Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 March 1901 — Jasper County Should Not Pay. [ARTICLE]

Jasper County Should Not Pay.

Regarding the judgement of $450.00 and costs secured by Win, B. Burford against Jasper county in the White circuit court, (by “compromise,” says the Official Apologist) for books and stationery furnished Jasper county during a time when the county bad a contract with Wilson, Humphreys & Co., of Logansport, to furnish ALL supplies of this nature, and for which the said firm of Wilson, Humphreys & Co., were paid the full $1,450, The Democrat wishes to submit a few facts why said judgement should not be paid, at least not by Jasper County. First, we submit the contract with Wilson, Humphreys & Co., as it appears on Page 017, Commissioners’ Record No. 10: “In the matter of auppliei for the several county offices. “Comes now Wilson, Humphreys A Co., of Loaransport, Ind., and submits proposal to the Board to furnish all blanks, books and stationery of every kind and description and all other supplies for the Auditor, Treasurer, Sheriff, Clerk, Recorder, Surveyor, Superintendent of Schools, Prosecuting Attorney, Board of Review, County Assessor, Township Assessor, Board of Commissioners, Board of Gravel Road Directs, Board of Auditors, Election Boards, Boards of Health, Superintendent of Poor Farm, and supplies which the county is required to supply to Township Trustees, for one year for $1,480.00 payable quarterly. “Said proposal is now accepted and signed by the commissioners and is made a part hereof.”

Now, the above contract, was spread upon record as above shown and was notice to every county officer that Jasper county HAD a contract with the above stationery firm for the furnishing of ALL SUPPLIES for one year from Sept. 11, 1897, This record, if we mistake not, is in the hand-writ-ing of H. B. Murray, the county auditor at that time and who was auditor during the entire period covered by Mr. Burford’s complaint for recovering pay for the supplies which he alleges were furnished the following officers to spective names, to-wit:

Auditor’s office (H. B. Murray.) $283.65 Treasurer’s office (J. C. Gwin,) 31.20 Sheriff's office (N. J. Reed,).. 23.85 Co. Supt’s office (L. H. Hamilton,) 71.25 Surveyor's office (J. E. Alter,) 77.05 Every one of these officers, and especially the auditor, should have known that they had no right whatever to order the supplies above mentioned. The law stated expressly that the county commissioners should purchase all such supplies, and even had it not done so the contract with Wilson, Humphreys & Co., spread upon the commissioners’ record, was notice to them that the said Wilson, Humphreys &Co , was bound to furnish all supplies for the respective county officers, and no officer had any authority whatever to order supplies from Tom, Dick and Harry and hold the tax-pay-ers of Jasper county responsible for the same. Jasper county paid the said Wilson, Humphreys & Co., every dollar of the $1,450 named in the j contract for furnishing these stationery supplies. Will the taxI payers sit idly by and allow money to be taken from the county treasury to again pay for them, or will they proceed to enjoin the county from payipg? It must be plain to any fair-minded man of ordinary intelligence that the amount of this “compromise” judgement should not be paid by the county but should be paid by those officers who deliberately ignored the contract made with Wilson, Humphreys & Co., and unlawfully ordered supplies on their own responsibility. The total amount involved in dollars, including costs, is probably about S6OO, but a principle is at stnke which means many times S6OO to the taxpayers of Jasper county, and for this reason the matter of the county’s liability for the uncalled for and illegal acts of its servants should be thoroughly tested in the courts before submitting to any thing of the sort.