The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-03-29
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1910

and prices viii compare favorabiy with those
Of large cities.
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1910
PEOPLE look at things very differently
and 1t would be peculiar world, and doubt
less an undesirable world if all thought
alike on any one subject. The action of
the present grand jury does not seem to
be popular In some directions and the sub
ject of popularity, 1t may be said, without
disclosing any of the secrets of the jury
room, was not taken into consideration.
1t is . fact that grand juries frequently
extend their field of operations beyond
what used to be the custom, but it must
be borne In mind that many things have
changed in the last few years. Mayor
Gaynor, OF New York, refused to furnish
grand jury with certain information,
stating that sit has become the custom of
late for grand juries to set themselves up
Is having authority on all sorts of matters
over which they have no authority what
ever. Their business Is to inquire into
crime" The latter part of the sentence
Is correct, yet crime is frequently detect
ed by throwing out what is termed
blanket subpoenas." Many times have
circumstances been disclosed by investi-
cations which were, at the outset, APP
parently very innocent. There have been
disclosures which have shown there has
been disregard of the law, while it
would be unkind, possibly, to designate
any one criminal. There is an old say
ing that Evil is wrought by want of
thought, as well as want of heart" To
exceed appropriations by several thousands
of dollars is strictly violation of the law,
but nobody would care to brand as a
criminal the person who had done this
act without malice. To build bridge
without regard to the specifications and
to leave in doubt whether the changes
were or were not beneficial may not be
absolutely criminal but it certainly is not
the proper way to conduct business. At
tention has been called to the fact that
there is an apparent lack of return of fines
and costs into the county treasury. While
1t might not be desirable to indict in an
instance of that kind, yet no one will for
moment say that 1t is beyond the prov
ince of somebody to look into the subject
and If the hint thrown out by the grand
jury Is productive of good results in this
end there cannot be any reproach on that
ground. To pay bills without actually
knowing whether the work has been per-
formed may not be absolutely criminal,
but 1t is careless and there are times when
carelessness Is akin to crime. The grand
brought to its attention, and nothing was
considered by the body that Is still in ex-
istence that was not brought to light by
reputable citizens and taxpayers of Bur-
lington county. The members of the
Board of Freeholders and others who were
called before that body did not share the
idea of Mayor Gaynor. for every gentle
man thus called freely and frankly gave
testimony and did all in his power to aid
in the inquiries being made, and all agreed
that there were cases where beneficial
changes might be made and that they
would aid In making them. The grand
Jury did not exceed its authority, on the
other hand there is possibility that it did
not 60 far enough. Much more good will
be accomplished by quietly working to
remedy little discrepancies that have been
found than to agitate this question to such
an extent that it may be necessary to still
further Investigate aud possibly bring
about situation that will not be relished
In many quarters. The Newark Neps
comments on the action of the grand jury
thus:
''The grand jury of Burlington county
expresses its official opinion that it would
be most desirable experiment to abolish
the old Board of Freeholders and to elect
small one In its stead, under the provis-
ions of the Strong act. And the board
gives its reasons, which are neither par
tizan nor political, but are based on the
undesirable condition of affairs in Bur-
lington county, as found by the grand
inquest.
THE grand jury found deficit at the
close of last years freebooter business,
deficit resulting from carelessness, lack
of properly safeguarding the county's
money. and persistent holding to methods
that lead to duplicating offices that are far
behind modern business practices, and
that are tolerated only because they are
handed down from one year to another.
The grand jury did not deem these dis
coveries suffici ent to warrant indictments,
for the freeholders had shown some desire
to reform. They had reduced the number
of regular meetings one-half, had reduced
standing committees from five to three,
thus decreasing the expense of committee
meetings, had abolished some committees
that seemed to be useless and decided
against new bridges and new roads for
the ensuing year; but had been careless in
other respects.
''The Investigations and inquiries did
not end with the freeholders, for the
grand jury found such ineficiency in the
county clerks Office that it is no longer
safe to rely on searches there until some
corrections have been made. Affairs at
the county asylum and almshouse are In
bad condition. as they have been for years
and the county auditors methods came in
for a scoring. followed by recommends
tion that contract system be adopted for
making all purchases and guarding against
excessive charges.
Burlington County affairs must have
been recklessly managed. when the grand
jury found 80 much at one sitting, and no
doubt the freeholders and other county
officials will argue that publishing these
things will hurt the county. But the
grand jury did its duty, both wisely and
well-did it In the way most likely to Sc
cure long needed reform in the manage
ment of county affairs. There is no ex-
cuse whatever for slipshod methods in
public Office. Money enough is paid to
obtain good work, and the grand jury is
right In finding presentment or an in
dictment if the county officials fail to do
all that il reasonably reouired of them I"