The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1912-08-08
Telling How the Public Funds
Are Diverted to Pri-
vate Purposes,
LONG HAUL OF STONE
Made Because County Court
Member Eorbids Use of
Stone Near at Hand.

- 49, $50 NefNPSAVhb SAhb DObA0 .UltT
terness is being aroused against q
csrtain member Of the county court
and one reads in that newspaper that
the bitterness 10 all uncalled for and
Is being aroused through seflshness,
The very fact that It is being aroused
proves that It has been latent for
a9rne time. If there were no bitter
ness. there could be no arousing, and
the defender OF the Democratic couri.
~ court struck the nail squateiy on
the head when he called attention to
Khe fact that bitterness existed
among the taxpayers over the Post
road.
The oneawho comes TO the defense
ofthe court lays, 1t all on selhshness.
He does not stop to think in this
respect or else he wishes to
convict THOSE whom he : would
defend. No one familiar with
the Post road doubts for
am instant that seIfishness was
predominant in It's building, which
resulted In the use of public funds
for aIpriyate rpFpose. l1fselfahness
obtained at all It was in the .tase OF
the member Of the court who had
the road built for the, express pur-
pose of hauling his hayrake over st..
That was done too, at a heavy. ex-
pense. to. the taxpayers OF Harrison
county for the benefit Of Lewis
county farm. 1t appears then that
the cause OF the bitterness and not
the bitterness itself was selfshness.
Is it selfish to enlist in a move
ment to save the taxpayers from the
cost OF maintaining a practically
useless road. winding over a noun
tain, along an out. of the way route
In order to benefit a farm in an
other county? II that be selfish, It
is in the interest of the people
aud opposed to any one individual.
or the few, and not to individuals
and the many. The people them
selves do not call that seifshness
The people ought to know
However, as the matter OF selfish
ness has been sprung and as the Ex-
ponent. publishes that the Democrat
ic county courts ability to do things
correctly Is known by the people, It
IS quite fitting to give another story
in addition to the road revelation.
After the story is told, the people
themselves will be the Judges as to
where .selashRess lies and how able
the court. really is to do things cor
rectly. The boast Of the Exponent
will then fade away as fast as the
morning glory when the sun strikes
IT,,
2 One OF the members Of the court
resides in this town and be Is quite
olicious in road matters in this sec
ton, 50. much 30 that he tells the To-
cal road supervisor what he must
not do, and every time he tells him
what he must not do It Is costly TO
the taxpayers. Rocking road in
this town cost the taxpayers OF Grant
district several hundred dollars
more than 1t should have cost. had
the, local member of the county court
kept his hands on, The stone, for
the purpose, near at. hand, was ef-
fersri free, and the haul was so
short that many loads could have
been placed in o day. 1T looked
good to the road supervisor but he
mentioned the matter, to the com,
missioner Of the county court, who
forbade taking the stone. AS re-
suit Of this bossIsm by the court
commissioner, the supervisor hauled
rock from a point about a nile
away and he had to use sieds IN
getting them to a point where they
could be loaded on wagons inc
process was very slow as but one
wagon could be loaded at time
and several he'd 10 walt IHue
time and pilipg up the cost on the
taxpayers.
The supervisor evidently appre-
GATED the command given him by
the commissioner to go to a dlstans
point for stone rather. than ae.
cept free stone nearby as when tns
rocking was completed Y yideRea1
out in 'front.', Of the commissioner 8
home to the extent Of reaching MS
barn on one side of the road some
distance from the road and his resi-
dence yard "a considerable distances
from the other side of the road 40
yet the financial statement OF 'ns
county does not show that $50 OF
$40 spent to do the widening was
not at the expense of the taxpayers
1T may be seFhsh to contend that the
taxpayers have no right to pay ior