Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-08-06

, 0f Government. Let US see nON Hof
that was done. To illustrate: in th'
; House The Constitution requires fifty
three votes to enact law upon its tina
passage; that is majority OF all th'
members elected TO The House. Blu
less than that number may Incorporate
, an amendment in a bill while it is be
ing prepared Tor final action. Thu
suppose that hity-Hye members ar
: piesept. That Is Il majority Of al. tht
members Of III? House ard SutitcIen
! number TO trausa,t business. \ ma
iurity of the fifty-1ITe VIII carry int
the fill or measure p5ndiug,an amend
, ment. Ii, therefore, twenty eight mem
, bers could be found to concur In tn
Objectionable appropriation, such as TN
enlargement of d reservoir, the clear
. ing out of a river. or building al aqu:e
duct, Or the erection CT new publ
buildings, or anything under 'ne sai'o
py OF heaven for the purpose OF g..
some job by which Trey might gel
their hands into the public treasury
the 2S could eDgraft the amendment
upon the bill, there being only q tC
vote against it. But that % could no,
carry through the House the law upon
its tiHal passage. There is the appro-
pliatioD, however, for The benevolent
institutions, the Governors salary,
Judges salaries, and all the ordinary
and necessary expenses of the govern
ment Included in the same bill. Now,
that bill is voted for asan entire thing.
1t must all 60 through together, or all
fail together. 1t must receive % woes,
so mat of those who voted against the
Objectionable amendments large
number are compelled to vote for the
bill with those Objectionable features
in It, which they have no power 10 get
out, or otherwise the appropriation bill
will lail. And their only excuse is
when done, "Well, we were compelled
10 do so or suspend the wheels of gov
ernment. We were compelled to do
SO, or the inmates OF our benevolent
| institutions must suffer and starve, and
the Governor could have received DO
compensation, and all the interests of
the Stale must suffer unless we, against
our conviction, voted for an appropria-
ton bill having these Objectionable
items in it," You remember how that
thing worked in Congress; where gen.
tlemen voted into the appropriation Oil
In Congress proposition 70 increase
tiiO1i oei'of hbc"h ohO
salary grab;' having voted for ii they
excuse themselves by saying, 1--WE
could not help it. We either had to
vote for the bill or suspend the wheels
of government" and the result is that
the salary grabbers always have enough
of them in number to put an ameRd-
ment on the bill, and then always have
just enough to vote fore the bill af,er it
10 nnnIoI on6 r n hn
same thing on small scale exists in
Ohio, so that there are thousands and
thousands OF dollars every year taken
out of your treasury in that way uader
the guise and color Of legal enact
PROVISION AGAINST LOCALIZED
STEALING.
The members of the Convention felt
that that thing ought to be remedied,
that every form and species of salary
grabbing should be Cut off and we pro-
vided very simple remedy for it. 1t
was tnat no item OF appropriation
againsG which any member of ne Gen
eral Assembly had an objection should
be adop ed by any number OF votes in
conjunction " ith the rest OF the Dill,
but snould be vOied on separately.
Add thai any member might call for
separate Vote on auy item or separate
proposition III the appropriation bill,
and If Oa that separate vote it did not
receive constitutional majority of 50
votes standing upon lis own merit,
then it should De d'Opped out of The
bill. Applause, and cr.es Oh 'GOod.'I
Now tna. cuts off ali salary grabbing or
jobbing by Toe Legislature, aud pro-
vides, as far rs possible, against steal
ing otherwise than by keeping your
funds under IRON bars and bolts, and
roeues will break tn, ough them some
times, but no longer can hey have the
guise of regular legislative form under
which to cover up theic viIl'inies.
WHY COUNTY OFFICERS oppose THE
N. CONsTI TIrUTIoN-PROBATE JUDG IS.
There is another thing in which we
thought We had secured some ecOnO-
my. We certainly aimed at it, AID de-
sired to accomplish it, and it was this:
We found that all over the State, un-
der the existing Constitution, we had a
series of Courts and of officers that
were paid by fees. Whenever a man
dies-aDd we must all one day die-his
estate must be settled by process OF
law, Though your Probate and other
Courts, and every dead mans estate is
required to pay tribute to Caesar.
There is no choice about it on his part
or of his heirs. He is required to go
into the Court. When he dies his es-
tate must be settled in that mode. We
have great many good, honest Pre-
bate Judges in the State, and yet COM
plants were made to us from different
quarters, embracing probably half the
State, of the grOssest oppression and
corruption of which you could possibly
conceive. Poor women whose hus-
bands had left them not five hundred
dollars of an estate, were literally rob-
bed and plundered of it. Why, can
give you an instance, and it occurred
little over fifty miles from here, SO that
you need moi be alarmed here at home
laughter of Probate Judge who re-
quired good lady, who was guardian
for four little children, and who had in
her hands three hundred dollars, to
file four separate accounts, charging
five dollars for each account, making
twenty dollars, when he was entitled
to three and a half dollars, and no
more. But he did it under the guise
of law, and he had fee bill regularly
arranged, and required by it this
eXtortiOn.
could tell you of another estate that |
was assessed, in which the Probate
Judge charged the estate for selling |
liss piece of land not worth five hum
dred dollars, and not occupying three
hours of his time, fifty dollars.
l could tell you of another where the
assignment of an insolvent did not Oc-
cupy the Probate Judge one hour in
settling and adjusting the whole mat
ter, but for which he took the snug lit
lie sum of one hundred and twenty
five dollars.
Now this is the tendency of things.
Not that all our Probate Judges are do
ing this. Far from it, for we have
some good, conscientious men among
them; but there existed this power of
corruption, and we desired to cut it up !