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GRAND JURY \
Fitzgerald, Ga., April 13, 1916.
*To the Honorable Superior Court
of Ben Hill County, Georgia:
April Term, 1916.
We the Grand Jurors sworn
and served at the above term, re
spectively submit our present
ments. o
We commend His Honor, Judge
George, for his eminent charge to
the Grand Jury, and the forceful
and emphatic manner in which he
insisted upon the enforcement of
law and the full discharge of ev
ery duty devolving upon every of
fcial and citizen of the county.
Wewlso appreciate the valuable
and courteous services rendered
us by our Solicitor General J. B.
Wall and his assistant, Col. Jesse
Grantham. We have through the
proper committees examined va
rious N. P. & J. P. beoks through
out the county and have approved
same and made them a part of our
presentments.
Our Conmnittee on Public Roads
and convict camps make the fol
lowing report, which we submgt
as a part of our general prcsm*—
ments.
The committee to examine the
official records of the county
make the following report, which
was adopted and made a part of
our general presentments.
We recommend that the fol
lowing persons be put upon the
Pauper list,
We recommend that Mrs. Jesae
Gaff, Willie Paul be paid $5.00
cach per month, and Jim Hamil
ton be paid $3.00 per month.
We recommend that Mack Pry
or be paid $5.00 for the use of his
automobile used by the commit
tee on Chain Gang and Public
Roads. ’
We also reconmmend that our
Clerk C. A, Newcomer be paid $4
per day for his services. |
We also recommend that our
Bailiff, Mr. C. Floya, be paid $2.00
per day for his services. |
We recommend that Clerk D,
W. M. Whitley be paid the sum
of $10.65 for issuing 71 suppoe
nas.
We recommend that Sheriff W.
H. Fountain ke paid $35.50 for
serving 71 subpoenas.
We recommend that these pre
sentments be published # the
Leader-Enterprise and that said
company be paid $lO.OO for pub
iishing same.
We your committee of the grand
jury, appointed to examine the
books of the Justices of the Peace
of the several districts of our
county, report as follows:
We Have examined the Books
of D. P. Adams and T. 1. ke,
[onGe BROTHERS
Thv enamel finish of the steel
body can be restored to its
original lustre until the car
literally looks like new.
This is constantly being done by
owners after months of use. The
enamel is baked onto the steel at
intense hegt. Dust aud mud and
neglect may dnll In appearance
—but the glossy finish is still
there, waiting to be bronght back
by a simple process of cleaning.
It will pay you to visit us and examine this car
The gasoline consumption is unusually low
The price of the Touring Car or Roadster complete is
$785. --f. 0. b. Delroit--
s < £/ .
SRR N A
BEECRGET I A RN, i
vi:3 N . 4 ¥ X R -
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Zo, e ,-‘!‘l._.;‘_-...._._‘.__....__.- LR S TSR R
R D e ™ ——— L
Central Auto Company
219 E. CENTRAL. FITZGERALD, GA.
of the 1537th. District and find
them correct and well kept. '
We have examined the books
of Judge Royal of the 1639th.
Dist. and find them correct and
in good condition.
We find the books of Judge S.
E. Leverett in Dist. 1658 fails to
show the disposition of criminal
cases and the entries on civil
docket are incomplete.
We have examined the books
of Judge J. G. Minshaw in Dist.
1171 and find cost bills nat item
ized and incaomplete.
The books of Judge G. M.
Youmg in Dist 1171 in good con
dition.
We find the books of Judge A.
W. McCall in Dist. 432 are kept
correct and neat.
The above books are all that
have been presented to us for ex
amination.
Respectfully submitteyd,
J.. 8. SEANOR,
G. P. MINGLEDORFF,
H. H, JAMES. .
To the Grand Jury of Ben Hill
Fitzgerald, Ga., April 13, 1916.
County, Georgi :
Gentlemen ; :
We your committee (g county
buildings and roads beg to make
the following report:
We have inspected the convict
camp now located at Mr. . G.
Mtnshew’s farm and find same in’
first class condition. The ward
en having in camp about 23 c-\n~‘
victs, and would recommend that
they stay in that part of :’nc]
county until the roads are put in
good condition. |
We find the principal roads in|
good condition and would rcc'\m«‘
mend that the two bridges over
Otter Creek on the Dixie High
way be replaced with iron brid
ges and the road straighten at
that point. 1
We find the county jail in good
sanitary condition, the court
house 1s in good condition with
the exception of the Commission
ers and Treasurer’s offices. The
floors of the rooms are in bad con
dition and we would recommend
that same be replaced with suit
able tile. ‘
J. L. DORMINY. |
JOHN B. RUSSELL. = |
S. . PRYOR, |
\WWe your committee appointed
to examine the official records of
the officiaks of the county find by
ircfercnrv both to the adopted au
ditr’s report and a personal ex
amination of the records, as fol
lows:
In the auditor’'s report wnder
the head of current assets, we
find some items of .public interest
that should have the immediate
attention of our county commis
sioners, and we suggest that said
commissioners investigate said
'itemé and dispose of sameaccord-
THE LEADER ENTERPPRISE AND PRESS, WEDNES DAY, APRIL 19, 1916.
ing to the facts in each case.
We find charged against Tax
Collector’s office an item $6,639.-
71 of uncollected taxes June lst,
1915, this however is no fault of
the Tax Collector, F. M. Graham.
We are informed, however, by
the Clerk of the County Commis
sieners that some $3,000 of this
amount has been cotiected.
} We regret to report that there
“is a misunderstanding between
the County Commissioners and
the Sheriff, \W. H. Fountain, that
involves some $2,400 of the coun
ty funds, the same being held by
said Sheriff to reimburse himself
for certain expenditures claimed
to have been legitimately made
for the County but denied by the
said Commissioners, and said
Commissioners have entered suit
against said Sheriff for the recov
ery of said fund
We suggest that the Chairman
of the County Commissioners
with at least one of the other com
missioners be called before your
body to explain their views of this
matter and also thet the Sheriff
be called before you to explain his
I‘pu_sitiwz‘x n the oremises. | _This
being done with a view of settle
ment if possible without further
litigation. \We find from the au
dit of Tax Collector's baooks an
assessed advalorem valuation of
the taxable property of the coun
ty to be §3433.376, which at the
fixed rate of 11 myls for county
purposes drmngs a revenue of $3B -
121.50. We also find that a tax
revenue for the corporation of
the county $4.49.10, making a to
tal tax revenue of $43.067.60 We
find for the state a tax revenue at
the fixed rate of 4 1-2 mills, $17,-
369.16, making a total of $60,636.-
76 taxes paid on the property of
the county.
We are informed by the clerk
of the County Commissioners that
the county owes about $50,000.00
for borrowed money. In addition
to this the county owes a bonded
indebtedness of $57,500.00. mak
ing a total indebtedness of $lO7 .-
500.00
In view of this rather large in
debtedness and further in view of
the high tax rate under normal
conditions, and in spite of the in
creased valuation of property by
the tax equalizers we suggest that
your body recommend that our
commimioner exercise every pos
sible economy within the bounds
of reasom, in the administration
of the county affairs to the end
that our tax burden may grow
lighter if possible.
We should not lose sight of the
near approach of the 801 l Wee
vil and the very probable heavy
losses that will attend its invasion
and the consequent hardship upon
the part of our cigizens to liqui
date any public or private debts.
The Clerk of the County Com
missioners informs us that there
is on hand cash and available
funds to the amount of Eighteen
or Twenty Thousand Dollars
which will be sufficient to pay cur”
rent expenses for the next several
months. - :
From a report furnished us by
the clerk of the County Commis
sioners we find that the following
expenditures have been made in
the interest of good roads.
“T'his report covers a period of
nine months from yune Ilst, 1918,
to March Ist, 1916:
Salaries Warden and
S .$2,334.61
Health and Sanitation.. 27904
S el L. ... o
e .. 2,553.97
Sl Tead .. ..., . .0 1,425.97
Horse shoeing and repairs 44045
Stkll tools and hardware 788.06
Live stock and equipment 2,896,735
Sundry expense . ....... 1,322.82
Building and maintaining i
BREE 4,117.93
AL V 0 -$17,120.38
This is an average expenditure
of $1,902.00 per month and an an
nual expenditure of $22.827.00.
This seems an excessive expen
diture for the amount of work
done and the number of convicts
in the gang.
While our citizens are practi
cally a unit for good roads we
think this rate of expenditure out
of line with our resources and the
size of our county,
We are informed that we have
280 miles of public roads, some
of it in good condition and_most
of it in fair condition,
We further find from the audi
tor's report the Tax Collector's
record under = head of state
tax, that the ¢ ctor is credited
with a commisss, ) of $425 47 and
also a commission of $419.31 mak
ing a total of $844.98, when in fact
the item of $425.47 should be cred
ited to the tax receiver, the omis
sion of the cofipilers to write the
. (1 *} A 2
The Store With a “Smile’”
Our entire organizat;i'on works under such conditions that the
Store as whole runs as smoothly as a six cylinder automobile.
Our store force has a ‘‘smile” into their work and every one con
nected with the store is glad to wait upon you as to have you
come in to see us.
EVEN OUR BIG WINDOWS SMILE
when you stop to look - at the merchandise in them, for they
are glad to render service to such a store. :
= VAO SV MOAVVAVE VR
TAEYW QUG
§ a\WN DI AN AR Rz
N P REAVARRean i 1t
NS KD ¥ VAV 2807 A A 20 S
THAT WILL MAKE YOUR OLD SELF SMILE
SUITS OF PALM BEACH
That will give you that light Qpringy feeling, they come in Black,
Navy, Green. Some with pin stripes and various other mixtures.
Reasonably priced as $7.50
EASTER STRAWS
Never before have we had such
a superb selection of Summer
Straws. In all the latest styles
and shades-- $2 to $5.00
Genuine Panama Hats
One you cannot duplicate in
town less than ($5 00 or $6.00.
In all the latest shapes
$4.00
\\.'urds"'tax receiver” in conjunc
tion with the item of $42547 is
the only error in this matter but
it creates a misunderstandipg and
we suggest that the clerk of the
County Commidsioners be -
structed to correct the report on
file in this particular.
We find on the Pauper’s list
the names of seven white women,
nine white men, and three colored
men, all of which receive $5.00
each per month and one white
woman and 2 colored men who
receive each $3.00 per month,
making a total of 22 persons on
Pauper’s list at an aggregate cost
to the county of $104.00 per
month.
We find from thie report furnisi
ed us by the County School Su
perintendent, R. J. Prentiss, that
he has received from the state
funds ST L SR ELE
Special Tax ....ovenees 6,523.69
Talal viniciaise .$14,775.20
Paid to white teachers 9,285.00
Paid to colored teachers 2,240.00
Paid for repairs build
ings, interest and other .
EXPENSES .vovvovocves 3,190.73
Balance on hand ....... 5947
Tolll ... i 877500
Report further shows average
<alaires o white teachers to be
848.67 and colored $19.21 and that
the county owns school property
valued at $29,000.00. :
Respectively submitted,
D. .. MARTIN.
G L. TAYLOK,
M. M. STEPHENS.
Committee.
With reference to the misunder
standing existing between the
County Commissioners and the
Sheriff we recommend after in
vestigation of the matter by hav
ing said commissioners and Sher
iff before our body that said mat
ter be submitted to a board of ar
bitrators consisting of three mem
bers one of which is to be chosen
by said commissioners and one by
the Sheriff or his Attorneys and
these two arbitrators to choose
the third one, a contract between
the litigants to be entered into to
the end that the finding of said
arbitrators shall be final.
In view of the fact that our tax
records show that some of our
citizens have not paid their pro
fessional tax and in view of the
fact that this is a violation of the
law as well as an injustice to the
rest of our citizens in that they
are refusing or failing to bear
their part of the maintenance,
McCarty, Johnstone
Company
{ol our government, we recom
'mend that the proper authorities
(call on said parties for said pro
| fessional tax and if they still fail
'or refuse to pay same shat debar
.ment proceedings be instituted
"against said parties.
i(}li()R(;IA. Ben Hill County.
To the Honorable Grand Jury of
| Ben Hill County:
' 1 Mereby submit by bill for serv
'ing subpoenas to come before
-your body before court convened.
i 71 smbpoenas at 50c each $33.50
: Respectively submitted,
W. H. FOUNTAIN, Sheriff.
GEORGIA, Ben Hill County.
To the Honorable Grand Jury of
Said County:
1 respectfully submit the fol
lewing bill for issuing subpoenas
to come before your honorable
body before Court convened, and
ask that you recommend that the
County Commissioners pay same.
To issuing 71 subpoenas at
IBceach . /o i $1065
Respectively submitted,
DM W. WHITTLEY €. 5. L,
Fitzgerald, Ga., April 13, 1916.
In the interest of public econo
my and efficient service and civic
progress we most earnestly urge
our representative to heartily co
operate with any measure, that
may be brought before the next
general assembly for the purpose
of enacting a law fixing a salary
for all county officers to take the
place of the present fee system.
All of which is respectively sub
mitteds
W. R. POULK, Foreman.
C. A. NEWCOMER, Clerk.
WORLD’S HIGHEST
OPERATIC SOPRANO
FRANCES ROEDER
Of Royal Convent Garden, London,
WILL GIVE A CONCERT AT CARNEGIE HALL
On Monday Night, April 24, 19186,
AT 8:15,
For the Benefit ot
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church.
- TICKETS 50 CENTS.
For sale at Adams’ Kandy Kitchen.
SILK SHIRTS for EASTER
to go with that Palm Beach
Suit and the other Easter
clothes we know you are going
to have in Silk Madras, Silk
Crepe. All enlors and those loud stripes
that bring forth that Easter Feeling,
$2.50 to $5.00.
New Spring Shoes
In Edwin Clapp, and Howard & Foster
styles, right up tothe minute. Your Easter
outfit wont be complete without new Shoes
$3.60 to $7.50
NOTIecE:
TAX RECEIVER'S LAST ROUND
1 will be at m yoffice ip the cowst
house every working day during the
month of April and at:
Ashton, Wednesday morning, April
19th.
Dickson’s Mill Wednesday evening
April 19th,
Bowen’s Mill Thursday morning,
April 20th.
Vaughn, Friday April 21st
Williamsor’s Mill Saturday, Apsfl
22nd.
* I will be at the above stated places
on the dates mentioned on my third
and last round for the purpose of
receiving state and county taz returns
for the year 1916, All parties are
warned to b- re their returns in be
fore Mav s the books close on |
that -
a. J.DORMINY,
Tax Receiver.
Keeping everlastingly AT IT, wiil
bring FINAL SUCCESS to the ad
veritser.
NOTICE
Casper Hide & Skin Co.
. 228229 EAST PINE ST.
Buys Hides, Fur, Wool, Wax,
Tallow, Brass, Copper, Pew
ter, Aluminum Turpentine
Stills, Old Auto Car Tires,
Rubber, Etec. :