The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-04-17
Bulldozing the Supervisors and Rob
bling the County.


bling the County.
When our new constitution went into
operation it became necessary for county
boards to fix the salaries of county officers
or, in the absence of such action, the
county officers were entitled to all the
fees of their several Offices A Republi-
can board Of supervisors fixed the salary |
of the sheriff (Payne) and the circuit |
clerk Could at $4,000 year
each, without paying any attention what
ever to the provisions Of the constitution
which forbid the allowance of any salary
over $4,000 year in counties not exceed
ing 10000 population and the last fed |
eral census is the guide as to popu-
lation. That census showed less than 80
600 population in the county, and there
fore salary of one cent over $4,000 a
year was illegal They might as well,
and with as much legal authority, have
allowed 25 millions a year-one would
have had the same binding effect on the
people as the other.
TIE next board of supervisors was
Democratic, and they repealed the illegal
allowance and fixed the salary at its
highest constitutional limit-$2, 900 a
year.
At the close of Payne's term we had a
Republican board and he succeeded in
bulldozing them into the idea that, hav
ing once voted him $1,000 year he was
entitled to it. There never was a more
absurd idea. He was never legally voted
$1,000 year. The act of the supervis-
ors in fixing any salary above $4,000 a
year was illegal. The constitution forbid
it. But Payne pulled the wool over their
eyes and got 1000 out of the county,
$500 year, to which he had nc more
or better legal claim than he has to our
printing Office. And the supervisors who
voted it to him had no more right to do
so than they had to vote to hang all the
lawyers in the county, or to order St.
Josephs church to be set on fire. And
if any taxpayer had eDioined its payment
las some of our large tax payers ought to
have done) the peoples treasury would
have been saved from the robbery.
The constitution also requires county
officers to reside at the county seat and to
to give their entire time and labor to the
ofice-or to live SO near the county seat
as to able to give their entire time and
labor to the Office to which they we're
elected and which they accepted knowing
the requirements of the constitution. But
Gould, the circuit clerk, not only refused
to move to the county seat but he refus'
ed to do any work in the Office, and he never
performed any work or pretended to do any
beyond, perhaps few days at the begin
ming of his term,
The constitution also authorized the
board of supervisors to fix such reasonable
salary as should be necessary for clerks
in the various Offices. and the same Re-
publican board that illegally voted $4,000
year to the circuit clerk also voted him
$1,000 year for clerk hire. But the Demo
cratic board, finding that Gould did not
perform any service for the people, re-
pealed the clerk hire and refused to allow
anything, as it had perfect right to do
on the ground that if he would not render
any service he should devote bis salary to
paying those who performed the work
which was right. The board Of super
visors are the judges of how much clerk
hire is necessary after the man who was
elected clerk puts in his time and labor.
Under the new constitution county officers
are not slnecures; persons who accept
them are required not only to work but
they are required to reside so near the
court house that they can put in good
days work every day. But Gould refused
to do any work, and refused to resign, anG
the supervisors, who have control of him
as recorder, and the circuit judge, who has
control of him as clerk, failed to do theil
duty in declaring the Office vacant anC
appointing successor. And so matters
have gone on, Gould keeping all the fees
And now Gould has sued the county fol
money which he never earned and fol-
services which he never performed.
Besides the constitutional provisions W,
have mentioned, there are still others which
shut Gould out, viz:
Ant. X. SEGA, The clerka O: all courts Of record