The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-05-15
MIR. Fay's Card.
OAKLAND. May 8. 1891.

County Commissioners, or the Dem.
ncratic memhers thereof. / bHse my
right to- lie heard upon the ground
that II, a. you charge, they have vi0-
lated the law in The matter of my
salary as clerk, 1 am parti cops Grim
inns with them. in becoming the ten.
. firiary If their illegal action. and am
one Of those whose official acts sou
would make it appear are more de.
serving of cen>ure than of praise.
II is a matter Of regret that in Your
apparent anxiety to fluid fault with
the present. Democratic administra.
tion Of The county. and break the
fprce Of the good record which fair.
minded men IN all parties will admit
has hren made. you should have for
mulated such reckless charges rs you
have, without first fully informing
yourself as To their Truth or fhlSity.
Your first charge is that the law
which fOrbids 1.-THE increase of the
salary of any officer during his term
of office" has been violated in my
case. How can thai law Apply 10 he
clerk Of the cnunty commissioners
who j. appointed Tor 10 particular
tine. Is romuYal'lp Il the viii Of the
commissioners. aud mas no SPECIAL
term If Office? If yuu had taken the
prpcaution to consult a lawyer before
making this point. you would hardly
have made it.
The next charge that I was allowed
q salary at the rate of 5000 per year
although when | was first elected the
salary was iiuiiteii by lazy to Sl01 per
year is not true. in fact, as you could
have learned had you taken the
trouble to examine the records of the
office. That question has been put
beyond controversy by formal or
der of the county commissioners, of
which the following is true extract:
The said clerk is entitled to receive
payment at the rate of S40O per year
up to the date of levy for 1890. when
he became entitled, under recent
act, to payment at the rate of 5000 per
year" The fact that received dur.
ing the time which l served under
the $500 limit more than pro rata
share of that sum, arose from the cir
cumstance that during that period |
performed work that is only required
once in every two years, under Art.
81. Sec. 7 of the eide, and for which
special compensation is authorized.
So that charge also goes "Where the
WOod.bine tWincth."
can hardly approach the cnnclu.
ding portions ofy0ur remarkable ed.
iturial with tqulnimity. Such It's.
sue of garhlrd statements. absurd
queries. illogical propositions and
laseIess inuendOes are there so twist.
o.. and twined that they remind me
oil the trace If the serpent in the sand
"Winding in and winding out,
Leaving every one in doubt,
Whether the snake that made the track
Is going south or coming back"
You ask, ""hat j. the difference
between levy to Il physician for at.
tending the INDECENT and helpless he
fore the SERVICES are rendered, and the
clerk to the county commissioners
whose entire years pay is Saddled
upon the people before the duties are
performed ?" l must confess l am
utterly unable to answer that inter.
rOgatnry or to grasp its meaning. But
| will say this: the difference he.
tween paying in advance for services
which cannot he estimated, and may
or may not he performed. and pr0vi-
ding a fund ("s in my easel out OF
which to pay for we'll defined services
that must he per(O; med, aud az they
are performed, is so mara ell and wide
that to persons of ordinary c0mpre-
n1~tb1 tne tdit Ietitdt CoitdiHS
sufficient answer in Itself.
Your cavIIing marks about the
item in the late levy which reads 4:
u. b. Fay. clerk. for salary from
April IL, 1891, to Jan. /. 1892. sutjpci
To the order of the county coinmis.
siOners." would be unworthy of M.
tice but for the grave crime which
you seem to suggest turks in that
simple item. Do you mean to insin-
uate that under the wording of that
item, the sum of money levied there
by is in 0angpr OF being misappr0.
priated? That item might have heen
better framed, but when you Say that
the qualifying words, ''suhj'ct to the
order Of the county commissioners
"may mean much or may mean lit
tle," you stale, in Ignorance, l trust
what is not true. YOU. or whoever
wrote the editorial for you, ought IL
know that those words have no
uncertain sense. but mean everything
that il necessary to protect that fund
and put it as completely in the hands
of the county commissioners AS II my