The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1876-01-14
Cincinnati Commercial, Jan. 10. ]

is not adopted.
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TCincinnati Commercial, Jan. 10.]
OF course there is not county in the
State Of Ohio or any other "soverign
State" exempt from ring" rule. There
is not a Court house that Is not in part
or thoroughly in possession of a ''ring."
As rule the ring is in the possessive
case in respect to the editors Of the
neighborhood. The job printing and
official advertising are important. Then
the great men about the Court-house are
able to patronize the editors in a most
overcoming way, until they become SO
important as to be taken into partner
ship. 1t is one of the impossibilities in
Ohio, as in other States, to relieve the
people from the Sherifis' advertising
swindle and the frauds incident to it.
The county rings have their agents in
the Legislature, and when the slightest
attempt is made to legislats in favor of
the people and against the Court. house
peculations, the county officers come
down like the wolf on the fold-and
Alex. Sands, in the various forms of
that sort of pleasant person, opens the
stores of his wit, and the flow of his
hospitality is generous, and the dear
people can go whistle There was quite
a convention of county office-holders at
Columbus the other day. Strange as it
may appear, they seemed to have an in
ierest in the organization of the Legisla-
tnre. In tn e conrse Of their stay in the
Capital City of this sovereign State, a
few suggestions dropped from them in
cidentally, as it were, concerning the re-
peal OF the County Fee and Salary Law,
the people of the State of nearly three
hundred thousand dollars year. Now
this County Fee and Salary Law was
forced through the last Legislature by a
petition bearing fifty thousand names.
The petition was as follow:
"The undersigned, citizens and cleo
tors Of, respectfully represent that
the large and increasing compensation
and fee of county officers, amountin e
according to the Auditors report in 1873
to 81, ,473, ,622 A. and by the returns of
1874 to ST, ,593,759 Sian increase in a
single year of over S125 ,OOO-demand
the speedy passage of law by your
honorable body for their immediate re.
ductiOn.
"Ihe pay and salaries of the Legisla-
tnre (Sll7,011, 04l, Judiciary ($152, ,491
go, State officers (s29,2s6 46), Depart
ment clerks 1886, POS 93l-making in
gross only 1897 ,995 12-show that these
comfy officials are costing the people
| four or five times as much as the execu.
tive, judicial and legislative departments
together.
"The fees and allowances of County
Auditors, Treasurers, Clerks and Pro
bate Judges, by the returns of 1878
amounted to 1868, 407 II, or for 352 off
GERS, in SS counties, an average TO each
of S2,754 per annnm--a sum greater
than the salary of Common Plea,
Judge, or the amount paid for the same
class of services rendered by any bust
ness men.
"These enormous perquisites lead tt
the use of money as Corruption funC
to control these offices by certain clique
and rings, make the getting of count,
Office profession, and enable candidate
to buy their way to public place.
"Your petitioners therefore ask TO
the passage of a law adjusting a prope
scale of salarias for these officers, TO b,
paid ont of fees collected, so as to reliev,
the taxridden people of the State ant
to make the compensation of county off
GERS in proportion to the salaries of 9th
er public officers, and of persons in pri
vate life, taxing into consideration tn
present financial condition of the coun
try"
The law was drawn to exempt thos
already in office from it's operations
Now is the time, there fore, for those in
terested to get in their work. Excuse
have been trumped up for the modifica
tion of the law. The real proposition
to modify the law so that it will be of n
real service to the people. 1t is like th
amendment of the Worthlngton Law
the object of any mendment bring, O
course, to take the virtue out of the law
Now this county fee and salary law wa
a good thing. 1t has been carefully es
timated that the average saving in tn
: counties under this law would be $3 ,OOC
! and the only counties in the State il
which the sum of saving is less than 81
600 are Geauga, Ashtabula, Carol
Medina, Monroe and Wayne. The ia
bles show that the yearly saving to tn
people by the operation of the law i
$2s5, ,O97. of which S128, ,sO5 &c were di
rectly paid out of the Treasury TO Coun
, t. Auditors and Treasnrers
The aggregate reduction of expense
in the several counties under the law j
as follows:
: Adams.......S 81 1888 Logan .......S3. SO
/ Allen ......... 1895 Lorain ........ 80
Ashland ..... ,899 Lucas ...... sos
Ashtabula .... 568 Madison 49,. 4 ,S5
Athens 1900. 3.23l Mahoning =. .2,92
2 Auglaize :. :. 1852 Marion ..... %
Belmont...... 6,29S Medina........ 66
Brown ........ 5,245 Meigs ......... 2, "A
Butler ....... 5,978 Mercer ....... 1,97
Carroll ...... $50 Miami ....... 4,6O
: Champaign :. 3,401 Monroe ...... 81
Clarke ....... l 400 M'tgomery ..18,42
Clermont 49,. 4 ,465 Morgan ...... LOS
Clinton ...... 2,874 Morrow ...... l,6l
! Columbiana.. 1865 Muskingum 3,29
q CUshocton -. 1,7l6 Noble ...... PIP
Craw ford 49,. 2,508 Ottawa .... A
Cuyahoga ...14 ,046 Paulding 49,. /, IA