The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1911-03-21
Investioation Ordered

Investigation Ordered.
Supreme Court Justice Willard F. Voor
hees. has filed his opinion in the request
of twenty-five property owners of Bur
lington county to have the financial affair
Of the county Investigated.
The order was made on March 10th and
appointed Thomas E. French, Esq, Of
Camden, as an expert to prosecute an In
vestigation aad limited the inyestiga
ton so ordered to ascertaining whether
expenditures made by the Board of Free.
holders from January 1st, 1905, to date,
have been legal or not.
The order further requires that before
the investigation shall be had the appli-
cants must furnish bond with good and
sufficient freehold sureties In the sum OF
two thousand dollars to be filed with
the Clerk of the County of Burlington
after being approved as to form and sufi-
cheney by Franklin B. Lewis, Esq, OF
Mount Holly, Supreme Court Commits.
sioner. The bond is conditioned for the
payment, upon the order Of the Judge, of
the taxed cost and expenditures of the
investigation.
The order directs that the expert shall
have access to the books of the county,
and that officers of the county and the
County Collector, for the purpose of ia
cilitating the investigation, shall produce
before the expert from time to time and
allow him to have access to their books.
papers. records and vouchers.
The Investigation ordered Is not as
sweeping as the petitioners had hoped to
get. They had desired the appointment
of a commission with power to subpoena
and examine witnesses, but Justice Voor-
hees is opposed to incurring such an ex-
pense.
In addition to the order requiring bond
to be given, the Judge says sin case a
further bond. in my opinion, may be nec-
essary. 1t may be ordered" A request
that the applicants be made to pay the
costs in the first application, which was
set aside on account of technicalities, was
refused.
There is no doubt the investigation will
begin, as there will be little trouble in get
ting the signers of the application to go
on bond for the payment of the costs, as
any other course might throw doubt upon
their sincerity to benefit the taxpayers
To be sure there will be much expense in
this matter as 1t will require considerable
work to look over the books and vouchers
of the county for the past six years.
While the desired investigation of the
expenditures of the county has been Sc
cured, the real milk in the cocoanut"
falls to the ground. This proposed in
quiry, it is well known, came from the
fact that the special committee appointed
by the Board of Freeholders to inquire
into the affairs Of the asylum. did not act
and find as was hoped by the man who
stirred the trouble up. Making the acts
of the Freeholders the basis of the request
for an investigation the member from
Evesham could not help putting In q
clause having for its object the opening of
the asylum charges and the consequent
showing up" Of the affairs at that insti-
tuition.
Had he left that part out of his appli-
cation to the Supreme court he would
have been given more credit for real de-
sire to have the county benefited than
he now Is. Justice Voorhees, has plain
ly shown that he does not consider the
charges made against the asylum are with
In his province and he has completely
ignored them. Perhaps the ''reformer"
will now "be compelled to go to the Unit
ed States Court" with his complaint
against the asylum.
As the case now stands the receipts and
expenditures of the county from January,
1906, to date, will be given thorough In
vestigation, on It's own merits and
without any personal or family affairs be-
ing interjected. OF course this depends
upon the fling of an acceptable bond
guaranteeing the payment of the expense
of this action, but there ia, as we said be-
fore, no doubt on this point, as the twenty
five taxpayers, actuated by desire to aid
the county, will have no hesitancy In
agreeing to pay the bill, regardless of its
size, and such bills generally do get into
the high figures.