The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-12-31
The Salary system


salary or compensation Of each county officer
consisted OF certain fees, fixed by law, for the
performance of Legitimate duties peculiar to
each of the said oflices--said tees to be paid
by the parties having official business transac
tons with incumbcnts of those Offices.
During the year 1872, for some uoplan rea-
son, tins plan was set aside and another sub
stituted, called the SALARY System" plan in
theory economical and grand, but IN practice
a costly experiment This new system was
constructed on the theory that county officers
were overtaXing fees and making immense for
tunes off those who had dealings with them.
Another object IN making the change was
to resolve the offices into sources of revenue to
the counties of the state. The theory was
splendid and substantially as follows: Each
county officer was to discharge his duties with
patriotic facility, and receive therefor certain
fees fixed by statute; keep correct, itemized
account in writing Of the earnings, receipts
and expenditures pertaining to his office, OF
every name, nature and kind; then deduct
from the receipts the amount of his salary, pre-
viously fixed by the county board of his coun
ty, together with the amount of allowances"
given him by said board for deputies, clerk
hire, travelling expenses, &c. then pay the bal
aHce INTO the county treasury as reUenue.
But, alas! man Is ingenious as well as mortal.
That balance has never come. On the con.
trary, in the language OF some trUth telling
politician on the subject of civil service re.
form, revenue from county offices still remains
"a d barren idealty," at least in La Sale
county not one cent of it, in reality, has ever
got INTO Uncle Sans bank account.
To the initiated the foregoing is so painfully
well known that no tair-minded county officer
will lisp a word IN denial; but that taxpayers
may understand it l offer the following by
way of proof Under the "fee system" the
circuit clerk was "ex-officio recorder of Deeds"
and during the last sixteen years of the fee
fee were performed by the clerk elect, assisted
by two deputies, except now and then, during
a rush, when extra help was employed at the
clerks own expense; this extra help, however,
under the salary system, for doing that same
work we have circuit clerk and recorder Of
deeds, assisted by two deputies each, making
"a total of six, with ertra help, at a reported an,
nual expense of $6,593.27. The recorder
branch of this office seems to pay some money
into the county treasury, but the clerk branch
takes more than Its equivalent out for doing
criminal business, not allowed under the fee
system. Moneys received by these two offices,
while under the fee system, would not equal
the salaries and extras now allowed by the
county board under the salary system. Fur
ther, under the old system tees came from
those having business transactions with the
officers in question; under the new, much of
argued that the labors of these offices have
proportonally increased This, however, is
not true, because under the salary system, the
short forms of instruments of conveyance, also
short and printed forms of legal instruments
generally and blank books to match, pur.
chased by the county for said offices, much
more than compensate for legitimate increase
OF business.
From this showing the salary system in La
Sale county is a grand failure. If not, there
| j. something radically wrong IN the manage
ment OF public affairs. Our recorder and cir
cult clerk are doing an immense amount OF
| unseen and uarep0yted work, or doing what
their hands find to do nt0rtally slow and e.
ceed5ngly well,
| Maybe we are paying too much for luxur-
les. For example, under the fee system our
county offices were warmed with soft coal and
common stoves, fired and taken care of by the
county officers and their deputies, who also
swept and busted their own Offices In those
olden times, too when term of Office meant
no salary except for labor performed and fees
earned, John Nash, PhIlo Lndley, Charley
Hook and others, who always commanded the
respect of their fellows, could get around to
their offices before business hours, sweep and
dust, and during the day, when necessary,
drop the pen, put coal in the stove, wash their
hands, then at their posts again, and when
evening came, close their books, and there
with record, neat and legible IN execution
and containing about twice the amount of
written matter as that Of salary system Off.
| Ger.
To-day our county offices must be warmed
with nickel.pated hard coal burners, that need
attentlon morning and evening only But
these things of beauty and a joy forever,
like that of sweeping and dustlng, must
be cared for by a janltor who receives his pay
from the county. True, We still have one rep
resentative of the days of yore yet in Office, On.
his frosted locks! He did not ask for the
change, and l. more than willing to do with.
out it, Let our Board of Supervisors solve