The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-02-20
WHY OUR CITY MARSHAL. sHoULE HAVE
SALARY.


city marshal should have a good liberal
salary for his work instead of fee
bill is that if the city pays her marshal
good fair salary she can expect Of
him and require him to turn his entire
time and attention to the interests and
work of the city, and by passing prop
er ordinance the city can require of
him a faithful application of his whole
time in looking after the interests Of,
and working for the city In connsc-
tion with this, the city could have a
proper ordinance establishing a proper
ly organized police force so that the
courcil or mayor might appoint from
time to time whatever policeman might
be thought necessary for the preserva
ton of the peace and good order Of
the city, they conld act as day or
night watches on monthly salary as
at present, and making it their duty
to arrest all persons found violating
city ordinances. On this plan no fees
would be allowed to any marshal or
policeman but all would be required
to perform their duty TO, their month
ly salaries, as they are required to do
in Portland and all other towns of any
consequence, who have foreseen the
benefits of doing away with the per-
melons fee system. A system which
will bankrupt any town in the world.
Under the old system our marshal,
though good active one, if he had a
good liberal Salary he could make a
still better officer. AS it now stands
with him he gets fees for what he does,
and nothing whatever for the time
which he spends going around the
city hour after hour looking after the
necessities and requirements of the
city. For several days or weeks he
may find plenty of violators of the
law to arrest, and for tins may make
big pay for his time, and then again a
seeming lull and quiet may come on
when he thinks from all prospects that
there may be quiet time for several
days, with no seeming prospects for all
opportunity to make any arrests and
as his time belongs entirely to himself
and the city has no control over his
time, except he is required not to be
absent from the city beyond certain
number of days, and as he cannot
make money for his time outside of his
marshal's duties, unless he arrests some
violator or performs some other duty
for the city which entities him to fee,
he takes it upon himself to 60 out of
town to Portland, to the coast or some
other place where he can make some
money by attending to other duties
outside of his city marshalship. In
this way it will be readily seen that
when such condition of affairs happens
our city is without her marshal for
several days, as it cften happens and
sometimes when he is most needed.
Besides another pernicious effect of the
fee system is that under the present
condition of affairs it not only extends
to the marshal but to all the deputy
marshals and nightwatches in the
town. BY the time the marshal makes
a reasonable yearly income out of it
and the nightwatches and deputies
make from twenty-five to forty dollars
each out of it the whole amounts up
to d large sum of money to be paid for
such services On the other hand the
marshal, by being paid stated salary,
the city could require his whole time
and require him to be In the city at
all times and the nightwatches and
deputy marshals who all get more or
less fees now could be required to do
all necessary marshal's duty for the
monthly salaries which they now
receive. And SO by fixing the amount
of fines in the different cases SO that
the recorder should fine not less than
ten or twelve dollars ana this to go
into the city treasury instead of
thirteen dollars as now of fine and fees
the city would he largely the gamer
financially, and the city co uld have a
marshal in attendance on duty within
the city at all times, besides the foun-
dation of police force would be laid
so az IT mioht he increased when neceS-