Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-11-30
LEGISLATION NEEDED.
NATTER WHICH SHOULD REGIME THE
EARLY ATTENTION OF COUNCIL.
The Ordinance Defining the Dates Of the City SOie-
uOr Very Sadly in Want Of an
0verhauling.

rtOr Very Sadly In Want Of an
0verh2uling.
The fact is beginning to dawn upon the
minds of those citizens who pay some de-
gree of attention to the workings of our
municipal government that the office of
City Solicitor is very sadly In need oil
oyerhauling at the hands Of the Council.
Under the existing ordinance the city pays
its Solicitor the meagre salary of SIOO per
wear, for services of little or no practical
value, and whenever business beyond
the hum-drum routine of looking over APP
plications for liquor licenses comes up,
either the gentleman who is popularity
supposed TO look after the legal affairs OF
the city must be paid round fee before
he undertakes to attend to the matter, or
some member of the Bar must be re-
taiRed to take the case. This system, or
rather lack of system, results IN large
YEARLY outlay for the professional
services of attorneys, while the neglect OF
the city's interests by the Solicitor takes
another large sum from the treasury.
Instances of loss in the last named
particular can be recalled by people famil-
lar with the situation, some Of them being
of a nature almost past belief. Aside from
this, the little business brought within the
province of the City Solicitor by the exist
=, nlfan off hnr not
formed at all, or it is done in very unpro-
fessiOnal way, necessitating the supervision
of some second party before it can he re-.
lied upon, thus making many and often
serious delays in the transaction oil pubic
affairs.
As showing the necessity for very rad
zeal change in the conduct OF the legal al
fairs of the city, it is matter Otrecord
that nearly s., 800 has been appropriated
for legal services during the tenure OF Of
flee OF the present Council, over and above
the salary of the City Solicitor, with enough
unrendered bills OF like nature Outstand-
ing to swell the sum to over ten thousand
dollars. The list down to date is as fol-
lows:
1885, ,
In AZ a
W : Hubbard, Black case) -,UO w
Vim. Erskine fees outside of salary. 81 ~
lSS6.-
Dennis O'Keefe fees outside Of salary. 32l 90
Caldwell 4 Caldwell tSlndry fees 81 10
Caldwell K Caldwell (G. Mendcl IL Co.
* vs.. w W
Total .Ss7 %
Outside of this list, which is only up to
July last. there are three city cases i'll the
hands OF as many attorneys, and the CITY
Solicitor will ere long hand in another bill
Tor fees, the aggregate being sufficient to
make out an even $4,000, and perhaps
more. II may be said, in defense Of the
present system, that this total Is
very largely made up of the extraordinary
Black suit, which ran on for several years,
but the citation of that fact only serves to
show the defects of the present ordinance,
and to prove that it is possible for our
legal affairs to cost us very large sum.
The present ordinance in relation to the
Office of City Solicitor is contained on page
356 of the written ordinance book. 1t
provides that the Solicitor shall draft all
ordinances, contracts etc, and all work
ordered done by Council or its committees
relative to legal papers, examine all Off
cial bonds, instruct and advise all officers
of the city, and when he hears Of suit
being filed against the city, to collect all
possible evidence for the defense. For this
he is to be paid 800 per annum.
This ordinance Is Il miserable failure,
but even the few duties put upon the Off
cial created by it are often completely lost
sight of, and work is either sighted or IL
nOred by the city's attorney, or if per
formed, a bill of fees is handed in and al
lowed by Council, which is the legitimate
outcome of the insufficient salary. The
ordinance should be repealed, and the time
is prOpitiOus for action.
The present Council will sOOn cease to
exist, and with the advent of the new
body there will be selection OF a new
Solicitor. Before this election anew or
dinance should be enacted, defining the
duties of the City Attorney 10 as to make
him the de tdctO guardian of the legal al
fairs of the city, acting rs counsel III all
suits for or against the municipality, in
whatever Court the proceedings may he
brought, and collecting evidence
for the same, examining all records,
conducting condemnation proceedings,
draw up whatever documents may
he needed by Council or its
committees, make deeds, draw up contracts
and bonds, advise the various city officers,
and do whatever else may come under the
head of corporation legal business. For
this Il salary of from 81. 500 TO $4,000, or
even more if deemed necessary, should
be allowed and the Attorney should
be required to devote hi nself to city
affairs in preference to outside matters,
but allowing the incumbent to transact
rs much general business a. will not inter
fere with the faithful performance of his
official duties. With such IN ordinance,
there would be no difficulty in having the
legal affairs OF the city ably and faithfully
attended to, and the result would be Il
large yearly saving to the taxpayers,
both in the amount OF money now paid to
attorneys, and i'll the sums in which the
city is every now and then mulcted
through the neglect of the Solicitor, under
the present system.
OF course, there might sometimes be
expenses for legal services beyond the
salary of the attorney, even under some
such ordinance rs is here Outlined-as, for
instance, through the accumulation of
more business than could he dis
pose of by one man, however diligent he
might be, or through the running of some
very impartant suit beyond the term OF
office of a Solicitor, rendering it advisable
to keep the retiring officer ut the head of
the case for the city, in preference to hav-
ing an unfamiliar successor take it up, but
such contingencies are rather remote, and
do not effect the general assertion that we
have here rather urgent necessity for re-
form.
COURT CRUMBS.