The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-11-01

not right away quick. REPUBLICANS,
Now the receipts of the recorders office
for the five years that Mr.. Arnold has had
il in charge have not altogether exceeded
100000 out of this amount he has paid
his own salary, his clerks and the other eN.
penscs connected with the office and Las
turned over to the County Board about
81 600 each year. This should satisfy ey-
cryone that personal spleen "or private
gain was the occasion of the charges made,
After the court house fire
that is fresh in tie memory of Ill, Arnold
attended 10 the recording of 5000 old in.
struments and to the making of new indexes
at no extra expense 70 the county for per.
sOnal services. Such work as this when
considered in connection with his particu-
lar fitness for the position, the orderly man.
ner of his managing the office and the
esteem i'm which he is held by all who
know him warrants us in saying that La
Sale county without fail should re-elect
him to the position and 10y so doing show
an INSCRIPTIONS and irresponsible class OF
people that this county cannot be run by
manufactured and false assertions. Not
only as gentleman, but as an officer, AT
mold has shown himself beyond question
worthy the confidence of the peOple-AH
tie CoUnty Rep"bHcan papers.
This is all very fine ON the face of it, but
is it the fact? Lets see. The earnings OF
the Office they tell Us are about $4,000 u
year, which pays all expenses and leaves
profit of 81 600 ayear, which is true enough
in one sense that is, if the work on the
burned records is not counted in the e1
penses. In point of TACT, il is not, but the
statement in our text conveys the idea very
clearly that it is.
We wonder now how many of our readers
have any idea Of how much the work OF
recording 5000 old instruments has cost.
Last year about this time the Board asked
the question and found up to that time il
had cost $12, S3649, or at the rate of over
$4,000 year. since 1880, counting the
whole Of 1880 Since that report was made
to date, about year, the same work has
cost in addition "a ,S2201 or total for four
years, OF work of $l7,G5S5S! or at the rate
of S5S9 plus) per Instrument! There are
the figures on the records and every man
who will spend an hour on the voucher
book can figure it up; and we take their
own statement of the number offered for
rerecording. Now any man of any knowl
edge at all on this subject knows there's
an almighty big niger in the fence here
somewhere. $3.50 an instrument! Great
goodness! Why the average cost of record
ing papers of this kind today is at cory
literal estimate (at what the county as
stated in our text makes $1,000 year
Sl.25. Say it is $20O-where do those
other 1888 goE The figures given, mind
do not include cost of books, pay OF com
mittee on burnt records, or any expense
contingent thereto, but simply labor on
"burnt records" 1t is equal to the services
of two men for more than 8 years. Does
anybody believe this is economy? After
b. c. Cook has answered the questions TO-
day about Plumb's railroad wrecking let's
hear from Arnold on burnt records" Let
him also tell us how many days of burnt
record" work by clerks 80 paid were spent
on making abstracts for which he pocketed
the pay.
1t is all buncomb, talking Arnold's gen
crosby to the COMMUNICATING no charge
for extra services! He only puts In the
time in the office for which the county pays
him: and it can not be said that in the
light of the " burnt record business he is
entitled to the confidence of the people.
How long is this sort ofthing gong to last
How many more years can the PEG
pie afford to pay $4,000 and more
annually to write up burnt records 1t
is time the Office got shaking up. 1t
can't be any worse under another recorder,
Let the people have a chance to see if
new deal won't place the office, as 1t should
now be, on paying basis, for in spite OF
all that is said to the contrary, the official
figures in the county clerks office shows II
to be an expense to the county of over 49,,
600 year. AS this is question of taxes
money out of pocket-the people should
see if "A stop can't be made to this leak.