The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1913-07-18
A VOTERS SENSIBLE VIEWS.

Editor Bourbon News:
Judge Dundon would shirk- RESPONSE
bility for the condition of the county
roads by saying that the Magistrates
are to blame and not he. This sounds
aike a boy who would escape the fog
ging he knows is due him by trying to
throw the blame for his misdemeanor
upon his companions.
Judge Dundon is just as much-in
fact more responsible for the condition
OF the roads than any Magistrate, be-
cxuse he is the head of the Fiscal
Court with power to call the Magis-
trates together at any time to attend
to any business of the county which in
his opinion demands attention.
Again, as the head of the Fiscal
Court his influence is paramount and
predominant, and any reasonable plan
for improving the rods that he would
insist upon would certainly be adopt
ed. If not he could call the Court to-
gether for them to aopt and carry out
some plan to discharge the duty which
is imposed upon the Fiscal Court to
keep the turnpikes in order.
After all, why any difficulty about
the County Judge discharging his
duty with reference to the turnpikes
and giving us good turnpikes in eX-
change for the tax collected each year
for that purpose? Bourbon county
tax payers pay into the treasury of
Bourbon county forty or fifty thousand
dollars year to maintain her. roads
With these figures before you ride
over the roads of Bourbon county and
see what we have in exchange for this
annual tax. Some of the favored tax
payers who live near the city of Paris
ON some highway that has received
especial attention have no conception
of the miles and miles of turnpike in
Bourbon county over which people are
compelled to ride who pay taxes just
rs promptly as do the favored few who
live on the favored pixies. This duty
to provide the public with roads i'm
consideration of the taxes the public
pays is discharged in other counties
without any difficulty. Then why not
in Bourbon county?
All this talk about Judge Dundon
not being responsible sounds as though
the making and keeping up of the
roads were a task which nobody could
perform; whereas, the County Judges
IN other counties discharge this duty
to the public without any difficulty
svhateyer.
The trouble is Judge Dundon has
been unwilling to interrupt the easy
dignity with which he holds down the
chair in his comfortable Office in the
Cour House long enough to ride out
over the turnpikes of Bourbon county
and see for himself what it is the peo-
pie are making such a row about. The
tax payers of Bourbon county know, or
ought to know, that the highest court
OF this State has decided that the
County Judge, as well as the Magis,
trates, is indictable by the Grand
Jury for misconduct in Office where in
any county there is a failure to main.
tain the public roads in proper con-
dition. OF course everybody knows
that to decide that the County Judge
may be indicted for this means that he
is responsible for this condition of
things, because you cannot punish a
man for anything for which he is not
responsible.
In the absence of any law on this
subject the County Judge as well as
the head of the Fiscal Court must be
held accountable on the same principle
that the President as the head of a
Republican or Democrtic administra,
ton is held responsible in the public
mind for the success or failure of that
administration. If in the minds of the
voters of this county an administration
is not success, the President is held
responsible and voted out of office
Somebody must be held responsible
and why not the head? If this duty tC
the tax payers of Bourbon had been
properly performed, Judge Dundon
would have stuck feather in his CAP
and said: Il did it," and solicited votes
from the tax payers of Bourbon county
on the ground that he had discharged
his duty to the public with reference
TO the turnpikes of Bourbon county
in such a way that he merited the ap
prevail of the tax payers of Bourbon
county, but having failed to discharge
that duty he sidesteps and says "they
did land undertakes to put it over
on the Magistrates, though, according
TO the highest court in his State he
cannot put it off on anybody else.
VIII the voters of Bourbon county
consent that the forty or forty-five
thousands of dollars wrung from them
annually by the road tax shall be ex.
pended for four years more under the
direction of a County Judge who dis,
claims responsibility for the way the
money is spent? Is it not time that
Bourbon county should elect County
Judge who admits the responsibility
imposed upon him by law to keep the
turnpikes in Bourbon county in good
condition for proper travel?
- A DEMOCRAT.