Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1906-01-18
o. County Alfairs

ne state only, but as a matter OF
act the county government more
iirectly affects th- welfare Of the
,itizens than all other govern
rent matters. tits therefore i'm
)erative that the best men Be en-
.rus;ed with the county's bus.-
ness and it is the province of
every citizen TO see thai such
avs are enforced a. vii best
further the interests of the county
As matter Of fact the admini.-
-ratioa OF the county government
: largely OF q discretionary sort:
there are certain road laws where
by the commerce Of the county il
better carried on if properly kept,
laws with reference to assisting
the poor aad distressed. laws for
etc. etc. These with
many other Gutie. imposed upon
the county officials, We say is
very much discretionary on the
part OF the men in charge of the
peoples business.
The progress made By our
county, as viewed by 4 private
citizen, Is such that we deem i.
worthy Of much commendation.
\ review OF what has been done
by the Board Of Supervisors. the
tax assessor, and the other Of
fcials connected with the coun-
tvs business shows that during
the last year, or at least during
the administration Of the presen,
incumbents named. there has
been perhaps The greatest pro-
gress made IN the history Of our
county.
The past year there has been
some Of the finest levees for roads
completed TO be found in the State
anywhere, especially the camp
ground levee in the Southwestern
part OF the county, which forms a
splendid route between our coun-
" and that OF Yalobusha: also
there has been more than 2.o00
feet of the best bridging finished
and many other important i'm
provements in the highways.
Besides this the court house
and jail have been thoroughly
renovated and repaired, and
many Of the unfortunate ones
throughout the county have beer
looked after and assisted.
Another great matter has beer
adjusted, when the Board Of Su.
pervisors we're informed that It'll
CATION was likely to ensue be-
cause OF certain defects il IN,
Stock laws they began AZ once t
give notice of these defects and
70 proceed 10 remedy the evils
the results were that now the
whole county where there seemed
any doubts as 20 the ability Of tht
former laws has been brought
under the law where there seem.
10 way 70 dispute the Legality O
the same.
We know OF no greater advan
ces in the history of the county
than vas made when some Of tbs
delinquent tax payers were made
to pay their jus; dues . tbs
county and thus several thousand
dollars was secured from these
back taxes and placed in tie
county treasury, this back assess
ment vas brought about by the
efficient tax assessor and lie was
ably supported by the Board ana
the county attorneys and finally
reached the court where their ac-
ton was affirmed and approved
This step We deem one of the
most important since the people
are more directly concerned VI. n
the problem OF taxation than any
other matter, and when pressure
can be brought to bear upon those
who have property 70 make them
give in the same without pressure
OF the law then, a grea. victory
VII have been achieved. Its i'm
possible for the small property
owner to escape his taxes-his
property is of a kind that there is
no means for him to hide the
same, but the moneyed has many
avenues by which he can eluds
the vigilenee of the tax assessor
and the tax collector and thus ths
poor are made to bear the unjus,
burden Of the governmental ex.
pense.
There are some of the main
things that have been accom-
plished by these officials and there
are many things too numerous tC
mention that will commend theil
services if one will only take the
time to investigate the records.
In this government OF ours We
oeheve IN falr criticism of al
public officials and believe il 70
be the duty of every citizen to see
that the business entrusted to the
hands of the county officials are
properly looked after, but at the
same time it is but right and just
that the citizenship should alsc
commend the good work OF their
officials when they have perform
ed their duties conscientiously
and well. The duties that devolye
upon the Board of Supervisors
and the tax assessor are such thai
many times it is unpleasant &c
them because of the great pres
sure that is brought to bear by
various influences TO have certain
things accomplished, or to cvade
certain tendencies and laws. In
the light Of all these discretionary
powers of these officials and the
immense progress the county has
made under their administration
and that too on a cash hasia