The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-08-05
TUESDAY, AUGUST 5. 1913

presses and the best OF workmen. our sa 10 piles
ana prices VIII compare favorably with those
TUESDAY. AUGUST 5, 1918
NEXT TUESDAY is the time set for the
taxpayers of this county to determine
whether they want to continue the pres
emit system Of governing the county by
having small Board of Freeholders or
whether they wish to return to the old
method which has been relegated to the
rear by twelve of the twenty-one counties
OF this state. This is not local affair,
in which Burlington county is alone in
trying an experiment, but it has been tri-
ed by several communities and has been
found to work well. From the moment
it was put in operation here there has
been hue and cry against it and in
stead of helping hand being put forth
there were knocks and kicks and every
effort to throw obstacles in the way of
the new system. The motives of those
who were SO much interested in this
work need not be discussed now, but the
disaster that overlook those who were in
the movement is still fresh in memory
In fact the cries of dissatisfaction against
the small Board of Freeholders has not
been so much because of the faultiness
of the system as against the personnel
of at least one of the members of the
new Board. He had the time and the
resources to discover where there had
been fraud and wrongdoing and he had
the courage to bring the defenders to JUS
tice. For this. he should have been COM
mended, but instead of that he has been
derided to the utmost extent BY those
who had better hide their heads and ask
their friends not to be so energetic in
The old system was not good one. The
new system may be improved upon;
who ever saw a new plan inaugurated
that could not be bettered? The coun-
ties that have tried the small Board of
Freeholders have not shown any desire
70 ro41rr 10 <E4 Ill 81 LII,
The claim is made that Burlington
county's old Board kept things in better
shape than the present organization
does, but at what cost was this perfection
maintained? The best answer to this
query is reference to the report of the
special examiner who said the Board
had been unlawfully and corruptly ex-
pending the money of the taxpayers for
years. If further proof of this is needed
look at the court records of the past few
months, see the fines that were inflicted
upon recalcitrant members, the money
that was returned to the county under
compulsion, with doubt whether all of
the cash has been recovered or if all of
the offenders have been discovered-for
where one sets out to do wrong there are
plenty of ways to obliterate telltale
tracks. There is no desire to recall these
things to the shame of those concerned
and the sorrow of those connected with
them, but if partisans on the other side,
those who are working to defeat the new
system, insist upon heaping derision
upon those whom we believe have been
trying to do their duty, it must be ex-
pected that there will be retaliation.
Better let the past remain closed book,
but if it must be opened it will be just
as well to call a spade spade There
have been graft and misdoings in the
old Board of Freeholders-some call the
actions mistakes, and that is at least
the most charitable view of the situa-
ton. Let it go at that; do we want any
more mistakes? This is not the first
time members of the Board of Freehold
ers have been brought to justice. Not
many years since a member from a
neighboring township was compelled to
return money he had collected by charg-
ing for work for more days than there
were in month, and we have recol-
lection of hearing a case in the courts
where a Freebooter from Springfield
township was found guilty of fraud in
connection with the building of a bridge.
1t is well defined principle of law that
Freebooter has not the right to furnish
supplies or materials for county work.
yet it can easily be shown that teams
belonging to members of the old Board
were kept at work on the roads and that
material was sold to the county bv those
who broke the law every time they made
sale. There has been trouble of this
sort for years under the old system, only
to be discovered when some one. with
knowledge of the faults and with the
courage to expose them, has brought
about reformation. There have been
good representatives in the old Board,
but they were powerless in the hands of
those who held the whip hand. More
than one of the men who felt the hand of
the law in the recent unpleasant develop
ments was considered above reproach.
but you all know the result. Now is the
time to cast aside all prejudice and feel
ing and consider this question of small
Board on its merits. There is no neces-
sity to try to defeat this measure be-
cause there may be a possibility of some
of the present members-possibIy all of
them-again being candidates. Time
enough to take care of that part of the
subject after it has been decided whether
the old system shall be returned to, or