Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 February 1899 — GRADUATING EXERCISES [ARTICLE]

GRADUATING EXERCISES

A little Lexow investigation is needed in Jasper county. The wolf scalp bounty should be abolished altogether. “Honest Abe's court” is having lots of trouble these days—two law-suits and the clock won’t “go.” Representative Loutit has introduced a bill to place all feebleminded clii **nring women in the school for feeble-minded. The bill requiring all county officers to keep a uniform system of accounts in all counties, was killed in the House Thursday. Still no explanation from Bro. Marshall on that stationery steal. He even forgets to mention the latest lawsuit, against the county. After carefully reading the allegations in the complaint of Heinzman Bros., vs. Jasper county, we venture the prophesy that the case will never come to trial* “Honest Abe” is praying for warm weather, that his twenty-three-hundred-dollar investment for the taxpayers of Jasper countymay again proceed to grind out time. Why not invest $2,300 more, Abe, and get a “winter” clock? It is interesting to note that a number of democratic papers in ludiana have exposed and denounced official rottenness in democratic counties, but where is the republican paper that has yet found anything wrong in either republican or democratic counties? During the two weeks ending Feb. 4, Jasper county paid out SSO for wolf scalps. We have no doubt more scalps could be secured by raising the bounty to $25, as then it would pay very haudsomely to ship in a lot of wolves and slaughter them on Jasper countysoil. Possibly some man could be secured for S4O or SSO per month to turn the hands of that twenty-three-hundred-dollar court house clock, if a good crank was placed on the thing where it would do the most good. All applicants for the above position are respectfully referred to “Honest Abe.”

County officers are again before the legislature demanding more pay for their services. We are not acquainted with other counties, but in Jasper county no man now holding office was able, prior to such holding, to clear as much money in any one year as he has since he has been drawing official salary. Senator Gilbert's bill allowing county commissioners to permit the use of voting machines to be used instead of casting ballots, as is now done, will be favorably recommended by the committee tin elections. This bill should be passed promptly. It is the only method by which vote buying can be prevented.

The 1,250,000 bottles of beer recently shipped from Sau Francisco had evidently not reached Manila when hostilities began Saturday last. Had Gen. Otis called Aguinaldo and his pagan hordes to the bar and set ’em up three or four of the best brand of American rot-gut, he would have had the Philippine matter well in hand several weeks ago. We feel confident Philippine human nature is not vastly different from the brand most numerous in Jasper county, and “Old Rye,” “ficlilit.” and “Bober’s” beer has always been a very potent factor in flooring the opposition here.

Sixty day* have gone by since the eoMuniariucMCß accepted the bid of tiie Burt, Terry Stationery Oa, of Lafayette, for the furnishing of hooka and stationery for county use for the period of one year from Deo.* 14, 1896, for the sum of $548, and yet no contract has at this writing been entered into. As tiie year began Dec. 14, last, it would seem to have been good business sense as well as a duty owed the taxpayers, to have closed up the contract almost immediately after their bid was accepted, instead of waiting several months and in the meantime, no donbt, paying some one else for supplies which the Burt, Terry Co., should furnish under the terms of their bid.

Several of Marshall county’s township trustees have been summoned to answer complaints against them by the state in the circuit court for failing to publish annual statements of their receipts and disbursements as the law requires. The action will bear directly upon the bonds furnished by the trustees when they assumed their official duties. It is evident that the matter will eventually reach the supreme court in order to test the meaning of the law. The final decision will be of interest to nearly half the trustees of the state, as fully that proportion have repeatedly failed to conform to the intent of the act of the legislature which passed the law, and several of such can be found in Jasper county.

Most people believe that $50,000 a year which the President gets as his salary is the snm total. This is a mistake; $36,064 is given him in addition to his salary of $50,000, to pay the salaries of his subordinates and clerks. His private Secretary is paid $3,250, his Assistant Private Secretary $2,250, his stenographer SI,BOO, five messengers, each $1,200, a steward SI,BOO, two door-keepers, each $1,200, fonr other clerks at good salaries, one telegraph operator, two ushers, $1,200 and $1,400, a night usher $1,200, a watchmen S9OO and a man who takes care of the fires who receives $864 a year. In addition to this there is given him SB,OOO for incidental expenses such as stationery, carpets and the care of the Presidential Btables. And under another heading there is given him nearly $40,000 more. Of this $12,500 is for repairs and refurnishing the White House, $2,500 is for fuel, $4,000 is for the green house, $15,000 is for gas, matches and the stable. The White House, all told, costs the cqnntry in connection with the President considerably over $125000 a year.

A few tons of beef slightly “out of whack” has been discovered among some free now being issued to the destitute of Havana, Cuba. The marks on the cases show “Chicago, July, 1898,” and was the result of a shopping tour of Capt. Oskaloosa M. Smith, of the subsistence department, and was purchased of Chicago firms. This beef had been sent to Porto Rico, presumably to be issued to the U. S. Volunteers, but for some reason, probably its excellent quality, found its way to Regia, a superb of Havana. Last Saturday . a few Cuban patriots announced their willingness to consume a little U. S. grub, and the officer in charge, Capt. Gaines, produced a few, cans of “Chicago, July 1898,” beef and set the nigger chefs to work with can-openers. No sooner had the balmy air of the tropics come in contact with the beef thm a “puking” match was on among the Cuban patriots, and, when able, | they one and all announced their ! desire for some pancakes and inn;ple molasses, but believed they , would not care for any i “Chicago I beef, of the edition of July, 1898.” This stigma cast upon the characters of our American packers should be resented. Of course, Armour & Co., Nelson, Morris & Co., Swift & Co., Libby, McNeal & Libby, will and should be defended from this base insinuation, and then, this berf was good enough

for these Cuban bums. Capt. Smith, who purchased tills besf, has written Gen. Breckenridge, Inspector-General to inquire why he Is at Havana “interfering with the commissary business?” Gen. Breckenridge will doubtless be promptly court-martialed tor his impertinence.

Thk Democrat has once or twice called attention to James W. McEwen having received $8.25 for publishing a ribtice of graduation last spring, while the other newspapers of Rensselaer charged only $1.50 for the same identical notice. This exposure of the secret of the Barnacle’s love for the official acts of the commissioners and other county officers who allow it to feed at the public crib has raised ,the ire of the Barnacle, and in an issne some time ago we managed to decipher the following: “We have never made a charge for legal advertising not in accordance with law.” In the first issue for January, 1899, (Jan. 21) we find another squib about this particular “legal:” “The political mongrel of the Democrat .?) pretends to be worried over our having received $8.50 for a legal, for which either the Republican or Journal charged $1.50. That problem is easily solved,* - In one case a special rate was asked for and conceded. In our case, possibly through an oversight, no special rate was asked for, we charged the legal rate and received it.”

Now, the evident intention of the Barnacle is to .convince its halfdozen readers that it was perfectly justified in charging $8.25 for a notice which the conscience df the other papers would not allow them to charge over $1.50 for. To show the fallacy of this plea we have taken the trouble to copy the notice entire as it appeared in The Democrat, Journal and Republican, and no “speoial rate” was asked for in either case that we have been able to learn. We have never seen a copy of the Barnacle in which this notice is alleged to have been published, but suppose of course the notice was not inserted in one of the numerous “issues” which exist only in the mind of its fossilized “editor.” Following is the notice, and we will add that we have given it all the “padding” that it will possibly stand, in order to make as good a showing for the Barnacle as possible:

The Graduation Exercises will be held as follows: Junes. 1898,Fountain Park; Carpenter, Jordan, Marion and Milroy townships, June 4, Saylorville; Newton tp. Exercises at night. June 11, Valina Park; Bar&ley and Hanging Grove tp. June 18. Independence Chapel; Gillam tp. Exercises at night. June 254, Wheatfleld; Wheatfield Town and Wheatfleid, Keener, Kankakee and Walker tpa. June 25, Rose Bud Church, Union tp. Exercises at night. R oil of honor wil i be destribuied at the above exercises. Trustees and Graduates are urged to complete theirprogrammes and send copy of same to this office at once. Persons desiting extra programmes may purchase them from the County Superintendent. Yours Very Truly. Louis H. Hamilton. Co. Supt. The law is that a newspaper shall charge but $1 per square for the first insertion and 50 cents per square for each additional insertion for legal advertising. A “square” is 250 ems nonpareil,and each line of a standard measure column contains 26 ems. Ten lines, making 260 ems, or 10 ems over one “square,” and ten lines to the square is the usual method of computing the number of squares contained in a notice. A notice may be set in poster type, but a publisher can only collect for the num • ber of squares it would occupy if set in nonpareil, therefore the Barnacle cannot say that it was entitled to one cent more by reason j of setting the aforesaid notice in a larger type than shown above. In this notice of graduation there were exactly three squares and thirty ems, counting-the heading (which is also computed as making so many lines of nonpareil the law specifying that it must not exceed 4 lines of nonpareil) which, allowing the most liberal oonstructiou of the law, could not amount to more than $3.10 for one insertion or $4.65 for two insertions. We believe the notice wastirdered published but one time, and will leave the reader to form his own conclusions as to why the Barancle [so dearly loves the county officers I and also as to the honesty of a re--1 publican Ixiard ot commissioners that will allow such gross-over-charges to a democratic (?) paper.