pamphlet
laws have not yet made their appearance
But for the information voluntarily pub
lish ID by the newsrap the people would
still be in blissful ignorance of the pro-
ceedings of the Legislature. Cutting the
laws out of the newspapers was a great
idea, and the man who first suggested it is
deserving of leather medal No better
scheme for keeping the people in the dark
has ever been devils d"
Ex-Governor VOORHEES, and ex-senator E
c. Stokes, who hopes to be the next Gov
ernor, are responsible for the ''bright idea"
of cutting the laws out of the newspapers.
The GLOUCESTER COUNTY DEMOCRAT
has no idea of entering upon defense of
the Board of Freeholders against the gen
eral charge of extravaganza, but when
the Paulsboro Press undertakes to make
one member of the Board, and he a mem
Der of the small minority responsible for all
the Boards alleged misdeeds, we believe
ourselves entirely consistent in asking
Editor Leonard to specify wherin Mr.
Usinger is extravagant In the county
report, published last week, under the
item of expenditures for bridges" Mr..
Usinger is charged with having received
''per diem, labor, teams, etc, the sum
O. $3.50 II. To satisfy our curiosity, we
went over Mr.. Usinger's bills for the
year, and find that his personal charges
amounted to $4150. Not a very big
sum for man so "shrewd in looking out
for his own interests, y is it, brother?
Hence if Mr.. Usinger received for his
personal services this sum, and the S26l As
charged against him under the ''Stone
Road Repair" account, he will have re-
ceived the munifcent sum of 1902 81
We don't believe that even Mr. Leonard
would charge that Mr.. U. made much Of
living out of Freeholding, at that rate
and it is fair to presume that that 1851. AZ
was literally scaled in county expenditures
before it reached Mr.. Usinger's living
account.
AS to the view that Mr.. Usinger's
neighbors take of his conduct as Free
holder it has been convenient for us to
interview three taxpayers of Logan this
week, two were Republicans and one a
Democrat. They were all wide-awake
men, who are not backward in speaking
their minds, and they asserted that Mr.
Usinger was the best Freebooter Logan
he is not given to doing work in a skinny.
cheap way, but thoroughly and substan-
tally, as becomes public work.
AS to Mr.. Usinger's connection with
the Delaware Granite Company, We know
nothing, but we do know that he has
been opposed to the construction of gravel or
shell roadsfrom the beginning of county road
construction, hence he was only consistent
when he opposed the construction of
shell road from Swedesboro to Auburn,
and that fact does not indicate that he
had financial interest in having the road
built of stone.
With Mr.. Leonard, we believe our
county has been getting more and more
extravagant each year since 1888. During
the period from 1890 to 1898 the ordinary
bridge expense varied from seven to nine
thousand dollars annually, and the total
budget was $4,000, but somehow that
figure looks very Insignificant as compared
with recent expenditures. The expendi-.
lures in some of the townships are
very large, and to Mr.. Leonard's
charge that they are fraudulent, we
have nothing to say. We hope, for the
good name of the county, that he is
mistaken, but that part Of the case belongs
with the Board of Freeholders and the
people. If members of the Board are
innocent of wrong doing they know it and
should lose no time in settling these
serious allegations beyond all cavil and
dispute. As we understand it Mr. Leonard
is a responsible man and if in a mere
vindictiye spirit he has formulated aud
published to the world that our Board
Of Chosen Freeholders is corrupt, is con-
Quoting the county business not only in an
extrayagant but an illegal manner, the
charge should be not only hurled back in
his teeth, but he should be required to
pay the penalty for abusing the power he
possesses as the editor and proprietor Of