Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 July 1899 — COUNTY INVESTIGATION. [ARTICLE]

COUNTY INVESTIGATION.

Indianapolis Sentinel. Will Cumback writes a strong letter to the Journal urging thorough examinations of the books and business methods of county officers whenever and wherever there is any cause for suspicion of wrong-doing. He well says, among other things: It is bad politics for any party to attempt to defend or corer np a wrong. Party ties are not strong enough to hold the voter* to support of dishonest officials. In private business the employe is under the constant scrutiny and investigation of hi* employer. He should be so in ourpublic business. If it were so defalcations and embezzlement* would be less frequent. The indifference of the people is largely to blame for the dishonesSy of county officials.

This is true —every word of it. j Take Marion county, for instance ; The Sentinel last year showed up • rotten conditions in nearly all the i county offices. The exposures l were made in detail from the ! records and was no serious attempt to defend the guilty officials. The people of Marion county, [ however, re-elected all who were . candidates by goodly majorities, thereby pioclaiming their willingto be robbed by their servants. But the result of the election did not silence the Sentinel’s batteries. The Sentinel continued its efforts to protect the people of Marion county, in spite of the shameful indifference, or worse, of a majority of the voters. It felt like the large minority who has registed at the polls against offieal i jobbery and robbery was entitled to some consideration, so it insisted upon a thorough investigaI tion of the county offices with such persistency that an unwillI ing board of commissioners finally j appointed Messrs. Bookwaiter and McCaslin to overhaul the books in all the county offices and report I the actual condition of affairs. These gentlemen—one a repub- ; lican and the other a democrat — ' appear to have performed the duty assigned thepj, intelligently and fearlessly. They have com- | pleted their labors in the clerk’s, i sheriff"s and recorder's offices. Their reports showed an open and [ flagrant and systematic violation of the fee and salary law, as repeatedly interpreted by the su- ; preme court of the state, in the clerk’s and sheriff’s offices. Their report as to the recorder's office, made public Monday, shows the same conditions in that office. The auditor’s and treasurer's ■ offices have not yet been investi- ■ gated, and although the county ; commissioners have repeatedly assured the Sentinel that they would be, the pressure to choke off further investigation is very strong, and is likely to succeed. The auditor, some weeks ago, declared to the reporters that he should insist upon being investigated, but he has kept mum on ' the subject recently, and we fancy that his desire for a vindication has cooled off. The treasurer, so : far as heard from, has not de- ' mantled investigation. A failure to continue the investigation I through these two offices will be tantamount ,to an admission that { they will not stand daylight and will confirm the worst opinions that have .been expressed of the* true state of affairs therein. i If the commissioners shut off ; the investigation at this point i they will hear swmething drop. |lf the county attorney and the prosecuting attorney persist in rei fusing to do theirduty with regard 1 to the offending officials they, too, i will hear something drop. The (court house must be thoroughly j ventilated. The law must be vin- ■ dicated. The people must be proj tected. The innocent—if such , there are —must be exonerated. { The guilty must be punished. The stolen property must be restored "Justice travels with a leaden heel, but strikes with an iron hand.’; It has been a long pull in Marion county, but the struggle is not over. The government of Marion county, and that

of every countv in the state, must be purified. The good work has begun and it must be prosecuted to the end.