The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-05-17
GtpGtrtelLigtnttr:
Concerning the Abolition Of the Mu'
nIcIpaI Court.

The First Branch Of Council last even
iuR adopted a resolution directing the
Committee on Salaries to report an ordin
auce at special meeting next Tuesday
night reducing the salary OF tho Judge o
the Municipal Court and providing
against the payment OF police court lee
by the city in cases where. tees cannot bt
collected from the parties mulcted In tha
court. It's objected by those who Wist
the Municipal Court perpetuated that
reduction ofsalary would result in placing
an incompetent man on the bench, and
that whether this or total aboli-
,Ion Of the court should result In
Jury would result to parties hay
IuR suits in the Court. II the Court Is
to be abolished upon the reaSsembling oi
the Legislature, it would not matter much
for that period whether the salary was re-
duced or not, but tho only way TO secure
ItS abolition Is TO reduce the salary now.
lift Is allowed TO remain Of the present
dgures till somebody has been put into
the vacant judgeship, then q proposition
10 abolish 1t will be regarded as war on
that gentleman and resisted accordingly;
aud It will be found much more difficult,
II not impossible, then to get rid of the
Court at all. For the period intervening
before the EeassemblDg Ot the LegiSla-
lure, which will be long enough to
dispose Of all pending snits, there
will be no difficulty about getting y com.
petent Judge even at hall the present
salary. Should Council put the salsry at
$1,000, we should not expect to sec q
Withdrawal ofany OF the candidates now
before the public; and such reduction
would not probably In any wise alter the
result OF the election. But II this reduc-
ton Is made now, there will not be enough
in the office to justify much resistance to
it's abolishment when the Legislature is
called on 10 act, while II the salary Is
allowed 20 stand at $1,000, it will be found
when that time comes around that the in
cd.hbent and his friends will have organ.
ized such u strong party as to secure per-
petuAtiOn.
II Is apparent TO everybody but the
lawyers that the people Of this county
sre afflicted with too many courts and
TOO much expense for maintaining them
Tho county court In some form Is forced
upon US by the new constitution. There
is no way to get rid OF it except by
amendment Of that instrument, and that
is Imprscticable or too far of. The only
place where any reduction OF our heavy
judicial burden can be made Is In the
case Of the Municipal Court. That court
Is the creature Of legislation and 1t Is in
the power Of Council TO secure the
needed relief. Such powers as are
now possessed by. the Municipal Court
in addition to those ol the county
court can be conferred on the latter by
leglSlatlon at the time of abollShing the
former. The docket Of the court can
be cleared before that times and nobody
need fear If the salary Is reduced now
that less competent man will be elected
at tho coming election than il it is not.
But the reduction Of salary will insure
the wiping out o; the court next winter
and the necessary enlargement of the
poTers Of the County Court, while con.
tInuatlou of tho present salary will almost
certainly result in tho indefinite perpetu.
alton of the Municipal Court, with the
extra and needless burden our people are
now carrying.