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

sented in bills under that head, the
amount was $7,330.96. Add to this the
salary of the director and members of
the committee on court house and
grounds and you will have $125 more;
then add the personal bills and the road
supervision by the members and you
have grand total of $13, 893. "a for per-
sonal bills of the old Board. The men,
bers OF the new Board receive 81. 500
each-S7, 800 in all, leaving them yet
$685. to use up in the much talked-of
increase in salaries the pay for outside
superintendent, and all that sort of
thing. Does anyone believe that the
sum will reach the proportions of the
bills OF the old Board? As we have said
before there are ways of covering things
up, and it will easily be seen how per
sonal bills" were kept under cover.
Then there has been much said about
the condition of our roads and the fail
ure OF the present Board to keep them
up. If one would take the trouble to
look into the statistics it would easily be
seen that very little of the county money
was taken for that purpose. 1t would
also be seen that what work was done in
that line cost from 12c to 30c per square
yard, while what the new Board has
done has not cost over &c per square
yard. 1t will also be seen that the sex-
pertinent" of burning the Jobstown turn
pike with state money cost about 81, 500
for three miles, and the repairs" to the
road between Hainesport and Rancocas
Park, which consisted in spreading
tarvia on the surface was simple waste
of money and that the present Board is
now engaged in trying to put that road
in passable shape. Does any man in
1 fprQcfa6 in hQ off Fol IF fxr
want to return to the former condition
of wastefulness and mismanagement +?
The records of the court show that
money was taken and had to be return
ed, and we cannot help repeating it has
not all been told. Daily there show up
on the books and vouchers in the Col
lectOr's Office, a state of affairs that make
one sick. On Friday we saw one account
where the same items had been charged
and recharged. And yet there are some
who want us to go back and put the
county affairs under the same old sys-
tenn that made it possible for such mis-
takes" to happen. One of the cries
and it comes from Burlington-is that
the new system is taxation without rep
resentation. Look at the returns of the
primary last September and it will be
seen that the city and township of Bur-
sentation along the river front. There
were sixteen candidates and those living
along the river front were staunchly
supported. The vote ranged from 100
to 1900 and for every river front candi-
date the city and township referred to
gave over 300 of the ballots. There was
not such great desire then for REPRE-
sentation by districts Rather it was
all for the river front. Captain Maxwell,
who lived in township and district that
seemed entitled to be represented, got
the magnificent vote of 80 in Burlington
| city and township. So the gentleman
| from Burlington who is now CRYING
against the system ON the ground of
taxation without representation" has
chance to remedy a condition that was
possible by the aid of the voters of those
precincts named. We venture the asser-
ton and do not fear contradiction, that
those who are most ardent in the desire
to return to the large Board of Freehold
ers have some axe to grind or some
grievance to air. THE NEWS is in favor
of the new Board, as it has been from
the start, because it believes the system
to be good and capable of doing much
for the improvement of the county.
Work this subject out fairly. Do not
make false or exaggerated statements
merely for the sake of creating feeling.
Give the exact truth. There has been
an attempt to make political capital
against the new Board by singing out
the actions of one man. That is not the
issue at present. The real question on
on which you want to concentrate your
mind is do we want to go back to the
old system of mismanagement, graft,
/ mistakes to the tune of several thou
sands of dollars (discovered) and pos
sibly more that will never be unearthed,
or do we want to give the new Board
fair trial, letting the members start with
their own resources and not be hampered
by thousands of dollars of old debts
heaped up by Board that has been
officially charged with unlawful and cor
rupt spending of money? ?" That is all
there is to it. The question of who shall
be elected to the Office of Freebooter and
where he shall come from will be another
consideration.