The Mineola Monitor (Mineola, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 26, 1940 Page: 2 of 7
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«t our (OTirnmttt being
•pinion of the people, tht ? ty ob-
•hoald b« to keep that right, and
, it l«ft to mc to decid* whether we
M bar* a government without «#wi-
in or Mwapapers without r<iT«m-
fc. I should not heaitate to prefer the
ir.—Thonaa Jefferson.
ull|p lUittmla Jlonttor
(Stop tljrm Sight. anil tljtH will fittil their omit luau
Page Two
Mineola, Texas, Thursday, September 26, 1940.
Editorial Page
Giro them a eon-put House of Coat-
give them a venal House mt
Lords; give them a tyrannical Prince;
gi«e them a trucking court, and five
me an unfettered press and I will defr
all of them to encroach one inch epos
the liberties of England.—Richard >.
Sheridan, English Statesman.
Role of House-Cleaner at Last
Confronts Grand Jury in Wood County
^"We, the Grand Jury, duly empaneled
far the said term of District Court in and
for said county, beg leave to submit here-
with this, our final, report and ask to be
discharged for the term. . . . We have been
in session five days and have diligently in-
quired into all matters of law violation of
felony nature that have come to our at-
tention. . . . We have also examined the
county jail, court house and other county
property and find same to be in excellent
condition. . . . We are pleased to inform your
Honor and the citizenship at large that
crime in Wood County is on the decrease, a
condition that is a credit and a blessing to
the citizenship as a whole. ..."
This, as you have no doubt recognized
hy now, is the gist of the sterotyped form
ircopied at the end of each term of district
court in Wood County and turned in as the
final report of the Grand Jury.
It has become an unchallenged rule in
IVbod County that each Grand Jury report
echo the attitude that all is well and good
in the county, and outside of a few petty
larceny cases we're all going to heaven.
But natural inquisitiveness on the part
of a taxpayer, such as all Grand Jurors
should be blessed with, indicates a different
state of affairs, and anything like a system-
atic investigation of matters privileged for
public consumption reveals conditions which
are not only shocking but unsafe . . . con-
ditions which individual Grand Jurors, pro-
tectors of the public faith, should feel it
their solemn duty to correct.
It goes without saying that any honest
and conscientious public servant welcomes
investigation. It is to his credit to have his
ability and integrity substantiated by official
act. Likewise, the taxpayers of Wood Coun-
ty who are interested in the correction of
certain self-evident evils are not interested
in injuring any individual character or caus-
ing unjust reflections. The underlying
thought is to learn the truth and to see that
the law is abided by. Let the chips fall
where they may.
Few taxpayers with any knowledge of
the county's business or any desire for know-
ledge do not know by now that the 1941
tax rate recently set for Wood County was
raised to $1.45 from the outrageously high
figure of $1.40 while other counties in East
Texas, none of which have rates this high,
were making additional reductions. Certain-
ly there must be a reason for this unpopular
condition.
These reasons may be ascertained by
htite more than casual observation of mater-
ial available first hand to the Grand Jurors
and all other citizens of the county, and
they may be outlined briefly without benefit
of legal knowledge:
t1t While recent action by the county
judge to collect fines due the county and to
call for systematic reports on cases emanat-
ing from justice courts is commendable and
should result in a saving to the taxpayers,
a greater evil lies even closer at hand in
the matter of salaries paid to county officials
and their deputies.. For example, a general
Jaw adopted by the Texas Legislature sets
salaries for commissioners in counties the
size of Wood County at $1,400 annually.
But is it not true that $1,800 is being paid?
A subsequent special statute raised their pay
to $1,800, but the Attorney General has ruled
such special statutes unconstitutional, and
this opinion was upheld in the test case of
Guy H. Hunt and others versus Jack Varner,
county judge of Nacogdoches County, which
was appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals at
Beaumont on a mandamus proceeding to
compel issuance of warrants to each of the
plaintiffs. In his opinion on the case Judge
O'Quinn referred to Art. 2350, Vernon's Ann.
Civ. St., which provides for a commission-
er's salary of $1,400 in counties with less than
$10,000,000 assessed valuation.
Subtract then the surplus salary paid
out in Wood County in addition to the total
salary of unnecessary employes and a size-
able gain will have been made toward re-
lieving the strain on the taxpayer.
(2) The Texas Budget Law requires that
county finances be based on a budget and
that public hearings be held on the propos-
ed budget. This has been neglected in Wood
County. True, the county has had a bud-
get "document," but it should be emphasized
that it is the budget "system" that is im-
portant and not merely the document. Mere-
ly to provide for the preparation of a docu-
ment that can be called a budget is not
enough. It is the steps leading up to the
preparation of the budget, along with the
provisions made for preserving its integrity
(as by publication of regular financial re-
ports) and for executing it, that are vitally
important. All these factors taken together
constitute a budget system. The budget docu-
ment itself may be nothing but a monument
to failure if the budget system is unsound.
In referring to a balanced budget in his
"The Problem of a National Budget," W. F.
Willoughby wrote: "A budget is, . . . essen-
itally an information document. As such
it is desirable that it should present as de-
tailed an exposition of the revenues and
expenditures of the government, past and
prospective, as it is feasible to prepare. It
should furnish not only the information
regarding the general character, purpose, and
amount of government expenditures, but
detailed data regarding the cost entailed in
maintaining particular units of organization
and in performing the particular activities
itemized."
(3) The Texas Budget Law forbids the
transfer of certain tax supported funds.
Wood County has allowed itself to drift into
that unsafe condition where the public im-
provement (courthouse and jail) fund is
being used for general fund purposes. This
is not only illegal but it is positively un-
constitutional. A simple rule in government
which has an ancient and honorable origin
is that NO MONEY IS SUPPOSED TO BE
PAID OUT OF THE PUBLIC TREASURY
UNLESS THE EXPENDITURE HAS BEEN
AUTHORIZED BY LAW.
(4) This rule is abused with reckless
abandon in Wood County. A minor example
is the $20 expenditure by the Commissioners
Court for flags to advertise a recent reunion.
This money went for a traditional and coun-
ty-wide celebration, without doubt a worthy
institution. But the fact remains that it
was AGAINST THE LAW. It might also be
pointed out that all money spent "under the
law," does not always reach the end which
the law intended.
(5) It should not be considered beyond
the obligation and privilege of the Grand
iltoola Monitor
Published Every Thursday In Minaola, Wood County, Texas, by the
Wood County Publishing Company
Entered at the postoffice at Mmeoia, Texas, as second class mail matter, under
the Act of Congress, March 3, 1879.
ADVERTISING
Classified Advertising Rate: 10 cents per line first insertion, five cents per line
each additional insertion. Minimum charge 25 cents. Display rates available
on request. Advertising Representative: TEXAS WEEKLY REPRESENTA-
TIVES, 603 Thomas Building. Dallas, Texas.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or reputation of any per-
son, firm, or corporation which may appear in the columns of this newspaper
will be gladly corrected upon being brought to the attention of the publisher.
One Year (In Wood County)
One Year (Other than Wood County)
$1.00
$1.50
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
North and East Texas Press
Association
m
PRESS
Jury to recommend improvements which have been conclusively
proved as making for greater efficiency and economy. An example
of worthy recommendations is the county unit road and bridge
administration. By this sytem planning, construction and main-
tenance is placed under a competent road man or engineer. This
provides for centralized purchasing (there is considerable room
for question of present purchases of road machnery and supplies
under the precinct system) by truly competitive bidding, carrying
also the benefits of buying in quantity. There should also be a
central warehouse, a perpetual inventory, careful cost records, anc
a county garage operated by a qualified mechanic for the benefit
of all precincts.
(6) Deserving further attention of the Grand Jury, which
may have recommendations to offer, is the free use of the court-
house as an office building.
The Grand Jury for the October term of district court could
perform a notable service for Wood County by accepting its obli-
gation and forcefully recommending the correction of errors which
are obviously costly. And it should not be overlooked that the
Grand Jury, as a representative of the people, has the legal power
to stand behind its recommendations. Whether it has the will
power is purely conjecture.
Statutory law is a safe criterion for any decision of a public
official, and where individual officials honestly and energetically
follow the law the public should praise and even perpetuate in
office, but where the official forfeits the trust the public has
placed in him he deserves reprimand and even rebuke.
If the law is at fault then perhaps the law should be changed.
Wherever the fault may be, the simple conclusion is, by and large,
that there is need for a house-cleaning, a good one!
LOOKING BACK
in the files of the Monitor
:,l
OCTOBER 2, 1930
E. P. Bunn, post commander
of the Luckett Cochran Post,
American Legion, announced a
meeting of the post for the
election of new officers.
A total of 2,806 bales of cot-
ton from the crop of 1930 were
ginned in Wood County prior
to Sept. 15, e. S. Watson, agent,
reported.
Scott n. Thompson, well
known Dallas cotton man, was
found dead at his home with
two bullet wounds in his heart
and an automatic pistol at his
side. He was well known in
Mineola, Mrs. Thompson being
the daughter of the late Judge
R. M. Stafford.
S. M. Wood was buried at
Larue. The Rev. J. H. Carlin
officiated.
The Mineola Yellow Jackets
came from behind to defeat a
strong Grand Saline team, 13-
6. Chief Jacket ground-gainers
were Bud Moody, Dick Blalock,
and Truman Jones.
W. R. Landers and Miss Mary
Louise Wilcox were married in
Shvereport, La.
Mineola Country Club women
golfers were defeated at Pitts-
burg.
Workmen had begun laying
brick oil the new ward school.
Miss Zelma Moore, Mineola
High School graduate, accepted
a teaching position at Van.
Miss Shelly Horton, another
MHS graduate, class of 1920,
was teaching in Old Mexico.
Leo also managed, in 1917, to
1917, to preserve his amateur
standing in regard to the draft,
which he will not run for Tex-
as.—Longview News.
It is possible for a fellow to
make good in his home town,
but it is better to go away
among strangers where it will
be easier.—Claude Callan.
GO TO Tne Monitor Office for
all kinds of printing, plain and
specialty, and all kinds of of-
fice supplies.
In some years, some cars
take a big jump ahead. The
Ford does that for 1941.
It has jumped ahead in
size. It's the biggest Ford
we've ever built, inside and
cut. It's wider. It has a longer
wheelbase. Its seating room
ps wider by as much as 7
inches. It has new wide
doors and semi-concealed
running hoards.
^ ou'Il notice also a new
beauty, achieved by a skilful
blending of mass with longer
flowing lines. Larger wind-
shield and windows give bet-
ter vision all around.
One of its biggest advan-
tages is the new soft ride.
New, slower-action springs
give a slow, gentle, gliding
movement. A newly designed
stabilizer helps absorb road
shocks, and maintains bal-
ance on sharp curves and in
cross winds.
More rapid acceleration to
match its familiar speed and
power makes this new Ford
an even livelier car to drive.
These are only a few of
this new car's outstanding
features. It represents all the
rich experience gained in
building more than 28 mil-
lion motor cars.
Any Ford dealer can give
you many good reasons for
making this your 1941 car.
Get the Facts and You'll Get a Ford!
A. W. FULCHER & CO.
> v
V
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The Mineola Monitor (Mineola, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 26, 1940, newspaper, September 26, 1940; Mineola, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth299013/m1/2/?q=wichita+falls: accessed May 31, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Mineola Memorial Library.