Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-12-18

10 act IN two antagonistic interests in
making a contract. He cannot bargain
with himself as an agent for the people
where his interests and those of the peo-
pie clash. 4. -ss..;s 81 ..3 a,s-s
The truth is that five thousand dollars
year is pay enough for the average
Congressman. 1t is more than men of
that class average in ordinary business
and professional pursuits, and while
there are some exceptions, in nearly yor
quite all those cases the service in Con-
gress does not materially interrupt the
business in which the member earns his
money. 1t a lawyer engaged in extern
siye and lucrative practice, is elected to
Congress, he retains and argues all his
important cases in the higher courts,
and usually obtains cases in the Supreme
Court of the United States at Washing
ton, that he never would have been re-
tainedi IN If. he had not been in Com
gress, that pay better than all the prac-
tlce he has been forced to resign to ae-
cept the seat in Congress. We have as
illustrations of this such men as Carpen-
ter, Bingham, Conkling, Butler, Poland,
and Edmunds. The labor performed by
any of these men for the United States
is amply paid for by the old salary, and
the increase is an extortion wholly I'M
called for, by the nature of the services,
or the sacrifice made.
But the evils attending exorbitant
salaries of public officers, are not con-
fined to members of Congress or officers
of the United States. The officers con-
nected with some of the state courts in
some of the states and notable with
bankruptcy proceedings in the district
courts of the United States, need over
hauling. To be sure in Vermont we pay
our judges, clerks and sheriffs very
small pay, but in some other states we
think the people ought to complain. At
a public meeting of laborers held at
Coopers Institute last week, it was stat
ed, correctly no doubt, that the annual
salary of the sheriff of the county of
New York is two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, or five times greater
than that of President of the United
States, while that of the county clerk is
$500, 900; register 100000; surrogate
100000; chamberlain $4,000; judges
of the courts ST., 900 each. All these
enormous salaries are extorted under
color of law from the tax payers of the
city and county of New York, and are
perfectly unreasonable and oppressive
and we hope to see a movement of re-
form
We have said that in Vermont we pay
our officers very small pay. The law
yers of this state in active practice at
the bar, receive probably an average of
three thousand dollars per annum, and
yet we require the best talent at the bar
to surrender all other business and go
upon the supreme bench at that same
low sum. We are. not troubled to get
able and competent judges at that rate,
but considering the ability required for
the position and the great and arduous
work done, we think we do not pay
the judges of the Supreme Court of Yer
mont enough. The same amount of
labor, study and application that
judge must give would win more money
than his salary, at almost any business
he could turn his attention to. We are
in favor of paying judges of the Su-
preme Court salary of five thousand
dollars per annum, and saving that
amount by an abolition of the useless
offices of side judges of the County
Court, and equalizing and lowering the
perquisities of other offices. We shall
refer to this subject again mere in detail
when we shall summarize the salaries
and perquisites of other offices, both
state and national in the hope that
public interest will be created, that viii
tend to equalize the salaries of public
officers nearer to what the same services
would command in active business.