Daily globe., 1878-12-30
AN IMBEOILE REPORT.

4 Terrific Effort to Spike tho Sptgot of the
Treasury in Order, to Open the Bsssao-
hote.
There is ever SO much happiness mani.
tested in official circles with the salary COM
mittee of the immortal twenty-one. The
committee has taken off its coat, readiusted
its venerable spectacles, sweat over the
expenses necessary to run municipal gov
ernnent, and deliberately cut down the scant
salary of everybody who renders any service
to the city, and never thought OF
savings could have been made.
Let us examine the report of the salary q
little in detail. 1t recommends the payment
of salary of 81 200 per annum to the city
attorney, who renders possibly one
months service to the municipality out of the
twelve, and only $l, 500 to the judge of the
municipal court, who is employed in the
city's service from early morn till dewy eve.
Any one cognizant of the labor and respon-
sibilities attached to the two positions would
readily concede that If the duties of the city
attorney were worth 81 200, those of the
judge of the municipal court should GER
tainy command at least $4,000. This one
item alone shows that the committee has
gone about their work lckety-smash, only
bent on reducing taxation,'' thinking moth
ing of and caring nothing about the public
interests. Ten minutes careful examination
by the committee would have made this fact
clear to them.
The city comptroller is to be reduce from
500 to $l 200, notwithstanding the fact
that men of less capacity and with less re-
fhaD0
paid $4,000 and So, 500 for less services rem
dered to private parties. The city clerk
having been robbed of the beggarly fees at
tached to his petty Office and his salary fixed
at 81 800, is to be cut down to ISL 200, and
this, too, in the face of the fact that his du-
ties have been augmented nearly one half
above that of his predecessor, whose total
emouments aggregated not far from $l 800.
Even now the city clerk is working nights
and Sundays to save the expense of an as
sistant. This, too, the committee could
have learned by thirty minutes investiga-
ton. But their duty is to 'cut down." not
to investigate the justice or injustice of
what they are doing.
The clerk af the municipal court is to be
reduced from 81 500 to $500, while the du-
ties of his ofHco are more labOrlous and
more confn.ng than those of the clerk of
the county courts, who smiles and smiles,
and-pockets $4,000.
The chief of police is to receive $l 900 in
stead of 81, 200 as heretofore will be
equivalent to the abolition of the office, as
no competent man would disgrace himself
by accepting such beggarly compensation
for duties so exacting and burdensome.
The city engineer is to receive Si, 800 and
have an assistant at 5000 These sums are
entirely too much-the entire engineering
outfit should be wiped OUT. What is the
necessity of having SO expensive bureau III
village-a way station on q narrow gauge
railway?
The committee further recommend that
no further money be expended on street
grading This is wonderful stroke of
economic genius! The heart of the city,
around the property Of the wealthy and
"tony'' members of society having been all
graded at the expense of the
outlying property, the people who
have paid the bills and have
property outside the heart of the city must
now wait for tho improvement of their
streets an indefinite period. But why not
drop the village style of grading streees by
general taxation and adopt the metropolitan
plan of paying for grading by special assess
ment y?
The report of the municipal committee is
one chapter of solid absurdities. If the
other committees shall submit reports equal
ly idiotic the GLOBE will come to the conclu-
sion that the board Of trade has reached it's
second childhood and is rapidly approaching
jmheciIity