The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-05-27
THE PALLADIUM.
SALARY ordinance.

SALARY Ordinanee.
The most notable thing that hap
pened during the last meeting of the
Council, was the introduction and
passage of the usual ordinance fixing
salaries for city officers. After amend
ing the ordinance, in some particulars,
it was passed as follows:
Mayor LOO dollars; City Clerk
900 dollars; City Marshal 600 dollars;
Market Master 80 dollars; Chief Fire
Engineer 300 dollars; Councilmen 100
dollars, for each member; Board Of
Health Chairman 100, two other mem
bers 50 dollars each; Street Commits
sioner $3.50 per day; City Civil En-
gineer $3.50 per day; City Assessor
400; City Treasurer II per cent;
Chief of Police IS dollars per month;
six patrolmen 60 dollars each The
subject of the Mayors salary was
brought up, on motion Of Mr. Dulin,
to reduce it from ,20O dollas to l 600
dollars, when the vote proved tie,
Mayor Elder promptly casting his
vote in favor of the 200 dollars.
In defending himself against the
criticism Of one of the city papers, the
Mayor puts himself to the trouble of
hunting up and citing the different
amounts his predecessors in Office re-
ceived during their several terms, and
contrasting his pay with theirs, and
the sums they and he paid into the
Treasury. just what that has to do
with justifying his roie-putting that
two hundred dcllars IN his pocket, is
something we cannot see-when he
might have avoided getting his foot
in it," by refusing to give the casting
vote, on the ground of personal inter
est, when Dulin's motion would have
necessarily failed, and our democratic
Mayor saved from the odious impu-
tation Of beiIg the worst sort Of
little srabber p But poor excuse,
is said to he better than none, and we
therefore give him the benefit of it,
and seriously look at its value: He
cites the number of cases of each one
of hispredecessors, commencing with
Mayor Young and ending with Poe,
making S8 cases in HIS favor for the
two years of Mayor Young, As in the
same time Of Mayor Bennett, and IA
in the first year of Mayor Poe, and
that he (Elder) had really paid into
the City Treasury "a larger sum than
was paid by any of his predecessors"
during a period of ten and half
months! Well, suppose he did, the
cause is patent to every one who has
paid any attention to city affairs, and
it is mainly the result of having not
only one of the BEST apd most eff
cient Marshal's our city has ever been
blessed ,with-who has been instant
in season and out of season, in collect
ing fines and costs due the city-but
we have had Chief of Police and
patrolmen, whc have performed their
duty fearlessiy and faithfully, and,
had the Mayor given them proper in
structions regarding those whom he
KNEW were selling liquor contrary to
law, he might have added at least 500
dollars more to his exhibit he boasts
of handing over to theTreasurer 1t
will be sreceHected that the former
Marshal, (who served AN of Mr.. E's
predecessors in that 'cssacity) from
his excessive good nature, kept in his
pocket from year to year many a legal
reminder of city indebtedness, that
the present officer collected, which
sums eur-grabbing Mayor so compla-
Gently places to- his own credit!
Another Illustration: Nsyor Elder
mertions tae. fact of Mayor Bennett
having received 1 800 dollars per year,
!. and only paying into the treasury in
TWO years ,437 dollars and 81 cents
"a very little more than will be paid
in one year" by the present incum-
bent, and he argues therefore that his
services ouehrto'beworth 200. Let
us see. At the commencement of the
administration of Mayor Bennett, the
Council was induced by him to dis
OenSc Win. the dbd VI u AlS AttoTucy
he agreeing to serve In that capaci-
ty provided his salary was raised for
Mayor 'FRONT.' 600 dollars to 500 dol
lars. We Judge, from the number of
cases reported, that the present City
Attorney receives from 800 dollars to
1000 dollars per year in fees. Be
sides this, during the past year the
city employed two attorneys in addi-
fion to the City Attorney, paying
them out of the Treasury $50 dollars;
60 that our Mayors comparison be-
tween his and Mr.. Benefits salary
taking the latter's services as attorney
into consideration - becomes, like |
comparisons do generally, "odious."
See how they look in tabular form:
Mayor Elders salary 200 |
Attorney Lysle's fees 500 |
WAitridges fees------ 800 |
Stables fees--------- 80 |
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