, 1870-05-02
COOK COUNTY OFFICERS AND
SALARIES,
Remarks OF Nlr. McdIl1, CT Cook
County, In the Constitutional Com
yenti0us

| Remarks OF N1r. WcdI]1, OF Cook
County, In the Constitutional Con,
vention.
Mn. MEDHL wish to assure my Repub1i
can friends in tbs convention that il there is
i any one thing upon which ou- political fiiende
in Cook County have unanimously agreed,
With The exception Of the few persons inter.
c5tcd. it is that these enormous amolume1ts
| ahaN be reduced as quickly al this .conScntion
can enable rs to reach that result. The plank
I Of the Cook County Republican platform that
my colleague (alr. Hayes) has read, was drawn
by myself. l was member Of the Ropub]i-
can Convention Of Cook County last fall It
| eat q month or six weeks in advance Of the
e.Gcens' movement, and before it had eyen
been determined upon. was Chairman Of
that Esso1ation; ,,l Il simply reflected
the exposition OF the wishes Of al
our people Of both pa-1es-our party pars'cu-
| 1arly. The convention adopted that resolution
unanimously. And, gentlemen, those Rcpub-
in this convention, and we're defeated by those
who TOW hold seata-Messrs. scatnmon.
| Thompson, Eond, Eradwell, McCrea, and
Stark, were all pledged in favor OF the pri7-
ciplo Of the resolution just read. And, if
those Bix gentlemen had been elected with my
Of this proposition. We should have felt that
if we went home without making q aincara
and honest effort to carry it, that We would ba
derelict to our duty, ard subject 10 public
condemnation and cenBure, az unfaithfu1 rep
resent2tives:. And, these ak gentlemen
come here under tho same pledge. Both sets
Of delegates canvaased that county, and
piedgEd themselves that they would labor ia
season and out Of season to cauy this propo-
sition to reduce the compensation Of Cook
County of6cczs. Both parties insisted upon
fffa f1n1n
Let me gay that It is to the interest Of the
people OF the State to have these enormous
and cor1upting official compensations in Cook
County reduced to moderate scale as speedily
Of tho State Of such inordinate compensation
OF comfy officers cannot be other than
baneful+
why, sir, We haye half dozen men in onr
county who are drawing larger salaries
than tho President Of the United
% stste oiice1. asa any uaiess YOU o'a 60 to p arsss
Britain, you can find no aa1aried officer in pos
session Of so large Ill income from his Office
as some Of tho othce-holde1s Of Cook County
This is all wrong. It's effect On all the OH
Gals Of the State is most deleterio9s Is in
t. alone, but extends to every county in the
State. Cook County will be alwsya quoted in
tho Legislature A8 m example in fnror Of
''libe-M compensation" and gives you, to
limited degree, the same trouble IN other paris |
Of the State The hope and desire Of our
people is that the convention will pass some
Rome amendment, Whereby the
excessive salaries Of the present ot6ce-holders
can all be reduced down toa fair and reasonable |
T do not think that any consid- /
cr1ble number Of people desire to have tie lie:
carderalou singled ont and his ema1umenta cut |
down; but they want the reduction to apply to /
the County Treasurer, to all the County C1a:ks |
"a veil as tho Recorder; to the Sheriff and the [
County Clerk, and all other of6ce-holders that |
arc in receipt OF more pay than their services
are fairly worth. But our county officials arc |
in receipt Of the compensation afforded by I
dozen frst-c1ass counties. The gentleman |
from Stephenson OIL. Ta.ner) is harsh and
unjust in bis st..ctnres here, when he con1-
plaius that Cook County is asking for too
much. We do not aek for as much as the p1blic
really needs. We feel aelcacy about telling
this convention the actual necessities of OR
,eople. and what the requirements Of that i'm
2;,rtapt portion Of tie State ere. be1ieye it
d be lust as much the duty Of every delegate
aara to provide for these requirements Is for
Ehcsa OF his own county. I certainly, in
III the votes have given on this doo-,
hare voted consideration ia regard TO
III par;a Of the State. haEe cast no vote to
punish or annoy the constituents Of any mera-
ber. and ha7e formed plots with nobody, nor
,een eeduced into intHgues By any oftica-hold-
ers against the wiehes ard tiEhts Of the poo
ple- and, gcntlenen, you cannot cripple or
Injure Cook County without damaging the
State. 1t is too closely related and interwo-
zen with all your Affairs, all your business,
official, political, commercial. financial, to be
sithcT ignored or disreearded- It is 4 largo
'a1t and big parcel Of tho whole Ssste. You