Daily globe., 1879-02-10
FOR OUR sOLONS TO READ.
The Blu to Reduce Judicial Districts Un-
cO.astitsltiOn0L-I,1,n 4ctiOsa Upon
Insane Hospital and State Prison 4f-
fiz;rS De2nunIe1

WINoNA, FEB. S, 1S79.--When are our Solons go
| ing to settle down to business? Notwithstand-
ing we are not to have another session of the
legislature for two years. the present one has
been more than half consumed in little more
than organizing and buncombe. 1t would
seem as if majority of them considered the
people fools, to be duped by the nonsense
which they have indulged in. Instead of
promptly voting themselves the usual number
of papers and amount of POSTAGE Gas we ex-
pected, and knew they ultimately would,) and
going to work, much valuable time was spent
in discussion Of these matters all to no pur-
pose, except to disgust the public. The
'little brass kettle having attracted consiu-
erahle attention III the last political campaign,
the Senator from Bunkersville and the mem
bers from S1vamptown and all others below
grade-expecting to be lifted into higher posi-
tions by it,-'went for" that tester, and, as
might be expected, meritorious measure is
almost made ridiculous by tacking to it such
internally nonsensical propositions as the one
making it a crime to offer less than the market
price for bushel Of wheat. The farmers are
not fools by any means, and look with disgust
upon such burlesquing of measures demanded
Times being harder than usual, that fact is
seized upon by another batch of these ''re.
formers as another opportunity for more bun
combe, and instead OF attempting to interfere
with or interrupt the great steals that drain the
public purse they expect to satisfy the public
by introducing or giving notice of bills to re-
duce the salaries of all State and county
officers, 12 per cent. in one case, and in another
~ per cent, when it is a fact that the pay of
county officers have been SO often reduced in
that way the last of series of reductions was
two years ago) that counties with valuation
OF less than five millions find it very difficult
to secure desirable, trustworthy and competent
fort off f,f
and county auditor. The salaries of these Of
fcers in such counties Wright, Mcleod,
Carver, Scott, Nicollet, Sibley, LIE Sueur, Wa
SEGA and many others will not exceed twelve
hundred dollars, and the treasurers are required
to give bonds in from forty to sixty thousand
expect they are doing the public
down lower. Where is the Competent business s
man who would accept the office then? Few
of them will nov. The effect of such reduc-
tion would simply be to fill our offices with po-
litical dead beats and bummers.
The bill reported by the committee on re-
trenchment and reform fixing the salaries of
certain State officers is a piece of absurdity
that is only equaled by their bill to divide the
State into a reduced number of judicial dis
tricts. For instance, it proposes to reduce the
salary OF the chief clerk of the State auditor to
81, 900, and the clerk of the State land office to
$3.50, and gives the State librarian $1, 200, when
1t Is notorious that either of these clerks have
more to do in two months than the librarian has
to do in twelve. After the Seeger-Munch defal-
cation was discovered the public demand was
that the office of State treasurer should be
hedged in by iron clad legislation, and the sal
ary increased proportionate with the response
bility attached, and this bill proposes to reduce
the salary to about the old figure. The man
who would accept that office for that salary and
give the half million bonds required, should
17rf Ionvvo El0 I, 80
knave. The Office of railroad commissioner is
to be consolidated with that Of insurance COM
missioner, as s. measure of economy, and yet by
this bill the united concern is to cost us in sal
aries 81, 900. These will serve to illustrate the
absurdities of this bill.
The bill from the same committee redistricting
the State into reduced number of judicial
districts, is the very climax of absurdity. 1t
is SO because it is impracticable and unconsti-
tutional. It is only two OF three years since
ehe Legislature decided that three Judges were
necessary to dispose Of the business of the
Second district-which is Ramsey county alone
but this committee of wiseacres have con-
clnded that the counties Of Anoka Itsani,
Chisago, Pine, Kanabec, Sherburne, Mile Laos
Benton, Morrison and Todd can be added to
Ramsey county. Judge McKelvcy is known to
| have business enough in the Seventh district to
keep him continually employed, still his dis
trict is to be divided up among the Second,
Fourth and Seventh districts. Judge Macdo,-
aid is known to have in his (the E;r:,th) dis
trict, enough to keep him onJinusliy and in
dustriously employed, yet by this bill it is
proposed to increase his present district (css
Rleeker, Kandiyohi, Chippewa, Swift Stcye:.-,
Big Stone and Traverse. He now Loids ten
general terms per year, while under the new
district he would have to hold about eighteen
OF twenty and be travelling all the time, and
would have no time to do the chamber bu,i-
w tIk half ,f ;,.G,
In the formation of these proposed districts
| no regard has been had to an equalization Of
labor. In fact the whole thing is t,o ridiculous
to require discussion.
But conclusive upon this whole absurd
scheme is the fast that the bill proposes an un-
constitutional law Section II of article 6 of he
constitution provides that ''the legislature may
at any time change the number Of judicial dis
tricts or their boundaries when it shall be
deemed expedient, but no such change shall yu-
cate the office Of ony juzgc." l understand per-
tectly well that the individual who drew up that
bill will claim that it does not vacate the Of
fices of the judges Of the Seventh, Tenth and
Twelfth districts, because Gas he will saw the
bill makes them Judges OF the district courts
OF the State during the remainder of their
term; but it does vacate their offices, all the
! same. a complete answer to this position
would be this interrogatory: II you don t, by
abolishing their districts, vacate their Offices,
what is the necessity Of this clause creating
and declaring them to be Judges of the dis
trict courts OF the State? The manifest pur-
pose OF that reserving clause in the foregoing
section of the constitution, was to prevent
just such legislation as is here attempted.
This is an attempt to get rid of these Judges
by vacating their offices: and that is all there
is Of it.. VII 'hout quibbling over the Seventh
being wiped out, it is certain that the Tenth,
Eleventh and Twelfth districts are wiped out,
and the judges of the Seventh, Tenth and
Twelfth he Il
| themselves out of the office to which they were
| elected; and fail to see how thev would he
! more effectually vacated.
| Again: Section of article of the constitu-
ton provides among other things that ''every
district judge shall at the time of his election
| bea resident of the district for which he shall
be elected, and shall reside therein during his
continuance in Office What districts will
Judges McKelvy, Brown and Page reside in, if
this bill passes? No lawyer who values his
reputation as such, will claim this bill to be
constitutional.
Now, there are many subjects Of legislation
other than these, which the public interests de-
mand should be attended to, and it is to be
hoped that this kind of "tomfoolery' will
| stop. and important subjects be taken up and
acted upon. The condition in which the State
| finds itself with reference to the State prison.
and the cutting off the entire revenue of
$5O, 600 per annum therefron, is simply hu.
initiating and disgraceful, and demands
immediate and most careful consideration.
The State has manifestly, and by the
legislation OF last winter, been out-witted; and
| we should be saved from further loss there.
If any respect or reliance is to be given to the
report of the committee appointed by the last
Senate to investigate the conduct and manage
ment of the hospital for the insane, the State
has been, in the construction of the building
and support OF that institution, swindled and
| robbed; and some of its officers and employees
who are still retained in their places-have
been guilty of the most revolving brutality, if
not murder. If the language of that report