Most persons are under the impression that the board of commissioners, with its chairman, is at the head of the county government. ...  The board does have authority to say how about 19 cents of the entire tax levy may be spent, but its authority over the balance of the levy, over any county official, such as the sheriff, clerk of the court, coroner, constable, county judge, or recorder, is nil.  The chairman of the board does have the honor ... of smiling and trying to look pleasant when complaints are made about bad roads, excessive tax assessments, or the delinquency of some county subordinate, over whom neither he nor the board has any control.[Footnote:  M. S. Willard, North Carolina Club Year Book, 1918, p. 87.]

The opportunity of the “Boss”

Another result of the long ballot is the opportunity it gives the political “boss” to control the selection of officers.  It is not uncommon to hear rural citizens ask such questions as, “What’s the use of farmers taking off time for politics when the whole thing is run by political bosses anyway?"[Footnote:  Graham Taylor, in Rural Manhood, October, 1914, p. 328.] “In such counties office-seeking has become not the means to the end of performing service, but exists for the immediate reward, and whatever service is rendered to the people is incidental to that other object. “[Footnote:  H. S. Gilbertson, Forms of County Government, in the University of North Carolina Record, No. 159, October, 1918, p. 37.]

BAD BUSINESS METHODS

Along with these defects, and largely because of them, bad business methods have characterized county government, resulting in poor service and wastefulness of the people’s money.  A faulty system of keeping accounts is as unbusinesslike and disastrous in public business as in private business.

OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

When I was first connected with the government of my own county, I became very much interested to know whether we were doing better or worse in the management of our road finances; in the cost of maintaining our county prisoners; in the maintenance of our county home and numerous other county institutions, than were other counties.  I was anxious to find out what was being done in other counties in the way of appropriations for hospitals and I selected twelve or fifteen counties and wrote letters to the county officials asking for information.  In answer to probably two of my letters I received intelligent and satisfactory replies.  Probably half a dozen more gave me some figures which were of very little use for purposes of comparison, and to my other letters I received no replies, although the first request was followed up by a second and a third letter.  I then began an effort to secure copies of the newspapers in which had been printed the financial statements of the counties.  I succeeded