Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-03-28
Eock Island County Finances.

ResponSlDlHty Tor the present con-
ditions in Rock Island county finances
does not rest with any individual. nor
entirely with any aggregation of in
ldividuals, further than blame may be
ATTACHED for failure to remedy unjust
Eesslike methods and to weed out
evils of long standing that have been
allowed to flourish chiefly because
their years have invested them with
a certain appearance of respectable
dignity. The county will be practi-
cally bankrupt for a year and then
after it has paid the bills contracted
in the interim it will be bankrupt for
another year, unless some relief is
found in the meantime
| Judging by the recent history of
county finances conditions will not
improve of themselves. Revenues I'M
der, the present nonpayment plan
must be anticipated farther and far
Their in advance. In time there will
be no money to build new bridges
nor to maintain the old ones. Paupers
will have to depend upon private
charity or starve and freeze. There
will not be sufficient funds to main
tain the courts.
| Clearly something must be done.
Some. people hope for relief ultimate
ly through the state legislature in the
form of law giving counties power
TO levy larger tax. 1t seems to be
the general experience that the rev.
enues are not sufficient to run county
affairs as they are conducted. An
other remedy, and one that county
authorities are more sangune of see
ing applied, is the voting of an emer-
Sency tax sufficient to take care of
the present floating debt and to meet
the needs of the future. Always the
demand from official circles is for
more money, not for a more judicious
expenditure of that which is now to
be had.
Rock Island county. like many
another, is doing business under
practically the same system that
it was quarter of CEN
fury or more ago. Where is
there a commercial Institution hand
ling even one-fourth as much money
annually as the county does that has
not been forced to exercise economies
that were undreamed of % years ago?
Those that have not adopted better
systems of bookkeeping, more strin-
gent checks upon carelessness and dis
honesty, and closer scrutiny of de-
tails have gone to the wall long ago
IDeplorable as is the county's financial
condition it is no worse than the aver
age commercial institution would find
itself in if conducted for any consd-
cradle number of years under a sim
liar system.
Plainly Rock Island county should
be placed upon business basis.
In other counties nearby it has
been found worth while to
have an examination of accounts ex-
tending back over a period of years.
Even if there were no deficits found
which has not unusually been the
case, there have always been discov-
cred instances of faulty accounting
and the investigation has suggested
better methods and more effective
precautions for the future.
A close scrutiny Of income and ex
penses of Rock Island county for sew.
eral years past should not be objected
! to by those who have to do with the
handling of the funds.
} The legality of voting an emergen
+, cy tax to defray a floating debt has
been seriously questioned. Under
such circumstances it can hardly be
expected that the constituency thai
hesitated TO vote an issue of bonds
5 to build new court house when the
t proceeding was perfectly legal ant
7 the improvement badly needed will
C be disposed to voluntarily assume {
g burden contracted without warrant o.
law.
Assuredly the voters will consider
| it folly to tax themselves more heav
| lily and turn the additional revenue
! over to be expended in the same
Y wasteful manner that has been 81
a largely responsible for the presen
! trouble. Before doing anything at all
either through special tax or b,
Legislative action, they will insis
, upon a thorough airing of the cour
, house and more modern system O
accounting. Very likely they will alst
f prefer to place at the helm othe
8 hands than those which have guidet
n the ship while it has been driftin,
upon the financial shoals where it il
now grounded